Review of Devil Among Us
Posted: 17 Oct 2023, 15:30
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Devil Among Us" by Jack Winnick.]
With the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, Devil Among Us by Jack Winnick is topical.
On Yom Kippur, the Jews in Brooklyn attended the services at their synagogue. There was a massive security presence around the place of worship due to safety concerns. However, despite this presence, an explosion erupted from within the building. The impact of the explosion killed and injured a majority of the congregation. Who could have committed such an act?
Lara Edmond is part of the Joint Terrorism Taskforce brought in to investigate along with Uri Levin, a Mossad agent she has worked with previously. Will they uncover who is responsible and prevent any further catastrophes?
Jack Winnick is an expert at the opening catastrophe to capture the reader’s attention. He can create the feel of the horror of the situation yet stay shy of directly describing anything too gruesome or graphic. He uses the descriptions of people’s reactions at the scene to convey the severest aspects, which I think is a clever approach.
I was extremely excited to read this book after recognising the series as book of the day so often. However, I was disappointed with many aspects of the book. I perceived several things to be confusing. Firstly, I was frequently confused about who was speaking or who should have been speaking. In Chapter 13, Uri outlines the movements of the opposition. Then Uri asks a question about his original statement, which Shimon should have posed. Secondly, I found it hard to keep track of the “bad guys”. There were many characters from various nations. I struggled to comprehend when the story moved between countries and organisations with only reference to the character names. The use of subheadings for locations could have helped with this. Thirdly, I struggled with when the events all took place. There were instances where the story backtracked to share historical discussions or activities before returning to the present. Again, the use of subheadings could have helped clarify for the reader and keep the reader immersed in the atmosphere of the story. Further, additional clarification of the timing and location may have helped the author avoid inconsistencies in the timing of events.
I was disappointed in the general editing and formatting of the book. I identified many grammatical and typographical errors. In addition, there were formatting issues relating to line spacing between and within paragraphs. Further, the level of repetition throughout the book requires another round of professional editing. I could identify phrases the author wanted to use but had moved around during the editing process, which resulted in unnecessary repetition. For example, in Chapter 30, following an air battle, Shachar saw the parachutes of the survivors. Shachar described these survivors as the lucky ones but identified they would be prisoners upon landing. Shachar repeated this thought following a second air battle in the same chapter.
Based on the points outlined, I can only rate this book three out of five stars. I enjoyed the story, and the plot came together at the end. However, the confusion and editing required did not permit a higher score.
I recommend this book to lovers of terrorist-driven thrillers. There was some profanity and references to intimate scenes, which should be a caution for potential younger readers.
******
Devil Among Us
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
With the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, Devil Among Us by Jack Winnick is topical.
On Yom Kippur, the Jews in Brooklyn attended the services at their synagogue. There was a massive security presence around the place of worship due to safety concerns. However, despite this presence, an explosion erupted from within the building. The impact of the explosion killed and injured a majority of the congregation. Who could have committed such an act?
Lara Edmond is part of the Joint Terrorism Taskforce brought in to investigate along with Uri Levin, a Mossad agent she has worked with previously. Will they uncover who is responsible and prevent any further catastrophes?
Jack Winnick is an expert at the opening catastrophe to capture the reader’s attention. He can create the feel of the horror of the situation yet stay shy of directly describing anything too gruesome or graphic. He uses the descriptions of people’s reactions at the scene to convey the severest aspects, which I think is a clever approach.
I was extremely excited to read this book after recognising the series as book of the day so often. However, I was disappointed with many aspects of the book. I perceived several things to be confusing. Firstly, I was frequently confused about who was speaking or who should have been speaking. In Chapter 13, Uri outlines the movements of the opposition. Then Uri asks a question about his original statement, which Shimon should have posed. Secondly, I found it hard to keep track of the “bad guys”. There were many characters from various nations. I struggled to comprehend when the story moved between countries and organisations with only reference to the character names. The use of subheadings for locations could have helped with this. Thirdly, I struggled with when the events all took place. There were instances where the story backtracked to share historical discussions or activities before returning to the present. Again, the use of subheadings could have helped clarify for the reader and keep the reader immersed in the atmosphere of the story. Further, additional clarification of the timing and location may have helped the author avoid inconsistencies in the timing of events.
I was disappointed in the general editing and formatting of the book. I identified many grammatical and typographical errors. In addition, there were formatting issues relating to line spacing between and within paragraphs. Further, the level of repetition throughout the book requires another round of professional editing. I could identify phrases the author wanted to use but had moved around during the editing process, which resulted in unnecessary repetition. For example, in Chapter 30, following an air battle, Shachar saw the parachutes of the survivors. Shachar described these survivors as the lucky ones but identified they would be prisoners upon landing. Shachar repeated this thought following a second air battle in the same chapter.
Based on the points outlined, I can only rate this book three out of five stars. I enjoyed the story, and the plot came together at the end. However, the confusion and editing required did not permit a higher score.
I recommend this book to lovers of terrorist-driven thrillers. There was some profanity and references to intimate scenes, which should be a caution for potential younger readers.
******
Devil Among Us
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I haven't gotten to this one yet, but it's on my ever-growing list! I've enjoyed a couple of Jack Winnick's books and I've appreciated them immensely so I'm dying to know why this one didn't get a super high rating! Oh nooooo - I'm disappointed to hear that there were so many issues with this book, especially since I did not encounter these in some of his other books that I've read 
I wonder if they were edited by different people?! I might still read this one, for the plot, but I'll keep your thoughts in mind while I'm reading. Thanks for your honest evaluation of this one, as always - a pleasure to read!