THRESHOLD by Kevin Barry O’Connor is an action thriller where a group of patriotic avengers foil plans by white supremacists to assassinate the vice president during a major public event in Philadelphia. O’Connor is an adept storyteller and keeps the action moving, bouncing between heroes Key Murphy, his girlfriend, Arin, buddy Buck, and talented loose cannon newcomer Cat. Cat and Key both have a “memory gene,” allowing them to access their ancestors’ memories. Cat’s memory flashes are the main focus of THRESHOLD, following famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass on a historic trip to Ireland and England. O’Connor weaves history and fiction together into a flawless tapestry.
Some might label THRESHOLD “woke” adventure fiction. The villains are homegrown hate groups who attempt to steal elections and march on the Capital Building. Key and his crew are conscientious, but they’re not afraid to break bones and let the lead fly when necessary. The story focuses on procedures and planning and gathering information and making sure the right people are in place to prevent disaster. This gets tricky as new information flows in fast and furious, including tidbits of ancestral memory. The author does an excellent job ratcheting up the tension as the big event in Philadelphia draws near. Chapters alternate between deep dives into character motivations and brief asides with behind-the-scenes bad guys. There is an excellent cultural blend in THRESHOLD. Key is deeply steeped in Irish history, while Arin has a Jamaican heritage. Their love seems genuine and gives the story a strong backbone. People of all ethnicities and backgrounds come together to fight a common enemy. If that’s woke, then it works.
THRESHOLD feels like a good Tom Cruise thriller and shares the same literary DNA as Clive Cussler’s thrillers and Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.” The action is a bit predictable — Key and Co. save the day as expected — but the story is still exhilarating due to O’Connor’s unique mix of history and keen-eyed character development.
Kevin Barry O’Connor’s THRESHOLD is a taut thriller with high stakes, clear-cut characters, and mounting tension which together create a fun read.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader