Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Fatal Harbor
Lewis Cole #8
Brendan Dubois

Pegasus
May 15, 2014/ ISBN 978-1605985626
Mystery / US / Unlicensed Investigator / East Coast / Contemporary

Reviewed by LJ Roberts

 

First Sentence: In my home state of New Hampshire, death certificates are a formal-looking document, with a light watermark in the center outlining the shape of our fair state.

Lewis Cole’s best friend, Police Detective Diane Woods, was on duty at an anti-nuclear demonstration that turned violent. Diane was singled out by a man who beat her so severely; she now lies in a coma. Cole, formerly an analyst with the Department of Defense, with the help of his friend, security consultant Felix Tinios, is determined to find the man and mete out his own form of justice. However, men who are willing to kill are doing their best to stop Cole.

The first chapter starts by tugging at your heart, ends with a bang. From there, the story rarely lets up. Dubois definitely knows how to write action.

Dubois does create a strong sense of place. It’s clear he knows Boston well. If the reader does, they will smile at his reference to “the People’s Republic of Cambridge.” West Coasters; think Berkeley. He does make an interesting, and sobering, point about how fragile is our power grid and the potential impact should it fail.

The protagonist, Louis Cole, is an interesting one. Yet if one hasn’t read previous books in the series, it’s difficult to see how he went from being a DoD analyst and magazine writer to the character he is here. It’s nice to think a friend would do anything for you, but this is a bit extreme. Yet without his actions, we have no story.

Granted, I am reviewing from an Advanced Readers’ copy, but I found there to be a considerably amount of repetitive information. I shall hope further editing prior to the final publishing will have corrected.

Fatal Harbor
is suspense, exciting, and filled with very effective plot twists; however, it also seemed a bit over the top. Still, it was a non-stop and great as an airplane or Sunday afternoon read.

 

Reviewed 2015
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