Reviewed by: BigAl
Genre: Thriller
Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words
Availability
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Author:
An
ex-patriot for more than twenty years, HN Wake finally came home. She lives
with her husband on the East Coast of the US. This is her debut novel.
For more,
visit her website.
Description:
“Today, the
United States faces unprecedented levels of gun violence. Massacres are taking
place in communities on a regular basis. In schools, lockdown drills are now as
commonplace as fire drills. Politicians on Capitol Hill, impotent in the face
of one of the most influential lobbying powers, have failed to pass gun
legislation since 1994.
Mac
Ambrose, a twenty-year veteran of the CIA, is recruited by her closest friends
to run a domestic operation: bring down the gun lobby by any means necessary so
the Senate can pass a new assault weapons ban. In four weeks.
From the
hearing rooms of Capitol Hill, to the rolling hills of Kentucky and the wealthy
suburbs of New Orleans, Mac flawlessly sets the traps of a multi-pronged
strategy to ensnare a lawmaker, a lobbyist and a gun manufacturer. From a safe
house in Philadelphia, she rediscovers relationships forsaken in the name of
national security.”
Appraisal:
I knocked a
star off for falling short in applying the final polish on this novel with an
overabundance of copyediting and proofing misses. (A couple issues that
happened multiple times were confusing, such as ‘led’ and ‘lead’ as well as
‘road’ instead of ‘rode.’) But for those able to overlook or who just don’t
notice those things, there’s a good story here. One I found interesting because
it takes on one of today’s hot-button political issues.
That issue
(“common sense” gun laws) is one that (sorry, I can’t help myself) gets people
up in arms, especially those on either extreme. Some would outlaw all guns
except for possibly military and law enforcement while there are those on the
other end of the spectrum who think it’s their absolute right (given to them by
God and the constitution) to have a veritable armory complete with missiles and
tanks in their front yard if they desire. Most of us fall somewhere in the
middle with many polls indicating a majority of Americans believe that some
moderate additional restrictions on gun purchase and ownership makes sense. For
those on either extreme, this story isn’t likely to appeal. For those in the
middle, it might.
What I
liked about the approach Ward took to telling her story is that while I had no
problem suspending disbelief while reading it, there was never any doubt when I
put it down that it was fiction. Nothing turns me off faster than a story with
a political point to make that sacrifices story for preaching, even when I’m
generally in agreement with their point. While A Spy Came home has a definite slant that would turn off
extremists, the “good guys” weren’t always perfect and at least some of the
“bad guys” have redeeming qualities as well. I found the story fast-paced with
enough nuance to keep me interested.
FYI:
Some adult
language.
Format/Typo Issues:
A large
number of proofreading and copyediting misses.
Rating: *** Three Stars
1 comment:
Thanks, Al, for your review! I'm bald you liked the book.
Apologies that you had to slog through the copyedit/proofing misses. I've since hired a copy editor and the novel is now clean. A rookie mistake for sure.
Thanks again for your time.
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