CarlAlves

Guardian of Lies has what is at times a bit of a convoluted tale with many elements that are hard to swallow, yet at the same time can be compelling and gripping. The story centers around Katia, a woman from Costa Rica who, although not abducted, is being held almost like a prisoner by the exceedingly polite former spy master Emerson Pike. Pike has an obsession with a series of photographs of Pike's mother, which leads to an old Cold War Russian, who is now working with the Castro regime and Middle Eastern terrorists. It gets a bit hard to follow, which is part of the problem with this novel.

After Pike is murdered, Katia turns to attorney Paul Madriani, after a chance meeting. Madriani is determined to help Katia, and in the process uncovers much of the mystery behind this novel. The novel works at a fast pace, and makes the reader wan to continue reading, but much of the time is hard to follow. The characters aren't terribly compelling. The villainous characters aren't remotely believable and often times hard to take seriously. There's enough in this novel that makes it worth reading, but not enough that I would highly recommend it.

Carl Alves - author of Blood Street