Review by bgray -- Escape by Belle Ami

[bgray]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Escape" by Belle Ami.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Escape by Belle Ami

While on holiday in Dubai, Harvard students Layla and her boyfriend Zamir are kidnapped.

Cyrus lives a double life as the assistant to the Director of The Islamic Republican Nuclear Watchdog, who is in partnership with Russia and Iran, and a spy working for Israel so he can delay the advancement of Iran’s nuclear weapons. He is given the mission to rescue Layla and see her safely to Israel, which means immediately rescuing her from a prison where the women usually don’t survive and that Cyrus’ cover is blown, adding another set of dangers.

After her rescue, Layla discovers that Zamir’s father paid his ransom and they left the country without any thought as to her whereabouts. Not only has Layla been betrayed by her boyfriend, she is now alone in a country where she knows no one. She must put her trust in Cyrus to help her reach safety.

All countries involved work quickly to find out if Layla would be a good bargaining chip for their own causes as her father, a nuclear physicist, would be a valuable addition to their nuclear weapons building.

The story didn’t start in the middle of the action like some popular thrillers or mysteries. There was just enough background given on the characters and situation to lead into the main events but not too much that the story took forever to get started. It was a little difficult for me, at first, to keep track of the political affiliations in the story. However, I enjoyed learning about the political history of Iran and Israel. I also enjoyed the suspenseful and romantic story line.

The characters Belle Ami created characters that are feel very real and fit nicely into our present time. They have a constant banter that relieves the tension of their situation. Obviously, not all of the characters were likable, but that’s what made them so real. Layla is my favorite character because she is strong, intuitive, and witty. Beyond the characters, the writing flowed throughout the story.

Something to note is that it’s one of those stories where the narrator jumps from one group of characters in one chapter to another group of characters in the next chapter. Even though it’s written this way, it doesn’t seem choppy or disrupt the flow of the story line. I don’t mind that kind of writing, but it’s not my favorite. Because it jumped between characters and their situations depending on which chapter you are in, it’s neither a page-turner nor slow. But I liked that. I could put Layla and Cyrus with their dangerous situation on hold while I read about the politics going on in another chapter, but then return to Layla and Cyrus right where I left them.

Overall, the story line puts you on hold with the characters while you read about the politics going on while the characters are on the run. It was an enjoyable and easy read, but not so easy that it was boring. I would read something by Belle Ami again. Everything was described in such a way that I didn’t have to fill in the gaps with my imagination. I could vividly see the setting and the characters. It was as if the scenes were alive and right in front of me. I also wasn’t distracted by typos or grammatical errors while I was reading.

My favorite part was the ending, which I will not give away. The one thing I didn’t like about the book was that there are a lot of graphic deaths. However, the story wouldn’t have been as believable without them.

I rate Escape 3 out of 4 stars. The rating is due to the rather graphic killings described throughout the story.

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Escape
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