Sunday, January 15, 2012

Facing the Son - M.L. Rudolph



Pages:  231
Source:  Review Copy 
Genre:  Adult, Suspense

From Goodreads:
American Matt Reiser travels to The Ivory Coast on a mission to locate his estranged son. His only guide is a three-year old postal address. Fighting cultural vertigo and disorientation at his arrival at the Abidjan airport, he relies on a glib and persistent limo driver who speaks just enough English to gain Matt's trust.
The next morning, Matt wakes up drugged, robbed, and dropped into a grim city slum. Without ID, without money, and with no idea where to turn, Matt forges unlikely alliances which take him on a perilous journey out of the city and through the backcountry as he strives to continue his search for his son


My Thoughts:
This was a great book.  From the very beginning the reader is grabbed and held in suspense.  Matt Reiser has been sent on a mission to Africa to find a son who obviously doesn’t want to be found.  It has been three years since Karl last communicated with his parents.  His mother’s dying wish is to see her son before the cancer takes her life.  When she contacts Matt, her ex-husband, and asks him to fly to Africa and track him down, he doesn’t want to.  Matt and Karl have not had the best relationship for several years. 

Matt steps off of the plane and into a corrupt world unlike anything he has ever seen.  He is mugged, robbed of his money, passport, and the letter his ex-wife sent for their son.  They even took his shoes.  He doesn’t know who to trust.  Then he meets Jean-Louis, the concierge at the  hotel.  What starts out seeming like help drives him deeper into the corrupt world around him.

This book is so much more than just a good read.  In this book you are transported to places you may never see.  You are thrown into a world we have only heard exists.  You have to ask yourself if you would survive the ordeals the protagonist goes through.  You will end up taking a look at all you hold dear, all you value and asking yourself if you have done all that you can for the people you love.  You must read this book to see if he finds his son.  You must read this book to take a look at the corruptness of a country we know so little about.  You must read this book to find yourself.
I will most definitely recommend this book.  I was unable to put it down from the minute I started it.  It is not a really long book.  However, it will grab you and hold you from the first pages.  I had not heard of this author but I will most definitely look for more from him.

Author Bio from Goodreads:
M L Rudolph has worked for CNN, HBO, and Playboy among other American and British television companies around the world.  He has written for general intereste and trade publications.  He has a bachelors degree in English Literature, and an International MBA.  Rudolph is a dual US/UK national and lives in Pasadena, CA.

You may find him here:





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