Book Review: We are 100 by Nathan Timmel

Posted 22nd Oct 2021 by radiosarahc10 Comments on Book Review: We are 100 by Nathan Timmel 52 Books Blog

We are 100 would make a superb TV series. Seriously, someone, somewhere must have picked this up already and if they haven’t, they need to.

I’ve been back on a thriller binge over the past couple of weeks and have a few reviews to catch up on. I’d seen someone else review We are 100 by Nathan Timmel and been drawn to the plot, I hope you may be too.

Following the death of his wife, Evan Francart is depressed and out for vengeance. Evan’s wife died from cancer, in his mind the pharmaceutical company who hiked up the price of her medication are to blame. His rage has been burning away for months, he feels he’s powerless and unable to do anything about it. Until he meets Cassandra that is….

Cassandra, listens to him, understands him, shares he’s views on how unjust big pharma is in the US, she is the confidant he’s been looking for. They’ve never met in person but have drawn together through shared grief in an online support group….

Cassandra’s convinced Evan he can take control, there is something he can do, she’ll explain everything and help him carry out task.

It’s that task that opens this book – Evan walks into a board meeting at the pharmaceutical company and after giving all the other members of staff time to evacuate the building blows it sky high.

That’s how you start a book.

Two FBI agents are scrambled to investigate, experienced field agent Susan Chamberlain’s teamed up with Rookie Michael Godwin. Believing this to be a run of mill, quick case the two are in for one hell of a shock.

It turns out Cassandra has been quite the confidant. There are 99 other Evan Francart’s across America all primed and ready to carry out their own missions. Each one has an axe to grind, their targets all personal: the prosecutor who lets rapists walk free, the inept surgeon who maims patients yet keeps operating, the phony evangelist preying on those seeking solace.

Admit you’re intrigued too, and you’d be right to be.

It’s fast paced thriller where you don’t hate the guys carrying out vicious and heinous crimes, you kind of feel sorry for them as it becomes clear that they’ve each been groomed over a long period to do the bidding of the mysterious Cassandra.

Their raw grief and desperation has been preyed upon online and weaponised. It spreads fear as no one knows where the other 99 are just that they’re out there. It taps into a 21^st century threat that we’re all aware of, the murky of the internet, social media and just how it can be used against us.

Told through the perspectives of agents Chamberlain and Godwin, members of the 100 and Cassandra, it’s fast paced and engaging.

It’s a story that keeps you gripped from the moment you’re first introduced to Evan in the opening prologue. A classic cat and mouse chase where you aren’t sure who or what Cassandra even is or how the FBI are going to identify 99 needles in a haystack.

I did have a few problems with it; there were some developments that were resolved too quickly. There’s talk of how news of the 100 is inspiring vigilantism and creating a media frenzy across the US – I’d have liked more on that, more of an exploration.

There were parts that I felt were a little rushed and could have benefitted from more detail. Parts of the dialogue felt a little ham and the jokey banter between the various FBI characters did grate on me after a while – it felt a bit forced to me – but in terms of dragging me out of a reading slump, it was a great thriller to get going with.

It’s an interesting story, there’s no slow build up, it just hooks you in straight away and keeps you there until the final page.

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Journalist, writer, traveller, music lover, collector of hats, news addict, bookworm