Parabellum: A Book Review

A mass shooting on the Lakeside Shore in Chicago on a sunny day enjoying the outdoors. Rewind a year, four people are suspected. Who can do such a heinous act?

Set in Chicago, the book traverses the reverse route from the mass murders on a beach and traces to the events leading to the shooting.

The book is smart, and it brings in a new perspective through its intelligent plot and storytelling. The book opens with mass murder on a beach.

We often categorize in such instances based on their demographics. So, the author kept the major characters nameless. The unique approach of the book should be lauded. The reader follows through the narrative while removing any prejudice from their mind.

The life of the four suspects is narrated from a third-person perspective. The writer wrote the book in reverse format, giving it an extra edge. In most of the books, we read extensively about the victims, and not so much about the assailant/s. That makes the title impactful.

It’s not a book where the reader tries to guess who the suspect might be, but the reader sees the other side and the author did an excellent job in portraying it to the readers. People often think such perpetrators do not live in society. But as Hickey showed, they often are someone who lives a normal life like other people.

The reader closely reads through each of the suspect’s lives. An ex-athlete who suffers a concussion leading her to abandon the favourite sport. An overconfident programmer working with a data analytics company. A veteran who suffers from PTSD. A depressed school kid who thinks people around him, do not know he exists.

As the reader moves towards the end, you get to know the victims sitting on the beach enjoying the sunny day with family, friends and closed ones. The story builds up with the gentle pace and but at this moment, the author levels up thrill part. By the end of the book, you visualize the entire scene of the shooting going right in front of you.

Overall, the book is a crime fiction book with a twist that is not just unusual but also thought-provoking.

The writing of Greg Hickey is compelling, and I would love to read more of his book.

A copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for my honest review.

---

About the Author

Greg Hickey was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1985. After graduating from Pomona College in 2008, he played and coached baseball in Sweden and South Africa. He is now a forensic scientist, endurance athlete and award-winning writer. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Lindsay.

Click Here for his other books.

Text and Image taken from Goodreads

---

Related Posts