November 17, 2017

Programmed To Kill by David J. Murray




Programmed to Kill is an exciting and suspenseful thriller written by David J. Murray.

David Mainwaring is a retired teacher, a model citizen and a seemingly ordinary Vietnam veteran. Unbeknownst to other people including his own family, however, David is more than just ordinary and his feats in Vietnam as a member of the elite Special Forces Unit are unbelievably overwhelming. So, when an unscrupulous lawyer pays a group of hitmen to take David out and kidnap his family, the lawyer is ill-prepared for what he unleashes.        

David, together with his three other Vietnam Veteran friends who come to honor a pact they made years ago to assist when any of them or his family is in danger, retaliates with unimaginable intensity. Their slick maneuvers, however, are not lost on a dedicated police inspector, who is a Vietnam Veteran himself just like David and his friends.

Told in the third person perspective, this is an exciting book that will keep the readers on the edge of their seats in painful anticipation. While the readers would definitely root for David as he brings down the monsters who harm his family, the moral implications of his actions might give them conflicting emotions. The author successfully keeps the suspense at ultimate level until the last page of the book giving it one full blast of climactic ending.

Never deviating from the main plot, the author subtly supplies the back stories to justify the characters’ skills and finesse. Moreover, graphic descriptions of scenes make the readers feel more like watching a movie than reading a book. The author successfully creates admirable characters that it may be difficult for some readers to decide for a favorite. Though David is the most logical choice, I personally find it difficult to choose between Police Inspector Simmons and Alice Mainwaring.

What I like most about the book is the realistic take on a person’s thirst for revenge; the unleashing of the beast which I personally believe is inside everyone and the aching need to get back at the person who hurt him, see that person suffer and feel good about it. This book is the perfect depiction of ‘an eye for an eye’ which may sound unchristian but somehow liberating.        

However, I feel like the characters of David’s three veteran friends are less-developed than they should be considering that they are major players in the story. Moreover, there are so many noticeable errors within the entire book including misspelled words, missing or improperly placed punctuation marks, incorrect word usage and typos.  

Still, I enjoyed this book immensely and I recommend it to fans of suspense and thriller. Some scenes, of sex and violence, however, may not be suitable for young readers.

Congratulations to David J. Murray (@djyarrum1) on such a great book!

Programmed to Kill was an OnlineBookClub.org Book of Day on November 13th. You may check it out at Online Book Club.

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