Highly topical, fascinating, provocative and thought-provoking, this thriller will get you hooked on an author everyone is raving about.
Thirty-two-year-old Trevor Barnett has inadvertently become the lead spokesman for the tobacco industry just as it's on the verge of extinction, facing a $200 billion lawsuit that it will be unable to appeal. America's tobacco companies react by doing the unthinkable - closing their plants and recalling their products.
The message is clear: no more cigarettes until the industry is given iron-clad protection from the courts.
As the economy falters and chaos takes hold, Trevor finds himself the target of enraged smokers, gun-toting smugglers, and a government that has been cut off from one of its largest sources of revenue. Soon it becomes apparent that this had always been his function - to take the brunt of the backlash and shield the men in power from the maelstrom they'd created.
As he is slowly abandoned by an industry that his own ancestors helped to create, Trevor begins to fight back.
Sly & funny - sort of scary too!
Who would ever think of showing us what could - & probably should - happen to the tobacco industry? I liked the overiew. I liked the outcome. I thought caricaturing a typical hero to create the main character was great - Trevor is such a cardboard cutout it's hilarious. I know that doesn't sound complimentary but it works. I really loved the relationship with the dog. To be honest that seemed more real to me than Trevor's relationship with his love interest (which could be a bit worrying for Mr Mills if he's married). There are some problems with characterisation & development. Some people will think this is completely unrealistic. Don't knock it for that. It's supposed to make you think, not double as a reference book. I like Kyle Mill's thrillers - suspense, conspiracy, murder, terrorism. All the usual stuff. He does that style well. But this is one out of the box for him - really different - an overall winner!!
Natalie, 11/12/2008
