Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Critical Element by John L. Betcher



Once again, James Becker, a retired agent of some type is a small town attorney with an international reach. James Becker has retired from a terrorism fight to live a sedentary life with his wife and girls safe in a small, insular community. In his first book, The 19th Element detailed the story of a Islamic terrorists’ attack on a nearby nuclear plant.  In the Covert Element Becker gets entwined with a drug cartel.  In this book Becker and Beth, his wife and former CIA employee, get involved in terrorism, both international and domestic.   
Once again, Becker displays a cynical attitude about bureaucracy and it’s inherent shortfalls.   He does not seem quite as cynical in this book as he did in the last.  I will repeat that a smidgen of back-story on Becker for those who have not read the previous books would benefit the reader.  This book reads very well as a stand alone but I think that most first time readers would enjoy it a bit more with a better understanding of Becker’s background. 
Betcher does an excellent job incorporating current fears and events as part of his plot.  His premise on domestic terrorism was altogether too plausible.  Equally I found his concerns about rogue states as depressing. 
Betcher does a good job on his social awareness as well.  The side story of Benny was a nice touch.   I enjoyed interviewing John Betcher and I feel that each book he writes shows his increased experience.   In redundant trepidation over being redundant, keep up the good work Betcher!
I highly recommend this book.

Body of work of John L. Betcher

Web site: http://www.johnbetcher.com

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

No comments: