By Wayland Smith
© May 7, 2012, Blue Oranda Publishing
File size: 378 KB
173 pages
ASIN: B0081L54HO
In My Brother’s Name starts when Gerry, an FBI agent, arrests a suspected terrorist, an arrest which sets the agent up for big-time career advancement. But before the suspect can even be tried or convicted, Gerry receives a phone call from another man who claims they arrested the wrong man, that he is the one they want, that the man in custody is his brother who knows nothing about the attacks, and that he’ll turn himself in if they will let his brother go. Gerry, fearful of losing his big break and chance at promotion, denies the request and hangs up on the man. The rest of the book centers around the events that follow years later. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that. (No spoilers!)
I do like a good political thriller from time to time, and In My Brother’s Name certainly qualifies. The drama and action start early and don’t let up through the whole book, except for brief periods of setup for the next round of excitement. I honestly had a hard time putting it down. The details and settings felt real, as if drawn from the author’s experience, which added depth to the tale.
Author Wayland Smith tells the story from an omniscient narrator’s point of view, so the reader sees through nearly every character’s eyes at one point or another, including the bad guys. I’ve seen other political thrillers written this way, so it’s likely a style common to the genre. Without the novel-length, close perspective view through a single, or a few, characters, I found it a bit more difficult to fully connect with any one of them. However, I will say that I didn’t much like Gerry, the character who starts this whole thing off. I’m pretty sure that was the writer’s intent.
The story is constructed in one long, continuous narrative. There are no chapter or scene breaks to hint at a change of POV or scenery, only a few headers that separate the story into time segments–years earlier, the day before, etc. I’ll admit it was a little confusing at times, but it did tend to drive home the non-stop, all-encompassing drama that also had no breaks or clear shifts. After I got used to it, I was able to tell when the POV shifted to another character or scene. It did pull me out of the story each time, though the intrusions were brief and not enough of an issue to stop me reading—the story itself was too darned good.
If you like a really intense thriller, you’ll want to add In My Brother’s Name to your TBR. Highly recommended.