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THE DEAL: ABOUT FACE
by Adam Gittlin
Oceanview, March 2014
376 pages
$26.95
ISBN: 1608091074


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

THE DEAL: ABOUT FACE is the sequel to 2008's THE DEAL, and the second in a planned trilogy. This installment of Jonah Gray's quest to clear his name in his father's death, solve the mystery of missing Faberge eggs, and get revenge on his estranged half-brother picks up several years after the events of the first book, which led to Jonah fleeing the United States as a wanted man. Like the first book, it gets off to a slow start, but then becomes a well-written thriller.

The history of the missing Fabergé eggs is fascinating, and not a story I'd ever read anywhere else before. This plotline captured my attention and made me want to know a lot more. Something else I enjoyed was that the author has an excellent attention to detail which makes the book really come to life. And, Jonah Gray is a likeable guy so the reader will be rooting for him to succeed. Plus, there are some great twists along the way, especially at the end. Finally, this book is less bogged down by the endless trivia of corporate real estate in New York City that dominated the first book. So, overall the book is well done. However, it does have problems.

First, there is a lack of clarity. Clearly a lot has happened in the several years that Jonah has been on the run, and the author wants to tell us everything, but he doesn't tell us anything in a clear, concise manner. Instead, it all is given to us piecemeal throughout the book. And waiting for the answers causes confusion and is distracting. For example, in the beginning of the book we learn that Jonah's long-time girlfriend, who fled with him into hiding at the end of the previous book, is no longer with him. But he's vague about whether she left, or was kidnapped. What happened? Why? And why did he wait two years to go look for her? We get these answers by the every end of the book, but we have to be very patient.

The other problem is a lack of focus. In the first book the mystery of the Fabergé eggs and Jonah's father's death were the result of the real estate deal Jonah was working on, which was the main plot point for much of the book. Now there are so many plot threads it's hard to focus on any one of them. Jonah's deal in New York. Jonah searching for his girlfriend. Jonah being on the run. His continued investigation into the Fabergé eggs. His desire for revenge on the people who killed his father. It was just too much to keep track of. Also, there are also so many layers of various deals and players, which the author explains as they appear. But those continuous small explanations get in the way of moving the story forward on any of the major storylines. The lack of focus on any primary storyline led to a slow start for the book, and kept the tension from truly taking off ever. And it made the book uneven. The last third is much better than the first two-thirds because finally all the foundation had been laid and Jonah could really get going.

I'm not saying I didn't like the book, because overall I did. I just wanted it to be better. There's a lot here that could have made for a great thriller. So, even though I liked the book, and will probably read the final installment of the trilogy to see how it all ends, the author had a hard time digging out from under all the plot threads and confusion to make the book a compelling read that will truly suck an audience in and give them the thrill-ride that's promised.

§ Paris Abell is blogger and writer who works as a lawyer in New York City.

Reviewed by Paris Abell, December 2013

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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