Terror

by Eamonn Hickson

[chymerra]

Reviewing Terror intrigued me a lot. Because the author chose Boston as the city for this fictional terror attack. I was also intrigued because of the blurb. So I agreed to review it. I am glad I did because this book was fantastic. The author did a great job pulling me into the book and not letting me come up for air.

Terror’s plot was compelling and showed how homegrown terrorists come to be. The book focuses on 3 people and how events in their lives drove them to carry out a terrorist attack. One was dishonorably discharged from the Army. One was the victim of a brutal beating the year before. One returned home to find his parents gone and their house sold due to financial issues. Each person had a reason to be angry with the government, judicial system and financial system. That breeds the perfect environment for a terror attack.

Milton had served his country with many tours overseas. His military career came to an end when his friend died in the line of duty. Milton was under the care of a psychiatrist when he finds out that he is being dishonorably discharged. Shortly afterward, the psychiatrist stops seeing him. I felt bad for him up to this point. Then he started talking of a terrorist attack with Ally and all my sympathies went away.

Ally was assaulted the year before as she was getting off the train. She relives that beating every time she goes to court. The judicial system was a joke, though. Her attacker claims to have no memory of assaulting her and is out on bond until the trial. Ally feels like she has no control over anything. Then she meets Milton. As with Milton, I felt bad for Ally, at first. My sympathy disappeared after they started planning the terror attack.

Nestor had left home after a fight with his family. He returns to find his family gone and the house sold. He tries to find his parents but hit a dead-end everywhere he turns. He goes to the bank for answers, only to get no answers. He meets Ally, who is staying with the new owner of Nestor’s parent’s house. Nestor gets involved with the terror attack because Ally invites him. I had some sympathy for Nestor in the book and held on to that sympathy until the end. Then my sympathy went away big time.

The terror attack itself wasn’t until the end of the book. To keep this spoiler free, I won’t say where. I will say that I wasn’t surprised at the site or the time of year it happened. I have always thought that place would become a point of interest for terrorists to strike. To see if used as one in the book brought chills up my spine.

The end of the book, which included the terror attack, was explosive. I couldn’t put the book down because I needed to see if it went through. I also needed to see what Ally, Nestor and Milton’s reaction was to the destruction. While I was expecting the terror attack to be bad, I wasn’t expecting what happened to happen.

Terror is an in-depth look at how homegrown terrorists are created. The plot was very well written and gripping. The characters, while not likable, are very well written. This book was also a great look at how situations can turn people into the things that they once hated and feared. This is a book that I would read again.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Language and violence. Not sex. There are several graphic murder scenes, a scene where Ally’s attack is relived and of course the terror attack.

I would like to thank Eamonn Hickson for allowing me to read and review Terror.

All opinions stated in Terror are mine.

**I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**