Verdict: Vinjamuri’s elaborate plot moves smoothly through all the intricacies with powerful and persuasive details that hold the reader captive in this riveting thriller.

Michael Herne is an Intelligence Analyst who left home after high school to make something of his life.

He returns to his hometown after the death of Mel, his High School girlfriend. After the memorial service, Michael rescues Veronica from a heated argument with a Russian man who claims to be Mel’s boyfriend. After discovering some suspicious elements surrounding Mel’s death, Michael joins forces with Veronica to investigate Mel’s apparent suicide and uncover an entangled conspiracy of corruption that will test all of Michael’s skills and self-fortitude.

Author David Vinjamuri writes an emotionally taut and fast-paced mystery thriller. The tone is a winning blend between deadpan, detective-noir narrative and modern, high tech lingo that is mysterious, understated and still edgy.

Vinjamuri’s telling descriptions are unique and perfectly matched to Michael, the protagonist and narrator. For example, his observation of the argument between Veronica and the Russian, in which the latter begins muttering to himself, leads Michael to the observation:  “self-narration in the middle of an argument is not a good sign.” Or Michael’s statement that: “Army discipline was a shade softer than the rule of law in my mother’s house.”

Intensely rich and palpable descriptions and narrative also make Vinjamuri’s characters and settings come to life: “Soil gets in your blood and the smells of my hometown – that mixture of red earth and river – have finally caught up with me.” Also, “When a small town buries one of its children, it is a communal enterprise.”

Vinjamuri’s elaborate plot moves smoothly through all the intricacies with powerful and persuasive details that hold the reader captive in this riveting thriller.

Reviewed by Maya Fleischmann for IndieReader