As a young man, Colin Wyle is not particularly impressive.
The son of a former professional basketball player, Colin is cordial and
likeable enough, but ultimately he’s forgettable. He, like many boys his age, spends most of his time daydreaming about the unattainable
girl-of-his-dreams, Natalie Merian, and the rest of his time trying to figure
out a way to earn his father’s respect. Then one day while attending church
with the family of one of his friends, Colin begins to hear a voice. The disembodied
personality calls herself Christel, and she begins guiding Colin to a better
life.
Thanks to Christel, Colin becomes a sports hero and wins the
affections of his girl and the growing tenuous respect of his father. Is she a
guardian angel, a psychic spirit guide, a muse, a daemon? Colin doesn’t know,
and frankly he doesn’t care. Things are going perfectly, and Colin is on his
way to the life he’s always wanted. Then, one day while on a holiday trip to
the lake, everything changes. Natalie disappears. Suspicion falls on Colin and
his father. Days pass, tension mounts, and then out of the blue, Christel is in
Colin’s ear telling him the steps he has to take. Hours later, Colin’s life is
changed again, Natalie is saved, the man who had her is dead, Colin is a
killer, and the police are covering the whole thing up to save face.
Years pass. Colin and Natalie have remained friends, but he
is in a new relationship, engaged to be married. He has an investment job which
he has been very successful at with Christel’s help. Then, again torment from
his past arrives. New evidence has surfaced in several cases similar to the one
involving Natalie’s abduction. Investigation is sure to uncover his involvement
in the death of her captor. Colin needs Christel now more than ever, but is she
everything he’s always assumed that she was?
Discretion by
David Balzarini is a thriller with a message. A born again Christian, Balzarini
weaves a tale that’s more about consequences than resolution. None of the
thriller elements of the story are ever reconciled in the traditional manner,
but fatalists and those who enjoy affirmation of faith in their literature are
sure to take comfort in the book’s suppositions and anti-resolution.
The story is told mostly in a first-person present voice
which I personally find off-putting. When I write, I create my notes and outline
in first-person present. The beginning paragraphs of this review are also
written in that POV. It’s more urgent feeling and gives one the sense of being
instantly connected to the action. However, as I tell a story, I prefer to put
all of the action in the past, where it belongs. “Guy walks into a bar,” may
work for a joke told to friends at a party, but if I’m writing to an audience, I
want them to understand that the action occurred in a tangible reality which I am
recounting — not one which I am describing on the fly.
This is not to say that Balzarini doesn’t create a richly
textured atmosphere. Indeed he does. His words are carefully chosen and I
understand why he elected for the immediacy afforded by telling the story as if it’s
happening in the now. I’m not noting this to say the writing is poor. Quite the
contrary, it’s excellent. However, for
me, there was a curve where I had to acclimate to the style in order to
appreciate the writing. So this isn’t a criticism as much as it is fair
warning.
I will say that I wish there had been more resolution to the
traditional mystery element at the end of the story. The focus at the
conclusion is more on Colin’s spiritual resolution than on wrapping up the
story of how Natalie wound up where she did that long ago summer day; and there
was no warning that this was going to be the case in the book’s description. In
fact, the description gives no indication whatsoever that the story is less Taken and more Angel Heart. I, for one, wish I had known that going in.
David can be found on Twitter and Discretion is available
for the Kindle and in paperback from Amazon.
Excerpt
When my father calls, my
nerves tingle like wires hanging near a bathtub, not touching so to create
havoc, but close enough to experience the palpable energy of two opposing
forces near one another.
On the second day, during the
three days that Natalie was missing, my father ranted and raved about Natalie
and every conversation with Jackson or Viktor, the attorney, centered on the
removal of liability—as if his status were the only thing that mattered; not
Natalie’s life that hung in the balance. And I’ve resented him since.
I answer his call, not because
I want to, but because if I don’t, he’ll call until he reaches me and it’s
better to take the poison now than wait.
His greeting is cheerful; my
response tries hard to be neutral, but it errs on the side of hostile.
“I know you’re busy, but I
wanted to stay in touch. How’ve you been?” my father says. He sounds oddly
cheerful.
When I left for college, he
got nostalgic. He began telling stories of my childhood as if it was some
magical time. Little League World Series. Baseball and academic scholarship. A
late round pick by the Florida Marlins. The dream coming true for him, to see
his son achieve greatness in pro sports.
Christel made other plans.
Once the pro sports career went south, he lost interest just as fast.
“I’m managing. Been busy.” I
start pacing around my office.
“Yeah, I’m not buying it.
What’s going on?”
He never wants to know when
it’s about Natalie.
“So…what’s news?” I say after
the long silence.
“I sold three of the
businesses and plan to whittle away the rest over the next year or so.”
“Really?” He must be going
postal. Or Brooke has him by the balls to travel more and attend to her every
need.
“Yeah. I can’t believe it
either, but I’m moving on from them. tirement doesn’t suit me, I think. But
what the hell, I’ll give it a try.”
“Call the network back, then.
They’ll have you in a New York minute.” Then I will go back to never hearing
from you. How I like it.
My father laughs at the
thought. “I like the idea, actually. I’ve never been one to lay on the beach,
watching the sunset…ah, I don’t know. I’m not ready to be done working.”
“I must agree. You’ll go crazy
before long.”
“Brooke wants to spend six
months in Europe.”
“And there is the motivation.”
“Son, you knew that was the
reason before I said so.”
“True.” I pause a moment.
“Seriously, though. Call the network back. Kenny and Chuck could use your
company. Teach them how to play golf while you’re at it.”
“You know she’d throw a fit,
so why entertain it?”
It would be fun to watch. I’d
drive to his place so I could watch the video footage. “Because it would be fun
for you. Pay wouldn’t hurt either.”
He sniffs and remains silent.
He’s stewing over the idea. He’s got to be trying to figure out how to slip
this past Brooke. The man lives for action. He and I exchange a few
pleasantries and hang up, parting on the notion we’ll connect again soon but we
know it’ll be months before we talk again.
I was
recently approached by new author Yoram Katz about his historical thriller, The Kabbalist, which he describes as "a
thoroughly researched historical detective/mystery novel, which spans 2,000
years of history, and puts the mystical doctrine of Kabbalah (which everybody
talks about, but most really have no clue what it is...) in a new perspective." We conducted an interview via email.
There
is this scene about a Jewish refugee running away from crusader Acre after it
had fallen to the Muslims in 1291. He somehow managed to escape the crumbling
city by sea, but now he is fighting for his life after his ship has capsized.
He is terrified, but what happens to him next at sea is totally unexpected,
changes his fortune – and lays a foundation for the rest of this multi-layered
plot. It is an introduction to other twists the reader can expect in the story.
