Book Assessment: Point Deception, by Jim Gilliam

What takes place when your loyalties are in conflict and you should betray your old mentor in order to fulfill your duty? What if this old mentor who utilized to safeguard and help you as a kid is now a hazardous drug-and-human trafficking overlord? This is the predicament our protagonist, Tim Kelly, faces at the beginning of this partly autobiographical suspense thriller by talented initial-time author Jim Gilliam.

An undercover narcotics officer now working in the Mexican hacienda of Guzman, his old mentor, his actual identity is found by Guzman’s ‘right hand,” Rucho, a bully who also knew Kelly from his childhood days. Guzman decides Kelly’s fate and orders that he be injected with heroine so he’ll turn out to be an addict and beg for his own death. Unbeknown to Guzman, Rucho adds physical torture to the punishment. Kelly slips in and out of consciousness and by means of his mind we start to see flashbacks of his life. So the book begins in the present but then goes back in time to relate the events that led him to his present situation, from his early days of fighting bullies, when he met Guzman and Rucho, to his escape at 14 to New Orleans to join the Coast Guard, to his experiences in the military and later to his becoming an undercover narcotics officer.

Point Deception is a compelling novel and its strength lies in the protagonist. Kelly is a complex character with lots of flaws, yet sympathetic in a bittersweet type of way. A hot-tempered, impulsive romantic hero, he won’t play by anybody’s guidelines and tends to make his fair share of mistakes. Although it may put some readers down, I discovered all the particulars about weapons, drugs and the military fascinating. I also enjoyed the dynamics in between the characters. At occasions I felt there was a lot of telling but it didn’t bother me for the most element. The dialogue is all-natural and there is adequate suspense to keep readers turning pages. This is a novel that will strongly appeal to fans of military thrillers and also to readers who like powerful and controversial characters.

Like his protagonist, Jim Gilliam ran away from residence and joined the Coast Guard at 14. He has recently retired from the Navy’s Military Sealift Command and is presently writing the sequel to his novel. He lives with his wife Laura in Warwick, New York.

Point Deception
By Jim Gilliam
Booklocker.com, Inc.
1609106202
978-1609106201
Release date: December 5, 2010
Paperback, 250 pages, $ 17.95
Action/Military/Thriller
Available from most on-line retailers