Divided Within
John Guillen, author
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Publication Date: October 29, 2013
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Houston-area private eye Andrew Banks is hired by sixteen-year-old Mercedes Vega to figure out what’s dividing her parents. As soon as he meets the rest of the Vega family, he realizes that the situation is only one step away from becoming dire. He puts the safety of the family over everything else until the case hits much too close to home. It becomes a race against a wealthy restaurant owner that ultimately becomes deadly.
AUTHOR BIO
John Guillen has had a love of books for as long as he can remember. As a grade school student, he would browse the tables of the semi-annual book fairs at his school and convince his parents to buy as many books as he could. This passion would reemerge years later as a high school teen. He’d read books by the best crime authors of the day long before completing the required school work.
John knew early on in college that he wanted to become a writer and immediately began work on his début novel, Divided Within, less than two weeks after graduating from the University of Houston Downtown in May 2013.
When he’s not writing or reading a new novel, he enjoys listening to country music and staying up to date on current news stories.
LINKS
Website: authorjohnguillen.com
Blog: johnguillen.wordpress.com
Twitter: @JohnGbooks
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Divided-Within-Andrew-Banks-Volume/dp/1492747580
Divided Within by John Guillen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a nice surprise from a début author. The story is short, well-written, and filled with plenty of personal experience. It came as no surprise when I discovered that the author was born in Houston. In fact, he sometimes adds too many details about daily life and where the characters go. But I think that is what makes the book work–the author is writing about what he knows.
I appreciate the fact that there were no bedroom scenes between the male and female leads. And it was nice to see a guy who wasn’t afraid to show emotion! I could have done without the harsh profanity, but that again is just a personal preference. It made more sense for the “bad guys” to use that terminology rather than the “good guys.” The violence was never too detailed (much appreciated), and the story almost ends like a fairy tale (nice buy probably not too realistic).
I am pleased to see that this is the first book in a series. I have a strong suspicion that follow-up books would be more cohesive and intriguing. I could stand a bit more excitement and mystery in the book. In fact, I would even applaud a longer story with more action. This is definitely worth the read, and you will fall in love with Andrew and Sydney. I have a feeling that we will be hearing a lot from this author in the future!
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
