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!
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