Betrayed

Rating:
Summary: A very competent thriller
Review: After a disappearance of almost thirty years, Roy Harper rings the doorbell of his brother, Jason. Roy was MIA during the Vietnam war and has not been seen since. Before Roy could tell Jason what happened, two crazed assassins come to the house threatening the lives of not only Roy and Jason but Jason's wife and child. This sets up a cat and mouse scenario where Jason's family must try to hide while Jason and Roy go on one final mission. The problem for Jason is that he has no idea what they must do.
Brendan DuBois writes a very competent thriller. Suspense is created and sustained by alternate POVs. Characters are reasonably well sketched but villains are stereotypic. The problem is the length. The book really could have been cut over 100 pages. The bottom line is a very entertaining thriller and worthy of a reader's attention.

Rating:
Summary: A very competent thriller
Review: After a disappearance of almost thirty years, Roy Harper rings the doorbell of his brother, Jason. Roy was MIA during the Vietnam war and has not been seen since. Before Roy could tell Jason what happened, two crazed assassins come to the house threatening the lives of not only Roy and Jason but Jason's wife and child. This sets up a cat and mouse scenario where Jason's family must try to hide while Jason and Roy go on one final mission. The problem for Jason is that he has no idea what they must do.
Brendan DuBois writes a very competent thriller. Suspense is created and sustained by alternate POVs. Characters are reasonably well sketched but villains are stereotypic. The problem is the length. The book really could have been cut over 100 pages. The bottom line is a very entertaining thriller and worthy of a reader's attention.

Rating:
Summary: Brendan Dubois Finest!
Review: I have read all of Brendan Dubois' novels and this stands out as his finest by a significant margin. Given that his other novels are also excellent, this should give you an idea how good this book is. This book has everything - fast paced action that never lets up, real, believable characters, a moving plot that leaves you pondering long after the book is read, and a fantastic end that has you guessing right up to the last page. I go through a novel each week. Most are forgettable. This one is not. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Brendan Dubois Finest!
Review: I have read all of Brendan Dubois' novels and this stands out as his finest by a significant margin. Given that his other novels are also excellent, this should give you an idea how good this book is. This book has everything - fast paced action that never lets up, real, believable characters, a moving plot that leaves you pondering long after the book is read, and a fantastic end that has you guessing right up to the last page. I go through a novel each week. Most are forgettable. This one is not. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I read a lot of novels and it's disappointing how few of them fall into the category of "couldn't put it down". Brendan Dubois' "Betrayed", however, was one of those few. Even though I've never been all that excited about reading stories with a Vietnam War theme, this one was different. The author's fictionalized version of what happened to the MIA's is compelling and heartrending, and escaped POW Harper's quest to win final freedom for himself and his remaining colleagues keeps the reader at the edge of his seat. DuBois keeps you guessing right till the end and the suspense never lets up. My only complaint is that the epilogue wasn't longer. If you like action and suspense, you'll like this novel.

Rating:
Summary: A great ride
Review: In 1972, the brass declared Air Force pilot Roy Harper missing in action when his B-52 plane went down in Nam. His parents and his younger brother Jason prayed that he would be freed during the 1973 Operation Homecoming, but Roy was not one of the fortunate soldiers returned to the Americans. Over the years, Roy's family lived around the hope that one day he would call.

Thirty years later, Roy's family believes he is dead and his remains will never be returned. Jason is married with a small son and manages Maine's Berwick Banner newspaper. One night, a straggly looking person visits Jason, claiming to be Roy, and proving his point with a personal reference to a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. That same evening, two mercenaries invade the Harper home with a mission to capture Roy and kill the witnesses. They survive, but the Harpers are targets of mercenaries whose employers need them dead before they reveal the secret behind what happened to the MIAs.

Left wing conspiracy buffs will appreciate BETRAYED, a tale that pulls no punches from the start and never slows down until the final left hook is thrown though the right wing will insist Doonsbury and clearly not Fox News wrote this novel. The story line focuses on how far the "in power" will go to keep dirty laundry buried even killing innocent people to assure interment of secrets. The apple pie Harper family comes across as feasible victims of a fiendish plot to hide the truth as Brendan DuBois makes it clear what he thinks of the DC crowd when it comes to betraying the people.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Strong Stand Alone Thriller: Betrayed by Brendan Dubois
Review: In his latest novel, which is a stand-alone thriller and a break from his very enjoyable Lewis Cole series, the author uses the legacy of Vietnam MIA's as a backdrop and theme for an incredible story. As in his series work, individuals within the U.S. Government who seek to profit off of others are once again the target of the author's wrath as well as the fact that the MIA issue remains unsolved due to sheer political greed.

In 1972 Roy Harper was shot down over North Vietnam. He survived the crash, was listed as Missing In Action, and thirty years later arrives home and on his brother's doorstep. His brother, Jason Harper is married with a young son and is a small town newspaper editor as well as co owner of the small paper with his wife, Patty. When his brother arrives in the middle of the night seeking his help, Jason lets him in against the wishes of his wife who isn't convinced that the scruffy man is really Roy.

By doing so, Jason unleashes a wave of terror on his family and friends. Roy is a target of a hit squad with instructions to kill him as well as anyone he goes to seeking help. There simply can't be any record of his astounding story or any witnesses left alive. Roy, Jason, and his family are soon on the run with a determined team in their wake. Assuming they can stay alive long enough, it will be one heck of a story about the past and corruption at the highest levels of American government. But they need proof and there is at least one witness who knows all that must be found first. Then there is the question of whether Roy is really Roy as he claims or someone at random that has drawn them into his nightmare.

It is extremely tempting to attempt to draw links between these fictional characters in this 372-page novel and certain high profile public officials in and out of government service. Certain hints are planted in regards to some of the characters and one gets the feeling that a majority if not all of this book is a thinly fictionalized veil over the truth. If so, the fact that the events depicted or something similar could happen is appalling and if it got out and was proven true, would shake the foundations of American Government far more than anything that has happened in the past.

If it is fiction and nothing more than fiction, the book is reduced to being just an incredible read. Full of complex characters, intrigue, plot twists and plenty of action, it also reminds this reviewer of early Robert Ludlum work. This novel certainly deserves the "Thriller" designation even though it is not marketed as such. As in his other books, Brendan Dubois once again writes an intense character driven novel that is a very good read.

Rating:
Summary: Great Thriller
Review: See book summary above.

Brendan DuBois should gain many new fans with this more than satisfying thriller. He takes a new angle on the MIA's of Vietnam and makes a very plausible thriller with it.
Fast-paced with vivid imagery, this novel will definitely satisfy all thriller readers. It is truly hard to put down.

Highly recommended.