Title: Revenge: A Moshe Kaplan Thriller

Author: Leonard Di Gregorio

Genre: Crime / Thriller

 

Moshe Kaplan is back for another thrilling adventure in this new book by Leonard Di Gregorio. Following the death of a student in a brutal bombing that is soon linked to a terrorist movement, he comes out of retirement to find out the truth behind the incident. He quickly discovers that things are never what they seem, and that the truth may be bigger and have more far-reaching implications beyond anything he or anyone else could have ever imagined.

Revenge is a book that feels important and relevant. The central theme about the inherent dangers of technology, and how science might lead us down a path filled with deadly consequences if left unchecked and left in the wrong hands, is in keeping with current think pieces and books of our time. The author knows his trends, he knows his audience, and more importantly, he knows how to write solid fiction. He found subtle ways of getting his point of view about these issues across, without overwhelming the book with an exposition of what he believes to be right and wrong.

The action in this book is fast-paced and the story itself is well-plotted. The author left a trail of breadcrumbs for the readers to follow, and although initially it felt like he jumped the gun by revealing the main villain of the story early on in the book. Although, the fact that the true motives and intended victim remained in question felt like a nice switch-up of the usual whodunit trope. The dialogue was sharp, and the cadence and rhythm of it felt authentic. You can almost hear it playing out in a scene straight from a Netflix TV series.

The book had a strong opener, setting the scene for the tone of the book through a simple conversation between university roommates Connor and Frankie. The author managed to condense a whole backstory for minor characters in what is essentially a prologue, in a way that made readers feel immediately invested in the outcome of the story. As the story progressed however, the more human elements of the story gave way to the more action-oriented elements of the plot.

While this was necessary to move the plot along, it’s worth remembering that having a strong emotional anchor, like building and molding strong relationships between the characters and establishing an antagonist’s motive, for example, makes a book more interesting for readers. Some aspects of this story could have made a bigger impact if the novel had a better balance between plot and character development. Fortunately, the book had enough strong elements to solidly see it through to its climactic conclusion.

Fast-paced and action-packed, Revenge will take you through the seedy underbellies of authority and politics, to a world where lives can be easily sacrificed in the name of power.

Leonard Di Gregorio and his quick-witted and relentless assassin, who will never be fully retired, have hit their stride and found their niche within the political thriller genre, and we can only look forward to Moshe Kaplan’s next adventure.

 

 

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.