ConTest: Double Life Review

ConTest: Double Life by Raheim Brooks
As submitted by me to Writer's Vibe Magazine.

Justice Lorenzo, an extraordinary character, a masterful felon with many tricks up his sleeve that could scare the average identity theft victim has real charisma. He undoubtedly knows his way around the criminal sector of life and has manipulated this way of life to cater to his needs and wants. As his arrogance, snappy responses and knowledge of the law make him a believably cocky character he is also smart, crafty and resourceful. Mr. Brooks did a good job getting us to believe that this man is unscrupulous.

William Fortune, another hot character who has the charm and money to swoon most women of destitute manner, but he has an award winning wife who is by no other standards a Ride-Or-Die chick. Her high profile job and beauty would cripple the ego of an insecure man, but not William Fortune. He’s a Best Selling criminal writer who happens to have a really close connection to Justice Lorenzo, whose life he is bringing to the pages of every manuscript in his writing career. No wonder the story is so good, it’s fiction based on reality.

This book is truly a gem of a plot filled with deception and mystery but the writing style of the author is quite complex. Numerous chapters ended at points that left the reader wondering what just happened, especially since it never picked up until the later chapters where Mr. Brooks pulled the loose ends together. A plus side is that each chapter was short (no more than 4 pages) which gave the reader great breakpoints and a feel that they were progressing through the book.

Another reference point to this book that I need to mention is how at times the author had so much to say about a scene that when it hit the paper, it didn’t flow as smoothly as the reader would want it to.

On page 193, “William continued to drive away from Silverstein’s in an emergency situation. Dire. In that post-9/11 society everyone had a practiced method to handle all emergencies. He responded to his alarm going off as quickly as inmates in a California pen hitting the ground when a tower guard yelled, “Yard Down!”  If that was true, why was William dragged out of his car at gun point by a masked man. A man that he didn’t not know……”
This excerpt let me asking these questions: Why do we have a post 9/11 reference? What alarm, I thought the man was driving? Why are we talking about jail calls when you just told me about 9/11? If he is driving how did he get pulled out his car? If the man was masked, how would he know who it is?

All in all, I liked the plot and what Mr. Brooks seemingly has to offer the literary community but editing and scene fluidity needs to improve.

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