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FAULT LINE
by Barry Eisler
Ballantine, March 2009
320 pages
$25.00
ISBN: 0345505085


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Barry Eisler is best known for his series featuring John Rain, an assassin with almost no equal. In his latest work, Eisler takes the standalone route and gives a story that is, not just an action thriller but a family drama as well, in this case, two estranged brothers who have let the past define them and who have taken them in opposite directions in life. Alex Treven is climbing the corporate ladder working as a lawyer in a Silicon Valley high-tech firm; Ben Treven is an elite undercover soldier paid to kill potential terrorists who threaten United States interests. Ben is the man who doesn't exist, the one who does all the dirty work, but gets none of the glory.

The brothers became estranged after a family incident and haven't spoken since, which led them both to separate lives. What brings them together is an encryption program named Obsidian. Alex was working with its creator to get it patented and ready for operation. It was supposed to be a coup for Alex and for the law firm, until someone started targeting everyone involved with the project. Now, in an act of desperation, Alex contacts his brother in a last ditch effort to save his life. Before long both find themselves targets of a murderous plot.

Readers looking for a taut action thriller may be disappointed with this latest offering from Barry Eisler. Obsidian is just like Hitchcock's MacGuffin– a device. Its only purpose is to force the brothers to confront their past and make an effort to reach reconciliation. Once everything is revealed regarding Obsidian, the action becomes anticlimactic since it was not the main focus of the story. The characters are well thought out, but there is too much drama, so much that we may want to scream, "Enough already!" FAULT LINE is very much like a testosterone-filled Lifetime Channel movie of the week.

Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, March 2009

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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