It doesn’t matter how many accolades a book or author might have, the reader knows at once on the first words, how good a book may, or may not be, and the first words of the Freedom Broker by K. J. Howe are gripping! You start off reading about Thea Paris, in the middle of a jungle, in Nigeria, that must survive this mission if she want’s to go home, because there would be no way of turning back, or being found by anyone. It’s do it, or die forgotten. All of this, told skilfully in less than 50 words, now you tell me: how amazing is that?
So, we have Thea Paris, a hardcore, highly intelligent woman that is the best in releasing and saving high-profile hostages, with some badass military training and a focus of steel as our main character, and we follow her as she executes her missions and tries to keep up the pace of her demanding job while keeping her sanity with her while dealing with Riff, her “friend” that is a highly trained soldier and has been with her family since they both were kids. Although they clearly love each other, they have several problems in regards of following orders and understanding each other.
So, Thea Paris also happens to be the daughter of one of the biggest oil magnates in the planet, and her father, being a very diligent and rigid man likes to get his way and follow through, but things go array when she tries to meet him in his sixtieth birthday.
The interesting thing is that, in the oil game, apparently there is a lot of back-stabbing and cutthroat is a usual thing to do to rivals, partners and even your own boss, so, after what happened with her father, anyone and everyone was under high scrutiny, given that at the time, there was a big oil discovery in a region of Africa, and everyone wanted a piece of it. Add that to the fact that the kidnapping and trafficking of people and the distribution of guns were increasing in the same regions, there was surely a clear connection between the two factors, but the question remains: “Who is pulling the strings?” and above all “Who exactly would win the most with the death of Thea’s father, and why did they try to contact her?”
Business interests, family interests, dangerous and lethal love affairs, sexual tension, double identities, bonds to be mend and bonds to be torn, emotional contradiction and twisted motives driven by trauma and the want to be admired, that ironically cause the destruction that one is looked down upon for and tightly kept secrets and lines that run dangerously close, all of it told a narrative that is as exquisite that is just as exquisite as the story itself, Freedom Broker is an adventure of a book.
Some scenes might be too shocking for some people, as there are narratives about child-soldiers, drugs, massacre and the indoctrination of extremist beliefs on kids in order to make them child soldiers and killing human machines that might upset some readers due to the brutality of it all, although this is a sad reality that still happens right below our noses in many regions of the world, something that we choose to ignore everyday, so it was brave from the author to mention it and dedicated lots of attention in telling some of the things that can happen when such cases occur.
There is a simple complexity to the book that is noticeable. It’s like: the book, the plot, the characters and the underlying consequences are complex in the possible paths that thy can take and the possible origins, but all that complexity, all that mystery that is wrapped tight in loose ends is easily and digestible or the reader that understands everything on the first read.
This aspect of the book allows to flow of reading, the pace, and the intensity of the book to be kept on “above average” rates, making the reading experience exciting throughout each and every chapter, K.J. Howe is excellent in this aspect.
To say that this book is intense would be an understatement, to say the least. You can listen to the bullets flying by and imagine the explosions. THIS is how you write actions scenes. AWESOME! Detailed, fast paced, crafted under the sharp eye of a clearly experienced writer, this thriller grips and demands your attention in every word read. The tactical details, thoughts, the plans of operation, the feelings of the characters, everything laid down with masterful skill.
The author pays very close attention to the atmosphere, the surroundings, all the little elements that would make us think twice and increase our awareness and drives his feet hard on the pedal when it comes to maximize their power in making our hearts beat. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!
This book makes you read it voraciously, as anxiety increases with each word, each scene and each passing moment, because we know what’s is at stake and we want to know what is going to happen next. A truly breath-taking thriller. Exemplary. Masterful .Excellent in many aspects.
Pros:
- EXCELLENT action scenes
- EXCELLENTLY kept fast pace
- EXCELLENT plot both in originality and complexity
- EXCELLENT characters
- EXCELLENT narrative, simply excellent
- The details put are solidly and vividly
- GREAT interactions between characters
- So many plots and loose ends that mystery isn’t something that you will have lacking
- Bloody, vivid, raw
Cons:
- There is a negative focus on Africa, and Africans in a very subtle way that could have been better managed, and not have been cliché/stereotypical, in order for the writer to reach her goals on the book.
Scribble's Worth 