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Formats
Paperback Book Details
  • 03/2021
  • 9781733389761 B08YZ1W8KW
  • 320 pages
  • $15.95
Ebook Details
  • 03/2021
  • 978-1-7333897-7-8 B08YZ1W8KW
  • 318 pages
  • $4.99
Hardcover Details
  • 03/2021
  • 978-1-7333897-8-5 B08YZ1W8KW
  • 234 pages
  • $23.95
Melody Saleh
Author
The Job: Keep your enemies close and your target closer.
M.E. Saleh, author
Rules were broken—Sam had no choice but to leave the organization. Walter’s dying wish is for Sam to come out of retirement for one last job. Trained in martial arts with the patience of a sniper and underground connections, Sam must ruin Andrew Donovan and take away everything and everyone he holds dear, including his wife, Dr. Leigh Harris. Dr. Harris races the clock to release her groundbreaking cancer treatment to save millions of lives. However, when the setbacks shift from unfortunate accidents to targeted misfortune, the one to save becomes herself. Surrounded by an inner circle of people with secrets of their own, who can she trust? Everyone has a role—a job. Protect, assist, love . . . but who’s getting paid to kill? Ultimately, who will suffer in M.E. Saleh’s fast-paced, suspenseful thriller? Just when you think you have it all figured out . . .
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 9 out of 10
Prose: 8 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 8.50 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot: This story is fast-paced, very detailed, and packed with action. Saleh offers a fine blend of science and mystery to deliver an entertaining and smart narrative. The resolution is somewhat rushed, but this will only make readers eager for future installments. 

Prose/Style: Saleh's writing style is clear, immediate, and cinematic. Readers will feel immediately immersed in the events as they unfold.

Originality: This story's science elements allow the work to stand apart. Though Leigh falling for one of her bodyguards is not surprising, the romantic choice she ultimately makes offers an intriguing twist.

Character Development/Execution: The characters are consistent throughout the story, and are provided with backstories that provide them depth and dimension. 

Date Submitted: June 08, 2021

Reviews
Saleh (Facade) gracefully moves from contemporary romances to thrillers with her first in the genre, an appropriately high-octane tale that will reel readers in from the first page. Florida-based cancer research physician Leigh Harris is on the cusp of curing the deadly disease—and judging from the continuing attempts on her life, someone with power wants to prevent her from doing so. Or do they? And all signs seem to suggest that her businessman husband Andrew Donovan (if that’s really his name) isn’t who he says he is. Although Leigh is surrounded by a security detail—including her former SEAL brother—it’s tough to know who to trust, and if she trusts the wrong person, her life, as well as the lives of her family and millions of future cancer patients, could be on the line.

Saleh skillfully mines that fruitful “who can you trust?” hook from beginning to end, dazzling readers with twists, turns, and an ending they won’t see coming. Along the way, she creates a heroine worth rooting for and a host of supporting characters in various shades of gray, a nod to the fact that few people are completely perfect or completely evil (especially Andrew and Sam, the hired assassin.) By depicting these shades, and crafting full characters rather than stock types, Saleh makes readers truly care what happens to her cast.

Saleh also proves adept at keeping the red herrings coming, which keep the story engaging and surprising until the last page. A few editing clunkers distract, as do the uninspired scene-setting photographs that open each chapter, but the author’s deft plotting, perfect pacing, and shrewd sense of people will help readers overlook those issues. Readers who love thrillers will devour Saleh’s irresistible, multi-layered tale and hope for more—which the author seems to tease in her afterword.

Takeaway: Saleh’s initial foray into thrillers will delight readers who enjoy suspenseful, twisty stories.

Great for fans of: Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, Gillian Flynn.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: C+
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A

Formats
Paperback Book Details
  • 03/2021
  • 9781733389761 B08YZ1W8KW
  • 320 pages
  • $15.95
Ebook Details
  • 03/2021
  • 978-1-7333897-7-8 B08YZ1W8KW
  • 318 pages
  • $4.99
Hardcover Details
  • 03/2021
  • 978-1-7333897-8-5 B08YZ1W8KW
  • 234 pages
  • $23.95
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