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A review by jennifer_c_s
Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland
3.0
‘What if he’s not who she thinks he is? How well does she really know him?
Stephanie Maddox is the head of the FBI’s Internal Investigations Division in the Washington, D.C. office. It’s a busy and demanding position, and Stephanie works long hours. She’s also the single mother of seventeen-year-old Zachary who has become distant and uncommunicative. Stephanie thinks this is a consequence of his age and her long hours and resolves to do something about it. Imagine how Stephanie feels when she discovers a gun hidden in Zachary’s room. Her Zachary, a good student, who is awaiting college acceptance letters? And then, an FBI agent from the domestic terrorism squad shows up: ‘It’s about Zachary …’. Stephanie learns that apparently Zachary has been emailing a domestic terrorist group.
Stephanie is conflicted. Can she protect Zachary? Surely, he is not involved in terrorism?
I read this book in a day, wanting to know how it would end and what choices Stephanie would make. Stephanie is convinced that someone from her past (could it be Zachary’s father (an influential Senator), or a disgruntled FBI agent who lost his job because of her, or a mob boss) trying to get at Stephanie through Zachary?
The more Stephanie investigates, the less she seems able to distinguish between right and wrong. While I appreciate the dilemma Stephanie finds herself in, some of the choices she makes left me gobsmacked. A couple of aspects of the story (although I can’t tell you what they are without spoilers) didn’t work for me.
My conclusion? This is a fast-moving story which, while it mostly held my attention, had me questioning its believability. Surely a good FBI agent would have paid more attention to detail than Stephanie did?
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Stephanie Maddox is the head of the FBI’s Internal Investigations Division in the Washington, D.C. office. It’s a busy and demanding position, and Stephanie works long hours. She’s also the single mother of seventeen-year-old Zachary who has become distant and uncommunicative. Stephanie thinks this is a consequence of his age and her long hours and resolves to do something about it. Imagine how Stephanie feels when she discovers a gun hidden in Zachary’s room. Her Zachary, a good student, who is awaiting college acceptance letters? And then, an FBI agent from the domestic terrorism squad shows up: ‘It’s about Zachary …’. Stephanie learns that apparently Zachary has been emailing a domestic terrorist group.
Stephanie is conflicted. Can she protect Zachary? Surely, he is not involved in terrorism?
I read this book in a day, wanting to know how it would end and what choices Stephanie would make. Stephanie is convinced that someone from her past (could it be Zachary’s father (an influential Senator), or a disgruntled FBI agent who lost his job because of her, or a mob boss) trying to get at Stephanie through Zachary?
The more Stephanie investigates, the less she seems able to distinguish between right and wrong. While I appreciate the dilemma Stephanie finds herself in, some of the choices she makes left me gobsmacked. A couple of aspects of the story (although I can’t tell you what they are without spoilers) didn’t work for me.
My conclusion? This is a fast-moving story which, while it mostly held my attention, had me questioning its believability. Surely a good FBI agent would have paid more attention to detail than Stephanie did?
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith