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A review by zare_i
The Names of the Dead by Kevin Wignall
4.0
Our protagonist - Wes - is CIA officer serving jail time in the International War Crime jail. Reason is simple - after one of the actions Wes conducted in the Middle East goes south and well known public persons get killed in process CIA abandons him and lets international public and police try him for war crimes and finally put him in jail.
Book starts with the bang - number of civilians ends up dead in Spain after terrorists execute the bomb attack. This would not worry Wes that much if it weren't the fact that his ex wife ends up dead. And considering that she is also a spy everything looks more and more as an intentional assassination attempt with huge collateral damage. So Wes starts the search and soon finds out.
As is always case with Kevin Wignall protagonists is sort-of-a-anti-hero. He has a special set of skills and these were learned while doing unpopular things to people pointed to him by the government (that is now actively seeking to kill him).
Story is a page-turner, lots of action from Spain to USA and as story progresses it becomes obvious that reason for both Wes incarceration and his wife's death is nothing dramatic but just bureaucrats with guns deciding to do a clean up.
Only thing that seems a little bit deus-ex-machina-like is Wes' connection to the weird, socially awkward daughter of one of the other war-criminals serving time in the same jail with Wes. I know weird things can happen and some people act much differently than the others but this connection that grew in a couple of pages to a friendship was very very strange. But with this Wes ends up with a capable and fearless companion that proves invaluable in solving the puzzle.
All in all good story, excellent thriller. Only if it weren't for this weird "companion" thingy.
Book starts with the bang - number of civilians ends up dead in Spain after terrorists execute the bomb attack. This would not worry Wes that much if it weren't the fact that his ex wife ends up dead. And considering that she is also a spy everything looks more and more as an intentional assassination attempt with huge collateral damage. So Wes starts the search and soon finds out
Spoiler
that his own son (he knew nothing about) was traveling with his ex fiance when she was killed - so search for his wife's killers becomes a desperate search to find his sonAs is always case with Kevin Wignall protagonists is sort-of-a-anti-hero. He has a special set of skills and these were learned while doing unpopular things to people pointed to him by the government (that is now actively seeking to kill him).
Story is a page-turner, lots of action from Spain to USA and as story progresses it becomes obvious that reason for both Wes incarceration and his wife's death is nothing dramatic but just bureaucrats with guns deciding to do a clean up.
Only thing that seems a little bit deus-ex-machina-like is Wes' connection to the weird, socially awkward daughter of one of the other war-criminals serving time in the same jail with Wes. I know weird things can happen and some people act much differently than the others but this connection that grew in a couple of pages to a friendship was very very strange. But with this Wes ends up with a capable and fearless companion that proves invaluable in solving the puzzle.
All in all good story, excellent thriller. Only if it weren't for this weird "companion" thingy.