Review of Devil Among Us

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Chelsey Coles
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Review of Devil Among Us

Post by Chelsey Coles »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Devil Among Us" by Jack Winnick.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Devil Among Us by Jack Winnick is the second installment in the Lara and Uri Series. It can be read as a standalone even though it's not their first assignment together. They are investigating a synagogue in New York that blew up, killing men, women, and children alike. News reports say Jewish suicide bombers, but it's not confirmed. The explosion took place on the holiest Jewish day: Yom Kippur. If the bombers were followers of Judaism, why commit such an act on the most important holiday in their community? What type of group were they, and why would they do such a thing? Agents Edmond and Levin are going to get to the bottom of it!

Devil Among Us is an excellent read because it breaks conventional boundaries. There are themes including terrorism, hatred, political extremism, and corruption. Regardless, I've learned more about international cultures (outside the U.S.) than any negatives previously mentioned. Winnick provides the reader with an abundance of characters from diverse nationalities. He is a master of dialogue as well. For example, there's a man with a thick southern drawl that says, "can I help you" and it ends up hilariously sounding like:
"Kin ah hep ya?"
(page 70)
However, this diversity leads to one negative aspect of the book: the multitude of diverse characters is entertaining yet overwhelming. Devil Among Us has an intricate plot, so it is necessary to "follow" several different characters and perspectives. In my experience, it was hard to keep up with all of the names. Every time the reader is introduced to someone new, a lengthy description of their background and physical appearance follows. Though this is an insightful exposition for the plot, I had to read in small chunks to refresh my attention.

My rating is 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted one star because I found more than ten errors. Unfortunately, I do not think this book was professionally edited. Most errors were typos that will need another round of polishing to clear. It will also need reformatting for an enhanced Kindle experience. For example, some hyperlinks in the text redirect to the following page. I still enjoyed Devil Among Us and still recommend it. This novel is deserving of the other three stars because it is engrossing overall. Most political and historical facts are accurate, which is a good sign of thorough research.

Regarding restrictions and recommendations, Devil Among Us is not suitable for children, but there are no sexually explicit scenes. Profanity is present, as well as gory descriptions of mutilation. Potential readers, please do not let the theme of terrorism scare you away because all faiths are welcome to read this book and express their opinions. Politics and international relations are complicated, so I am confident that a diverse population will enjoy and understand this novel. Action-drama lovers will want to pick this up. Overall, the writing style makes it a page-turner, and I am looking forward to reading the third book!

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Devil Among Us
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Soraya Bayah
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Post by Soraya Bayah »

I was close to be driven away because of the involvement of politics and terrorism. I am not sure if I will ever read any of the books in this series, as it seems they always have a similar theme which I already said drives me away. Nonetheless, thank you for the great approach and comforting at the end of the review. I enjoyed the entirety of it.
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