A solid military thriller:"Detained" by Don Brown

Najib Makari and his father Hasan have both long dreamed of being able to leave Lebanon and embrace the freedom that America has to offer. Najib is the first to realize the dream, but when Hasan finally comes to America for the first time he immediately finds himself arrested, tortured, and detained at Guantánamo Bay Prison Camp in Cuba. When Najib is also arrested, both find themselves barely clinging to their faith as they face the death penalty. Navy JAG Officer Matt Davis, who has been assigned to defend them in court, soon becomes their hope to see freedom. In the meantime, Emily Gardner, a top lawyer with the Transportation Security Administration, is offered a plumb position. But whens she stumbles upon a deadly secret, she too finds her very life in jeopardy.

"Detained" is a non-stop action thriller that kept me glued to the pages as scenes of terror and violence played out across the pages. Within a couple of chapters, I found myself wondering exactly who could I trust? Don Brown offers up another classic story of good versus evil, and if readers are anything like me they will find themselves cheering for the heroes while wishing for swift justice for the villains. The plot is filled with one twist after another, and the scenes are filled with so much drama and action I just couldn't put the book down. Although this isn't a character driven story, I still found the characters to be well-fleshed out and believable in how they are portrayed. I will say that there was the odd thing that bothered me about the story, such as some characters who seem to be Christians and pray in the midst of their trials, and yet also seem to be sleeping together outside of marriage. I am all for characters being realistic and having flaws, but when two such Christian couples were depicted like this, I found it odd. That aside, however, there is much to enjoy in Don Brown's latest novel, and I am already looking forward to his next release.

Don Brown has written another solid read that offers a nail-biting start to his new series. I award this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of the publisher via the BookLook Bloggers program, for the purposes of this unbiased review.

about the author...

Don Brown is the author of Malacca Conspiracy, The Navy Justice Series and Black Sea Affair, a submarine thriller that predicted the 2008 shooting war between Russia and Georgia. Don served five years in the U.S. Navy as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps, which gave him an exceptional vantage point into both the Navy and the inner workings of 'inside-the-beltway' as an action officer assigned to the pentagon. He left active duty in 1992 to pursue private practice, but remained on inactive status through 1999, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He and his family live in North Carolina, where he pursues his passion for penning novels about the Navy.

Buy the Book

Detained (The Navy JAG Series)