Review of Disappearance
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Amanda Brouillette Gladden
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Review of Disappearance
[Following is a volunteer review of "Disappearance" by Julien Ayotte.]
Harry Esten, a recently retired FBI agent, gets a surprise visit from his old partner, Sean Connors. Although it would have been nice if Harry had received a casual social visit, this couldn’t have been further from it. Sean had to deliver a message that a person Harry had put in WITSEC (the United States Federal Witness Protection Program) was killed twenty-five years after being placed in protection. With over 8,500 people in WITSEC, there has never once been an instance of a protected witness being found. Sean asked Harry to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with an old friend, U.S. Marshal Paul O’Malley. While talking, Harry wanted to believe that Larry Beneducci, aka Lucky Larry, was a random killing and had nothing to do with the witness protection program. Paul informed him that he would like to believe it was random, but another witness, Fred Simpson, was found dead the night before. In two and a half decades, not one incident was recorded, but now there were two deaths in a week’s time. Shortly after Harry returns home, there is a third witness now in immediate danger. Harry knows that having three witnesses, none of whom have anything to do with each other, is a mere coincidence. But how and why are the victims being found and targeted? Is there a leak within the U.S. Marshals office? Did a list of names accidentally get released? Or, worse, stolen?
Through the captivating, page-turning novel Disappearance, Julien Ayotte takes the reader on a journey on how three witnesses, who do not know each other, have nothing in common, and do not even live in the same state, suddenly become victims when they are supposed to be leading new, safe lives. Disappearance by Julien Ayotte is a crime mystery novel about a breach within WITSEC. Very few people were entrusted with knowing who was in WITSEC, why, or their whereabouts. The only people who know the whereabouts of anybody in the witness protection program are the individual agents assigned to watch over the witnesses and Paul O’Malley. Paul has a complete list of all witnesses and access to the WITSEC database. Paul contacts Sean Connors, asking him to set up a meeting with Sean’s former partner, retired FBI agent Harry Esten, because the first victim happened to be a witness that Harry had placed in WITSEC for his testimony against two mobsters for murder and extortion. Harry, refusing to come out of retirement, agrees to help as long as he can do it from the comfort of his own home.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars for many reasons. First, I could not put this book down. It caught my attention from the first chapter. The details were fantastic. There were no extra details, or fill-ins that were not needed. Second, the characters were not only well-thought-out, but they were executed. Each character maintains their individual personality, whether it be in dialogue or setting. Third, the storyline was captivating and held my attention until the very last page. I wanted to keep reading, even though the ending was perfect.
There is nothing I would change about this book. I would recommend this book to mature readers who enjoy crime novels with mystery and suspense. There are a few areas that have profanity; however, the language is kept to a minimum and used in dialogue to maintain character personalities.
******
Disappearance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Harry Esten, a recently retired FBI agent, gets a surprise visit from his old partner, Sean Connors. Although it would have been nice if Harry had received a casual social visit, this couldn’t have been further from it. Sean had to deliver a message that a person Harry had put in WITSEC (the United States Federal Witness Protection Program) was killed twenty-five years after being placed in protection. With over 8,500 people in WITSEC, there has never once been an instance of a protected witness being found. Sean asked Harry to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with an old friend, U.S. Marshal Paul O’Malley. While talking, Harry wanted to believe that Larry Beneducci, aka Lucky Larry, was a random killing and had nothing to do with the witness protection program. Paul informed him that he would like to believe it was random, but another witness, Fred Simpson, was found dead the night before. In two and a half decades, not one incident was recorded, but now there were two deaths in a week’s time. Shortly after Harry returns home, there is a third witness now in immediate danger. Harry knows that having three witnesses, none of whom have anything to do with each other, is a mere coincidence. But how and why are the victims being found and targeted? Is there a leak within the U.S. Marshals office? Did a list of names accidentally get released? Or, worse, stolen?
Through the captivating, page-turning novel Disappearance, Julien Ayotte takes the reader on a journey on how three witnesses, who do not know each other, have nothing in common, and do not even live in the same state, suddenly become victims when they are supposed to be leading new, safe lives. Disappearance by Julien Ayotte is a crime mystery novel about a breach within WITSEC. Very few people were entrusted with knowing who was in WITSEC, why, or their whereabouts. The only people who know the whereabouts of anybody in the witness protection program are the individual agents assigned to watch over the witnesses and Paul O’Malley. Paul has a complete list of all witnesses and access to the WITSEC database. Paul contacts Sean Connors, asking him to set up a meeting with Sean’s former partner, retired FBI agent Harry Esten, because the first victim happened to be a witness that Harry had placed in WITSEC for his testimony against two mobsters for murder and extortion. Harry, refusing to come out of retirement, agrees to help as long as he can do it from the comfort of his own home.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars for many reasons. First, I could not put this book down. It caught my attention from the first chapter. The details were fantastic. There were no extra details, or fill-ins that were not needed. Second, the characters were not only well-thought-out, but they were executed. Each character maintains their individual personality, whether it be in dialogue or setting. Third, the storyline was captivating and held my attention until the very last page. I wanted to keep reading, even though the ending was perfect.
There is nothing I would change about this book. I would recommend this book to mature readers who enjoy crime novels with mystery and suspense. There are a few areas that have profanity; however, the language is kept to a minimum and used in dialogue to maintain character personalities.
******
Disappearance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
