Started reading: October 15th 2017
Finished the book: October 18th 2017
Pages: 338
Genres: Thriller
Published: July 1st 2017
Source: Got a digital copy from the author
Goodreads score: Not enough ratings
My score:
Robin Fox, peace-loving professor of world religions, wants only to leave his dark past as a military interrogator behind him. But when an unknown suspect tries to disperse a deadly virus in downtown Washington, Fox is unwillingly drawn back into the shadowy world of intelligence.
The FBI and CIA automatically suspect Islamic terrorists, but Fox digs deeper to discover the far more frightening truth: a global conspiracy to eradicate all religion from the face of the earth.
From Washington to Jerusalem, from Rome to London, Fox must use all his skills to stop devastating attacks on the world's holiest sites on their holiest days.
My thoughts
At first I thought this was a bit of a Zombie-book (by just looking at the cover), but it's nothing like that! This book is about terrorism and religion. I just dove right in and this was a pretty easy read, a quick read! The book is written very well, one of the biggest aspects I liked. I rushed through and was very pleased about this book. It's mainly an adult thriller, but I do believe that young adults would be able to learn a lot from it as well.
Pros
- Smart main character: Oh, boy. Yes! Robin Fox is such a smart man. He knows a lot about interrogations and reading people. I loved to learn about it and my favorite scenes were the ones where Robin Fox is in a conversation with suspects. It was so cool, that those suspects think they're so smart, but Fox knows all about lying. I felt like I was taking a ride in a car with Robin Fox and I never felt unsafe, he knows exactly what he's doing.
- Makes you think: This book is about religion, religious people and atheïsts. It's about terrorism and about what people believe and what believing makes them do. I'm not one to think about religion a lot, but this made me think about what's currently going on in the world. I think this book will be a great read for religious people and atheists as well.
- Great conversations: The best! At most of the conversations, Robin Fox is a part of it, and I just love how smart he is, how he's able to talk about his opinion without being disrespectful. The conversations only contained the necessary information and that's always nice to read, it keeps the pace.
Cons
- No connection: I liked the book, I liked the plot, the conversations and the main character, but I never felt emotionally involved. At some point I even wished for someone important to die, so I could test if it would do something with me. Fox has some skeletons in his closet and he has feelings and doubts and wishes, but I, as a reader, was never emotionally involved. This made me feel like I didn't really had a connection with this book, sadly.
Overall
I think this is a great book for young adults and all ages up. It's a book that's very respectful towards different religions and also towards people that don't believe. It's also a book that makes you think, makes you wonder and it's actually a quick read! I do recommend this book to y'all.
Other opinions about this book
"A thoroughly-researched, thoughtful novel regarding the nature of belief... also well-plotted, nicely paced, and packed with action. A brilliant, riveting read."
- Colorado Book Review
"A total adrenaline rush. As scary as the thought is, the events depicted could easily have been real. Kowalski has taken the current political climate and events and intertwined them with fiction to create a fabulous thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you love thrillers, you have to read Mind Virus."
- The Spine View
Memorable quotes from this book
"Life is just too short to spend it tearing things down. The question that we all need to ask ourselves is: what do we want to build?
Do you read a lot of books about religions?
