Book Review – THE ARRANGER by L J Sellers
The Arranger Synopsis
The year is 2023 and ex-detective Lara Evans is working as a freelance paramedic in a bleak new world. She responds to an emergency call and is nearly killed when a shooter flees the home. Inside she finds the federal employment commissioner wounded, but she’s able to save his life. The next day Lara leaves for the Gauntlet—a national competition of intense physical and mental challenges with high stakes for her home state. She spots the assailant lurking at the arena and soon after, she lands in deep trouble. Who is the mysterious killer and what is motivating him? Can Lara stop him, stay alive, and win the Gauntlet? (Amazon)
BOOK REVIEW
In The Arranger L J Sellers has created some intriguing characters and set them on a compelling collision course.
The protagonist and hero Lara Evans – an underdog haunted by her past with appealing strength and spirit.
Lara loved these moments – rushing to a scene, no knowing what chaos she would encounter. In some ways, it was better than being a police officer because she kept on the move and did a lot less paperwork. She missed the authority of the badge though. She’d liked having people pay attention and feel nervous when she approached. It beat the hell out of her current personal life: a forty-two-year-old woman with no partner, no children, no power.
Her deeply disturbed nemesis – someone marginalised by society taking matters into their own hands.
The Arranger is a futuristic thriller that taps into today’s trending topics and societal concerns to great effect.
Current issues such as government funding cuts, police injustice, unemployment, and advancements in mobile communication devices have manifested themselves to disturbing but oh so plausible effects in the world of The Arranger.
Sellers’ prose is very easy to read, if somewhat direct and spare at times. I found the physical and mental challenge element of ‘The Gauntlet’ and the broader concept of a competition where employment is the prize, very interesting ideas.
The Arranger is an easily digestible thriller that certainly provides food for thought.
BOOK RATING: The Story 3.5 /5 ; The Writing 3 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: The Arranger (Amazon); The Arranger (Kobobooks – epub)
Genre: Action-Adventure, Sci-Fi-Fantasy, Romance, Thriller
Author Information: Check out L J Sellers’s website for more information about her back catalogue, The Detective Wade Jackson Suspense Series and her blog ‘Write First, Clean Later’. Read her post on how the standalone novel The Arranger came about.
– Read L J Seller’s interview with The Big Thrill
– Did you know that Seller’s Detective Jackson Series is on Amazon’s Kindle’s bestselling police procedural list?
Other Reviews of The Arranger: An American Editor; The Dirty Lowdown; Romanceaholic
Some other novels by L J Sellers: The Sex Club, Dying for Justice, Passions of the Dead, Thrilled to Death, Secrets to Die For
* I was provided a copy of this novel from the author for review purposes. My receiving this book for free in no way affected my ability to express my honest opinions about it.
