Review: Intriguing Mystery/Thriller With a Fantasy Twist
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 27, 2012
British author Bob Steele has given us an intriguing mystery/thriller with a fantasy twist.  A successful but quite ordinary commercial photographer, Peter Conway, stumbles onto a widespread conspiracy of rich and powerful people who are manipulating the British financial markets for immense personal gain.  Peter's life is immediately placed in great danger, because the conspirators ruthlessly silence (permanently with commando tactics) any and all persons who learn that they even exist.These lethal "spin-doctors" use psychological principles--not ordinary advertising or political propaganda--to control groups and to bend individuals to their will.  Thus their PR agency, Media Associates, is capable of making or breaking even the largest corporation, if there is someone willing to pay for their services.The spin-doctors apply secrets gleaned from the "Kaiserhof Archive", a collection of scientific studies out of WWII Germany that were focused on the physiological functioning of the human brain, and on methods of controlling human thought processes.  Data in the studies came from experiments on human beings.  Today, the Kaiserhof findings on how brains work at the cellular level enable the conspirators to control and manipulate, with scientific precision, the actions of high-ranking operators in the financial markets--operators who are totally unaware that they are being manipulated.To save his own life, Peter must bring down the conspiracy.  To do that, he must take terrible risks, and must stay ahead of the hired killers who are relentlessly pursuing him with the aid of unlimited access to advanced computer technology and to all existing computer databases.Not exactly a page-turner, SPIN nevertheless contains some truly exciting scenes, makes you care about the characters, and has a plot that unfolds in a way that keeps you reading.  The writing is polished, and the dialogue is handled well.  (U.S. readers should be warned that the story is set in Great Britain, and frequently uses British words that may be unfamiliar to them.)  The mildly fantastical ending will surprise some readers--at least it surprised me!  I rate this at 4 stars,  as a well-written and enjoyable read for mystery/thriller fans.(This review is based on a complimentary review copy provided to me by the publisher at no charge.)