Review of Balaclava

[Ams Strong]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Balaclava" by M. G. Field.]

---

5 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Dan Middleton's life seemed to have returned to normal since moving to a new town under a new identity (as J.R. Kincaid) with a new job and acquaintances. Two years ago, Dan left his hometown, fleeing from the estrangement and cloud of suspicion over his possible involvement in his wife's death, Sylvie Middleton. Although Dan had narrowly beat his murder charges in court, he lost custody of his daughter and never relented in proving his innocence. On an ordinary day, an unidentified individual clad in a balaclava approached Dan and informed him that he possessed compromising information about him. This incident marks the start of an intriguing extortion case against Dan, who, hitherto, thought the worst part of his life was behind him and had found love with his new girlfriend, Kateryna. For Dan, every acquaintance, family, and even his girlfriend is a suspect in this extortion investigation. Find out who was behind the balaclava in Balaclava by M. G. Field.
 
I love how suspenseful Dan’s investigation is. Dan’s constant second-guessing and the psychological toll it took on him were the most appealing parts of this book. Throughout his investigation into the identity of the extortionist, Dan ponders various psychological theories that could help him unmask the criminal. Every argument advanced by Dan regarding the culpability of one character or the other seemed valid, leaving Dan trusting only himself. Up until the last chapters of the book, it wasn’t quite obvious who the extortionist was, and this sustained my interest in reading more. Throughout Dan’s investigation, I learned more about his personality, such as his insecurities and relationship with his wife or girlfriend, brother, and family, which provide a crucial context on why some people might have wanted to hurt him or why he became the number one suspect in his wife’s murder. The only downside of this book, which didn’t bother me, is that the villains weren’t very challenging to the protagonist, and, as a result, there wasn’t enough action in this book as there could have been.
 
I rate this book five out of five stars because it was well-edited, had a suspenseful tale, intriguing characters, and contained a couple of shocking plot twists. This book contains many instances of profanity and moderate violent and sexual content. Although I wished there was slightly more action in this book, I enjoyed it nonetheless, and I still highly recommend it to readers of all religions.

******
Balaclava
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon