Guest Review: Devil's Harbor

Summary: With heart-stopping thrills, a Walter White-esque villain, and a fascinating hero, Alex Gilly's Devil's Harbor is a thriller unlike any you have read before Nick Finn and his partner and brother-in-law, Diego Jimenez, are used to rough water. As Marine Interdiction Agents for Customs and Border Protection, the two hunt drug smugglers, human traffickers, and other criminals who hide in the vastness of the waters surrounding southern California. 

One night, Finn and Diego track a phantom boat off the Los Angeles coast, but it disappears before they can intercept it. They find a dead body in its wake, ravaged by sharks. Their investigation into the floater stalls when Finn is accused of using excessive force following the death of a suspected drug smuggler. 

Then Diego is murdered--and Finn is the number-one suspect. As he races to find the real killer and save his marriage, Finn is forced to partner with Linda Blake, the desperate captain of the Pacific Belle and mother of Lucy, a very sick little girl, to attempt the one thing he has devoted his life to stopping. 

In order to clear his name and save a child's life, Finn must smuggle narcotics by sea into the United States…and avoid the net that his CBP colleagues have cast for him. -- Forge

Booking Pap Pap is back with another great review. This time, it's for the novel DEVIL'S HARBOR by Alex Gilly. This thriller certainly seemed to have a lot of action going on! Here are his thoughts:

DEVIL'S HARBOR is author Alex Gilly’s debut thriller and from my viewpoint is a pretty good first effort. From the very beginning the action is fast paced as Finn and his partner/brother-in-law Diego Jimenez chase down a suspect drug boat. When Finn and Jimenez attempt to board the boat they are attacked and Finn kills the assailant. An internal investigation finds little evidence of smuggling or attack and Finn gets little support from management when the family sues for use of excessive force. In the meantime the action continues as Finn and Jimenez chase a suspect boat that mysteriously disappears before they can intercept it. In the boat’s wake, they find a body partially eaten by sharks. Finn and Jimenez think the case is tied to the unusual amount of “floaters” recently found in the waters off California and begins investigating when Jimenez is suddenly murdered. Finn, an alcoholic, burdened by the internal investigation and the current case, gets drunk and is beaten and robbed of his gun. Finn becomes the number one suspect when it’s discovered that his gun was used to kill Jimenez. His problems mount when his marriage comes under stress due to the drinking and the murder of his brother-in-law.

Now driven to find Jimenez’s killer and save his marriage, Finn’s investigation leads him to the boat, Pacific Belle and its owner, the attractive Linda Blake who has a daughter with serious medical problems. Finn is forced to partner with Linda Blake on a drug run from Mexico in the hope of saving her daughter and clearing his name.

Gilly has created very good character portrayals which makes it easy for the reader to form a detailed mental picture of each one. He has developed a realistic plot that captures the current environment of drugs, illegal immigration and Mexican gangs that exists in the Southern California area. The suspense and action in the novel is accelerated with his use of drug running speed boats, a dangerous Mexican town, sharks and murder. He adds in the element of surprise.

If I have one minor criticism, Gilly may have provided too many clues to the outcome and some readers may figure out the “surprise” ending well ahead of the conclusion.

Overall, DEVIL’S HARBOR is a fast paced thriller that will be of interest to fans of this genre.

Thanks to Booking Pap Pap for his review and thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this novel.