Review of The Handler
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Leslie Kunde
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Review of The Handler
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Handler" by Jeffrey S. Stephens.]
The Handler has a plot line that will have you journeying into the harsh landscape of terrorist ideology and the tactics they use. In a world without easy answers and questions that hold life or death consequences, you tumble down the rabbit hole starting with the “Handler” only known by Mahdi. A handler is the person(s) in ISIS (or other groups) that assign targets to the recruits. The targets are picked to kill as many people as they can. The handler, in this case, is setting up not one, but three major attacks in the USA. In steps Nick Reagan. It is Nick’s job to stop the handler. Nick is an agent with an attitude. He joined the clandestine operation ranks of the agency after being battle-hardened in Afghanistan. Nick, along with Brian Kenny the DD of Clandestine operations and agent Erin David, are in a race against time. They must figure out what, if anything, connects the death of two men in Dearborn Michigan, a chip manufacturing plant in China, a Russian that was a friend of Putin, the disappearance of three American scientists in Pakistan, and a bombing at an open-air fashion show. What links all of these things together? Can they find the Handler? Can they stop the slaughter of hundreds if not thousands of innocent people? Who is this handler? What is his next target? Will they be in time?
Author Jeffrey S. Stephens certainly has a way with words. I like the quick pace of the plot. He gives the characters unique personalities along with enough background to feel you know them. Nick's sense of humor and the attitude he does his job with are great. The conversations are easy to follow, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps without excessive telling. The targets are believable and chilling. I like the way he makes the setup for the attacks seem real. (He does state in the back of the book that all security measures and the setup for the attacks are not real.) I also enjoyed the way he ended the book. It is open for a series, yet it can stand on its own.
There was little I did not like about this book. Once in a while I would have to back up and read the chapter heading to see where it had jumped to. The chapters sometimes switch from the Handler and his activities to the next chapter on Nick and his activities. This abrupt change at times felt disjointed. I guess my biggest complaint was.... I wish it were a longer book. It felt like I had just started reading, then boom, it was over!
The book is well edited. I did not find any mistakes. The plot and characters were spot-on. I give this one a well-deserved 4 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book for the thriller/ spy readers. A word of caution: this book is based on terrorist that follow the Muslim religion. The author does a nice job at the end of the book, explaining islamophobia and the dangers of it. Based on the islamophobia and violent content, I recommend this one for adults only.
******
The Handler
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Handler has a plot line that will have you journeying into the harsh landscape of terrorist ideology and the tactics they use. In a world without easy answers and questions that hold life or death consequences, you tumble down the rabbit hole starting with the “Handler” only known by Mahdi. A handler is the person(s) in ISIS (or other groups) that assign targets to the recruits. The targets are picked to kill as many people as they can. The handler, in this case, is setting up not one, but three major attacks in the USA. In steps Nick Reagan. It is Nick’s job to stop the handler. Nick is an agent with an attitude. He joined the clandestine operation ranks of the agency after being battle-hardened in Afghanistan. Nick, along with Brian Kenny the DD of Clandestine operations and agent Erin David, are in a race against time. They must figure out what, if anything, connects the death of two men in Dearborn Michigan, a chip manufacturing plant in China, a Russian that was a friend of Putin, the disappearance of three American scientists in Pakistan, and a bombing at an open-air fashion show. What links all of these things together? Can they find the Handler? Can they stop the slaughter of hundreds if not thousands of innocent people? Who is this handler? What is his next target? Will they be in time?
Author Jeffrey S. Stephens certainly has a way with words. I like the quick pace of the plot. He gives the characters unique personalities along with enough background to feel you know them. Nick's sense of humor and the attitude he does his job with are great. The conversations are easy to follow, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps without excessive telling. The targets are believable and chilling. I like the way he makes the setup for the attacks seem real. (He does state in the back of the book that all security measures and the setup for the attacks are not real.) I also enjoyed the way he ended the book. It is open for a series, yet it can stand on its own.
There was little I did not like about this book. Once in a while I would have to back up and read the chapter heading to see where it had jumped to. The chapters sometimes switch from the Handler and his activities to the next chapter on Nick and his activities. This abrupt change at times felt disjointed. I guess my biggest complaint was.... I wish it were a longer book. It felt like I had just started reading, then boom, it was over!
The book is well edited. I did not find any mistakes. The plot and characters were spot-on. I give this one a well-deserved 4 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book for the thriller/ spy readers. A word of caution: this book is based on terrorist that follow the Muslim religion. The author does a nice job at the end of the book, explaining islamophobia and the dangers of it. Based on the islamophobia and violent content, I recommend this one for adults only.
******
The Handler
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Truth and Evil by G. Edward Martin
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Daniel Banguwiha
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Exciting book. I would like to give much thanks to great review
