One Blood
By Kirkus Book Reviews:"A  governor and his sordid past are at the heart of a tale of retribution  in Amaru's stunning debut novel. Amaru's greatest achievement is a  nonlinear story that still manages to be clean-cut and precise. The plot  bounces readers from one time period to another--flashbacks sometimes  occur during other flashbacks, and dream sequences meld into memories  and back into real time. Despite this narrative style, the story is,  surprisingly, never perplexing. Amaru skillfully manages this feat by  presenting uncertainty--such as Lincoln's relationship with a man named  Amir--but immediately clarifying it with prior events, complete with a  time stamp. Similarly, voodoo and many appearances of loa (spirits) are  treated sincerely, not merely as wacky, otherworldly manifestations. The  thorough examination of peoples' pasts allows for sharp, distinct  characters. This heightens the tension between characters engaged in  high-pressure situations, of which the author has ample supply. For  deep-rooted characters immersed in violence, the novel's defining moment  may be a wounded man reciting the Lord's Prayer aloud while dodging  bullets in a blistering gun battle.(One Blood) is a gutsy book that blazes trails, plotted at breakneck speed that won't let up."