The following book review is a special provided for BlackFive readers by Elise Cooper. You can read all of our book reviews by clicking on the Books category on the far right side bar. Alan Jacobson’s in his latest book No Way Out takes his heroine Karen Vail to a new location, London England. It is a powerful reminder that the war on terror has not ended. Through an intense plot he explores many different issues, including enhanced interrogation and the gun culture in Great Britain. The plot has FBI profiler Karen Vail helping Scotland Yard and MI5 find the bomber of a prestigious London art gallery. The trail leads to a conspiracy involving Shakespeare. After reading an article by John Hudson, Jacobson formulated the idea to have this gallery display a manuscript that implies that the identity of Shakespeare was actually a black Jewish woman. He told BlackFive, “I decided to use it as the jumping off point for this story because it is so jaw dropping.” However, Vail with the help of an American operative, Hector DeSantos, finds that the bombing is possibly related to Islamic extremists. They become fugitives after being framed for murdering a prominent politician. Enhancing this riveting plot is a lot of technology including cameras that have face recognition ability. In writing the story he noted, “I had to maneuver around the technology. The police had the ability to track my characters so I had to come up with ways for them to avoid it. There are cameras everywhere in London, both government and private. I actually laughed when I heard about the Snowden revelations and the subsequent outcry. People need to understand how private companies have an awful lot of data on them.” A character in the book makes a statement, “Without people like me doing what we do a lot of innocent people would be blown up by terrorists.” He explained that he wanted to show there is no definite right and wrong when interrogating a terrorist. In the story the book has Vail wanting to do a police-type interrogation while DeSantos decides time is of the essence and must use enhanced interrogation to get actionable intelligence. The plotline has the reader understanding that circumstances such as what is at stake, what are the consequences, and who should perform it are all issues that must be considered. Another interesting issue is the difference in gun cultures between England and the US. There are many instances when Vail wishes for her Glock gun, commenting, “Mine’s like a third hand.” He has Vail, someone proficient in knowing how to fight overpowered by a large male figure, and at a distinct disadvantage. Jacobson hopes that in presenting these issues he showed that there are no black and white answers. No Way Out skillfully mixes international intrigue with important issues of the day. In the same spirit as Nelson DeMille and Daniel Silva he is able to create an interesting and creative plot.
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Posted
Sep 18 2013, 09:10 PM
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