Mark Morgan's life has been anything but easy. After escaping with his life from Peru and coming home to a harrowing divorce, he's willing to take just about any job that comes his way. Even if that means protecting visiting Germans from an alleged "angel of death" in 1939 Atlanta. With the help of local connections and the wisdom of beautiful editor Emma, Morgan attempts to operate under the law and make his payday—no matter what may be happening in the world at large. However, the deeper he gets into this too-good-to-be-true gig, the hairier it becomes. As he risks his life and his freedom, he must also contend with his own prejudices and misconceptions.
NEUTRALITY ACT: The Consulting Agent takes place right as World War II is threatening to kick off, and Jonathan M. Bryant does an amazing job of painting a picture of life in this window of time. The title reflects both the stance of the United States in 1939 regarding other nations and Morgan's own stance regarding the world around him. Reading the characters' words as they discuss the potential merits of racial purity is jarring, but it's meant to be. It can be easy to forget just how casually the rights of fellow humans were dismissed based on the idea that such things were "politics." Uniquely, Morgan is not a wise, enlightened exception to this rule just because he's the narrator. If anything, he gets himself into more trouble because of this unwillingness to dig deeper and take stances. Conversations with Emma, one of two women Morgan has his eye on, help to set him straight. The reader watches in real time as he reassesses the things he took for granted, which in a narrative like this can be a far more valuable lesson than simply following someone who gets it right all the time.
Tonally, NEUTRALITY ACT has the vibe of a noir. The gruff Morgan, not much of a looker and riddled with injuries (and collecting more as the book goes on), is a classic detective lead with a shady past. At odds for his heart are Emma and Anna, the latter of whom is a visiting German and sports literal movie-star looks. But can the beautiful Anna be trusted? For that matter, can anyone? The plot threads of this novel tangle together into a satisfying conclusion while setting the stage for the real-world conflict that is to come. For anyone looking for accessible historical narratives that still ring true to this day, NEUTRALITY ACT is a fantastic choice.
Jonathan M. Bryant's NEUTRALITY ACT: The Consulting Agent sheds new light on what it means to live in the midst of social change, with its narrator interrogating his own assumptions as the story proceeds. Well-crafted and striking, this novel is painfully relevant to the present day.
~ Kara Dennison for IndieReader