Review: A great psychological thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
This is a great murder mystery book for those who love a good thriller/whodunit novel.The plot draws you in immediately, since the author starts the novel as close to the ending as possible; even when the characters are just collecting evidence, there is an element of suspense in the underlying tone. As you follow Daniel, a man who was shot because he was wearing the wrong outfit at the wrong time, and his mission to clear his saviors, Gabriel and Michael, from the charge of murder, the plot thickens as conspiracies arise, with racial supremacist cults, and the one thing that connects these three men together.The characters are interesting, and you can get a feel for Daniel's character as the author develops him over time, and the antagonist is also well established, but sometimes I got a bit lost as to which speaker was Gabriel and which was Michael when I didn't pay attention to dialogue tags. However, these characters play more of a supporting role after the first few chapters; the character that was clearly most focused on was Daniel, and it does show, as he is a complex and dynamic character.I particularly liked the use of names in this book, since usually writers don't choose specific names for significance, but Kipling manages to add a lot of depth to some characters just by their name. For instance, in this Angels series, Gabriel and Michael are names of actual angels of lore, immediately telling the reader that they are the good guys. And Daniel, which means "God is my judge", is a lawyer, and an ethical one at that, which makes perfect sense if you know the meaning of that name.The writing is, unfortunately, a tad weak. I would have loved to read more descriptive prose, to get a feel for the places visited in the book, or for the writing to become snappy. Kipling does a pretty good job with dialogue, and since this is a very 'talky' novel I feel that compensates for a lot, but ultimately the prose is weaker than the plot or characters, which may turn people away.However, this is still one of the best thriller books I've read in a while, and I think that the plot can certainly stand on its own.