Devil's Brew

Rating:
Summary: Watch out MacLean
Review: A gripping story without a moment of marking time. Well researched, entertaining and absolutely consuming. Written in the legacy of that master of suspense Alistair MacLean; Keith Spence has inherrited the magic.

Rating:
Summary: Devil's Brew
Review: As the author of two novels, I have to commend Keith Spence for "Devil's Brew". This action-packed thriller contains all the elements necessary to carry this genre and Spence hit it right on the head. David Jourbet, the larger than life hero who's riddled with personal issues, makes a great point-of-view character. "Devil's Brew" is filled with an interesting supporting cast: corrupt CIA officials, nasty villains, and a mysterious romantic interest, along with a surprise ending, making "Devil's Brew" an entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: Betrayal, intrigue, double-dealing and high-stakes action
Review: Devil's Brew is the debut novel of Keith Spence and presents the reader with a deadly thrill ride of a read. Devil's Brew is about a CIA agent facing a life sentence for murder - unless he helps them locate a missing operative, who happens to be the woman he loved but could not marry. Filled with twists and turns, betrayal, intrigue, double-dealing and high-stakes action, Devil's Brew is a compelling spy story that turns leisure reading into pure excitement!

Rating:
Summary: Action! Action!Action!
Review: I've known Keith Spence for 14 years, we were even neighbors, wow, just wow! I've read his pieces in the local paper, but didn't know this side of him! Keith grabs the reader by the jugular, beginning on page one. Devil's Brew is well researched and thought out and captures life in Eastern N.C. only the way a native could.
David Joubert is tough as nails, resourceful, a veritable "one man army", yet is a man of great ethics, also a man with a conscience. Hey, Keith, More Joubert!

Rating:
Summary: Spence did his homework
Review: Somehow, when I first met Keith Spence as a 16-year-old cub sportswriter in 1980, I never would have believed that two decades later this Kinston writer would create a covert operations novel so compelling that I'd have trouble putting it down.

But "Devil's Brew" is just such a novel and the exploits of David Jourbet, the book's lead character, kept me turning page after page. To say Jourbet is a remarkable personage is understatement to the nth degree.

Jourbet is not only a finely honed killing machine, but he seems to be familiar with all manner of biological warfare, terrorism and counter-terrorism, and even Satanism. Jourbet is a risk-taker, even though his body often suffers the pangs of ambitious conceit.

The novel, which was scheduled for release in October 2001, sets forth the story of a terrorist plot to destroy the lives of thousands of people by using a frighteningly enhanced strain of anthrax. As you can imagine, Shadow Line Press, the book's publisher, pushed back the release date after the 9-11 terrorist attacks against the United States.

But now you can accompany David Jourbet on his fight against terrorists in an attempt to rescue an old girlfriend and save a religious festival at Oceanview, North Carolina - a place that sounds an awful lot like Atlantic Beach to me.

As I read the book, I became increasingly impressed with Spence's research skills. Either Spence is a card-carrying member of the Wiccan Church or he did his homework. In one place he mentioned some Satanic holidays, so I checked them on the Internet. Spence was right on target. In another place, he talks about Anton LeVey's Satanic Bible. I knew enough of that subject to know what he wrote was accurate.

Remember the woman from the Centers for Disease Control that spoke to the nation about the anthrax scare? In doing research for his book, Spence interviewed her so that his treatment of anthrax would be accurate.

Mark Twain once said that one of the rules in the domain of romantic fiction is the author must make the reader care deeply about the main characters. Jourbet is a larger than life character in many ways, but Spence never allows him to become a stereotype of the white-hatted cowboy. Although Jourbet has a piercing intellect, a strong sense of patriotism and loyalty to his friends, and cat-like reflexes, he also can be bull-headed and single-minded. Jourbet is all too human, and his sense of justice drives him.

Another wonderful character is Reverend Masterson, the pastor of the church that sponsors the festival. Masterson is a man of faith whose trust in God sprouted in the bitterness of his life's misfortunes. Although truly pious, he does not offer mindless platitudes to his congregation - or to Jourbet.

Spence has supplied enough red herrings in this book to challenge and thwart the most accomplished reader of suspense stories. Just when I thought I had things figured out, Spence burst my expectation and sent my mind on a new quest to make sense of the clues.

The adult lover of spy stories should find "Devil's Brew" a page-turning delight.