Code
of Silence
by
Sally Wright
ASIN:
B007G0IQ1M
A
Kindle e-book
released
in February, 2012
I
found this prequel to the Ben Reese series to be an odd book for the genre in a
couple of ways. First, the author’s style. It’s pretty far from being similar to
Agatha Christie. I like the style. It grew on me. What’s more, it changed in
subtle ways from beginning to the end. At first, the rhythms are abrupt,
blunt-edged. There are few compound sentences and any number of sentence
fragments. Second, while the author is celebrated as a top mystery author, and
has several fine mysteries to her credit, this novel has little mystery, being
more of a taut suspense-laden thriller. The tension rises and becomes more
intense as the novel progresses until we arrive at an excruciating and
satisfying climax.
This
is the 6th Ben Reese mystery, and is set in a time frame before the others in
the series. It is a historical novel with roots in the relationships between the
US and European nations, principally the Soviet Union during and after WWII. The
novel begins with a murder that occurs in 1947 in Washington, D.C. As an aside,
it feels a bit odd to this reviewer to refer to a book as historical that deals
with an important part of this reviewer’s life.
A
decade later a second murder occurs near a small university town in Ohio.
Several troubling events with no initial connection to the murder have happened
to an Alderson University academic. Ben Reese, who trained as an Army Ranger and
then served in WWII as a scout behind enemy lines in Europe has joined the staff
of the university. He served with various units, including Canadian soldiers at
the invasion of Fortress Europe. Now, this talented archivist and ex-military
scout, Ben Reese, steps out of the shadows of his wartime career to locate and
stop a man who seeks to eliminate all evidence of his previous espionage against
the United States by murdering those who know the truth.
The
novel is distinguished by the author’s meticulous and extensive research which
buttresses the authenticity of conversations between various characters. As
always one of the hallmarks of Wright’s writing is her development and
presentation of the contextual basis for the actions that take place in her
novels. If this novel is flawed it may be, for some readers, the sometimes
rambling if thoughtful dissertations on the ever-shifting geo-political
realities and the secrecy that surrounded events and decisions that were made at
the highest levels of governments.
The
novel bears the stamp of a careful writer who doesn’t shy away from descriptions
of more brutal aspects of war and their aftermath. For fans of Ben Reese this
novel reveals much about the experiences which shaped the character’s attitudes.
And, as with other novels in the series, readers will be left with deep
appreciation for marvelous character descriptions as
well.
--
+Carl Brookins Reunion, Red Sky, Case of the Great Train Robbery www.carlbrookins.com carlbrookins@comcast.net
+Carl Brookins Reunion, Red Sky, Case of the Great Train Robbery www.carlbrookins.com carlbrookins@comcast.net
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