There are several interesting characters, action, violence, kidnapping, death, guilt, hidden motives, and more - yet it took me a couple months to get through reading the book. The writing style is perfectly fine and editing is pretty decent. My interest ebbed and flowed and I wasn't sure if I'd finish the book or not. There is too much secrecy and hints of past evil in too many of the characters, which continually receive mention, but that is the stick that leads to the carrot near, and at, the end of the read. For me it was off-putting. That and two, too-religious characters spouting off their beliefs scared me off as I didn't know a great deal about this book or author. It feels like a thumper book at times. I got passed that and it isn't a church-lit story overall. Once I forced myself to read another chunk, the story opened up quite a bit and I ended up reading the last half over a two week period. This too is telling if you know me. I eventually became invested in the story and wanted to see where it lead. For me, there are two false endings. I was going to be perfectly fine with an ending without all the answers, but the book carries on and ultimately does provide its secrets. What should be an epilogue ended up being the last 30 or so pages. For the violence, this is a solid 4 Star. For the lack of hook, thumpers, and too-long conclusion, I'm knocking this down to about a 3 Star read. It is fairly convoluted and took a long way to get to the final reveal. That said, it was entertaining. My 3 Star book reviews are NOT critical.
It means it was Okay - Entertaining Enough. I was provided an advance review copy.
3.2 of 5 Stars - ARC provided.
From the Publisher:
Illicit profits were part of Zane Donovan's work at a financial firm. Suddenly the stakes change when his family is violently abducted. Following a trail that was never meant to be uncovered, he realizes that the Great Recession of 2008 granted the government control that America's founding fathers never meant for it to have. By printing money with Quantitative Easing, the Federal Reserve is doing something no criminal has ever accomplished--and the catastrophic economic implications are worth killing over.
Zane's race to save his family leads him to a corrupt Federal Reserve Chairman with a sinister past, a beautiful computer espionage expert, and even a God-fearing, gun-toting grandma. As Zane confronts his tormentors, his training in mixed martial arts allows him to finally understand that mom was wrong--sometimes violence does have a purpose.
In this first book of a series, Zane must decide between exposing the truth or preserving the financial strength of the world. However, only Zane knows the real truth and why it can't be revealed. The Federal Reserve isn't just about money. While it also involves domination and control, it all comes back to one thing.
The Reason.
