This flashback review was originally posted on Amazon and Goodreads on September 17, 2011.
In August 2011, one of my favorite authors, Brett Battles, announced on his Facebook page that Phillip Hawley was offering his book, Stigma free to people who would post reviews on Amazon. I have reviewed books by such an arrangement before, and it’s always tricky because there is the chance that the book is awful, and you’ll hate it. You don’t want to trash a book that an author is giving away free for the express opposite purpose. In the case of this author, he specified in the containing the e-book file that he’d simply likes honest reviews. If I loved it, hated it or used it to line the birdcage, he wanted real reviews on Amazon and his confidence was encouraging, though the first half of his novel was not. If I hadn’t been given this book and been trusted to review it, I would have probably stopped reading at some point before the mid-point. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible. The novel was mmmkay. There were some elements we could have done without, but it just wasn’t interesting. All changed midway through the book and I, as a reader, was sucked into the storyline so that when I put it down the happy feeling of reading a really good book was alive and well. If you love thrillers and you can slog through exposition, this may be the book for you.
This is an extremely short review. I didn’t realize how short it was until looking over to post it today but it sums up the way that I felt about the read. Enjoy.
Turning back the clock to September 17, 2011. My review of Stigma by Phillip Hawley Jr.
Publication Date: August 24, 2011 (Kindle)
In Stigma by Phillip Hawley Jr., a boy is flown to a children’s hospital from South America with some mystery disease and dies shortly after arriving. What follows is a cover-up of epic proportions. Luke McKenna, formerly super, top-secret special ops and now in pediatrics, gets caught up in finding what really happened.
The start of the novel is slow. The author is setting up the characters and Luke is maybe a little wonderful. Once the stage is set, we get what turns into a compelling story where Luke is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and has to go to extraordinary lengths to save himself with Bond movie type intensity. I really enjoyed the overall experience of this novel and would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers.
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I love this book!! I was exciting from the beginning. When I did make myself put it down all I could think about was what could possibly happen next. Buying it for my daughter. Keep writing PH, I’m waiting for the next one.