A Grave Breach
James Macomber
Reviewed by Betty Gelean
As the story unfolds the reader is introduced to atrocities performed
over a span from WWII to the present, centering in particular around
Bosnia. With a sudden leap into the content of the story, as the
characters watch a horrific video of ethnic cleansing, I found myself
unsure whether I would be able to read it, but was surprised when
it grabbed my attention firmly. I think it is the duty of us all to
become informed,
preferably with the hope that there will someday be an end to crimes
against humanity. I found a lot of the content gave me an insight
and understanding of worldwide conflict, loss of freedom and what it
means, personal strengths and weaknesses, international law and
interpretation, and much more. The "Grave Breach" of course, refers to
the Geneva Protocols.
A Grave Breach is action-packed in a world-wide scenario from start to
finish. At first I found myself looking for continuity, as the story
jumped through several periods of time and place, but by the end these
threads did come together. Surprises abound, good can be bad and
vice-versa, and fighting for freedom and respect can make strange
bedfellows. The characters are fully formed and consistent. The story
itself remains strong throughout and unfortunately very believable.
The heroic force, if you will, is the law firm of Loring, Matsen, &
Gould, with the primary hero being John Cann. Cann is a partner who,
though an international lawyer, is basically a law unto himself, tough
and able to deal with eliminating threat, he shows his compassionate
side too. Throughout the book, several characters play heroic roles,
including the elderly Matsen who made the first connection in WWII. It
could be argued that the real hero is Janie, the survivor of a hideous
attack that is referred to throughout the book (without details for
which I personally was thankful)! This is the first book by James
Macomber that I have read, so her story-line may have been the subject
of another book. I liked what happened in the very end,
emotionally both elated and sad. I felt almost like I had fallen off a
precipice after the action in the preceding chapters. This is not the
type of book I normally read but I did find it interesting, historic,
and once I got into it I discovered I didn't want to put it down. If
fast-paced factual-based thrillers, international law, political
intrigue, and/or historical conflict fiction is your genre, I'm sure
you will enjoy this book. The author has done an exceptional job of
bringing the inhumanity-wracked, terrorist-ridden world to reality, and
close to home. Certainly, the author is well-worth being on your "to
read" list.