Sunday, September 4, 2011

The Watchman of Ephraim - Gerard de Marigny - Blog Tour Review

Cris De Niro worked his way up to the top of the hedge fund world. Yet, all of his money couldn't protect him from losing his wife on 9/11. 10 years passed since the tragedy. De Niro and his sons relocated to a sprawling ranch near Las Vegas. Turning to his faith to overcome his anguish, De Niro now lives for a higher purpose. From a biblical passage, he reads about the "Watchman of Ephraim," a defender who kept watch over the land. De Niro decides to acquire a lackluster counter-terrorism agency in order to transform it into a modern-day version of The Watchman for the United States but there's not a moment to lose.
Partial synopsis taken from goodreads

Title: The Watchman of Ephraim
Genre: Adult Fiction, Suspense, Inspirational Fiction
Publisher: JarRyJorNo Publishing
Publication Date: January 21, 2011
Format: E-book
Source: Received from author. Many thanks goes to Gerard de Marigny for sending me a copy of his book for review. I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. 
My rating: 3.5/5

Cris de Niro had everything. A beautiful wife, two young sons, with a third child on the way. Then, in one moment, tragedy struck, and the world would never be the same again. When the towers fell, taking the life of his wife, Lisa, and their unborn child, Cris was left bereft, lost in a sea of emotions. With despair setting in, Cris turned to the Bible for comfort and sustenance. Now, ten years later, Cris is starting up an agency to watch out for terrorism, to make sure another terrorist attack never happens on U.S. soil again. 
With the ten year anniversary of 9/11 fast approaching, Cris is left with a growing sense of urgency. He forms a business that is on the lookout for terrorism within the United States borders. What he doesn't realize, is how quickly he will stumble upon a plot meant to extrapolate and incapacitate those on the anniversary of 9/11. 
With topics taken straight from the headlines, and our worst fears, de Marigny takes us on a wild ride as we follow Cris, and his compatriots on their search for any terrorist plots. When their worst fears are realized, we are right there with them, trying to figure out just what is going to happen next, and who will end up the victor. 
There are a slew of characters in The Watchman of Ephraim, and at times it was hard to differentiate between them as some of them seemed to have the same voice, however they are united in their goal to keep America safe. The structure of The Watchman of Ephraim is sound, and it has great bones. I just wanted the story fleshed out a little bit more. Also, with a little tightening up, this read could be an excellent one.There is a lot of technical jargon in association with different weapons, and military terms, and definitions are given in the back of the book which helps the non-military reader.
All in all, this is a heartbreaking subject to write about, and de Marigny writes with dignity and grace, while keeping in mind the grief of those who lost someone on that fateful day. I rooted for Cris to come out on top, and hoped that he would achieve the goals he set for himself, and those around him. I am definitely interested in seeing what happens next for Cris and his new agency.

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