Book Review: The Defector by Mark Chisnell

The Defector by Mark Chisnell

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Ebook, 267 pages 
Fiction, Suspense/Thriller
 ASIN: B004NBZE76

My Review:
The Defector is an intriguing book and while at times it felt really out there and scary as all get out, I could not quit turning the pages (or hitting the next page button on my Kindle in this case).

Martin Cormac is down on his luck and in a bar about to be beaten senseless when the book begins. Drunken and trying to run away from life, Martin stumbles into the one man who seems to save him, only to learn that this one man likes to play games and in the end these games mean life or death for Martin and for those around them.

The Defector is not for the squeamish.  It's gritty and it's violent, but it goes with what is going on.  It's definitely the underbelly of society in this book.  Martin has been greedy and that is how he lost the love of his life, Kate, but he finds her again.  The problem is he is already involved with Janac at this point and if Janac knows his weakness he will exploit it.  As the game continues and things heat up, the plot takes you on the chase of Martin's life.

I liked the book, it raises moral questions, it makes Martin question who he is and who he wants to be.  It has a really bad "bad guy" with Janac.  I mean he could be the devil himself.  This is not your typical book because of the raw grittiness of it.  But it works.  The plot definitely moves along, at times it was a little choppy, but the times it really flowed more than made up for the choppy times.  I found myself engaged in Martin's life and I cared whether he lived or died.

It's an interesting book with "The Prisoner's Dilemma" at the center.  I had never heard of this so it was interesting to learn about it.  It was also great to see that not everyone is completely self-centered like Janac seems to think they are.  Mr. Chisnell has written an intriguing book that had me engaged from beginning to end.

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

About the Book:
What will you do, when it's you or them?

This is the dilemma at the heart of The Defector - can Martin Cormac turn his back on his ruthless past as a dealer, a major city player, and do the right thing? Not when he's looking for answers in a succession of sleazy dives...

One night, Cormac gets caught trying to chat up the bar owner's girlfriend and soon needs rescuing. Unfortunately, his white knight is anything but - Janac's a big-time drug baron with a psychotic urge to test people to the limit, and if possible... over it.

And soon Cormac is running from more than his past, he's running from the most dangerous game he will ever play.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com): 
One place to start the story is when you get loose from school or college, when you suddenly realise you now have to make all those choices for yourself, rather than have them set by parents, teachers, the exam system, etc, etc... In my case, I chose to travel...
After a summer in a sports equipment factory, loading rugby posts onto lorries, I had a working holiday visa for Australia and the cash to buy a one-way ticket to Sydney. Along with the - less than concrete career plan - that I'd travel and then write a book about the experience.

Website
Facebook
Blog

FTC Information: I received this book from the author for an honest review.