Review: A smooth sharp thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 31, 2013
Sebastian Martin, a New York fireman, survives an air crash and heroically rescues passengers, but cannot save his own his wife and son.  He turns to alcohol to drown his grief and guilt.  His brother James, a psychiatrist, and his Uncle Mike, a high-powered lawyer in Texas, stage an intervention.  Sebastian reluctantly agrees to take a job with one of his Mike's friends, learning the ropes as an investigator for an insurance company.  To his surprise, and despite some resistance, Martin stutters back to life again. On assignment to uncover the fate of a man who has gone missing in Honduras, with a large life insurance policy on the line, Martin teams up with Gustavo Fonseca, a local independent investigator. Their paths cross that of a murderous, KGB-trained car thief.  Martin might have gotten his life back together, but he might not have a life at all for much longer.This thriller goes down smooth and sharp as vodka.  What I really enjoyed were the scenes set south of the border, which is home to the author and which he presents matter-of-factly, without the breathless commentary that foreign writers often bring to another cultural setting, and with just the right amount of interesting local detail. I always like learning something new from the novels I read and was riveted by Bogran's assured presentation of insurance fraud, brought to life in a compelling story. The character of Gustavo Fonseca is in particular a gem, and one hopes that Bogran will entertain the possibility of giving him his own story in a forthcoming sequel.