Breathe in Grace – A Zev Evans Novella. James LePore. The
Story Plant. June 2016. 96 pp. ISBN#:
9781943486922.
Zev
Evans is a fixer, a tender man who aims to help the “down and out” by doing
whatever is needed at any moment. The enigmatic
part that makes this novella phenomenal thriller is that sometimes Zev operates
alone, shooting victims in the forehead fast than they can lift their guns. Sometimes
he calls on his “friends” to set up meetings or get information needed to
complete his complicated task.
The
action quickly starts when coming out of a piano recital, Zev sees an
Arab-looking man smack a young woman so hard in the fact that she almost falls
over. The man having the appearance of
an Arab has nothing to do with Zev’s fury; it’s seeing someone supposedly
strong abuse a woman.
At
one time Zev was a Marine but was honorably discharged for taking out another
Marine, who wasn’t the good guy everybody claimed he was but was probably
actually a traitor. Seeing injustice
makes Zev crazy; he’s got these “wild horses” in his head that he can only
control with drugs that assist the effects of the plate in his head.
To
say more would spoil an amazing story but suffice to say that Zev and his
friends tap into what this Arab is secretly doing. Let’s just say that young woman isn’t the
first to be severely harmed and the Arab’s got bigger plans going involving a
very complicated and dire issue. Yes,
Zev will finish the task he’s obsessed with but the reader will be flipping the
pages rapidly with all the surprise twists and turns that pump up the plot to
its final, satisfying climax. Despite his
furious temper, Zev is a highly intelligent and gentle guy whose personality is
totally embraced by the reader by the very last page, which by the way will
make you want to read more about this unique, vigilante style “fixer.” Stay tuned – a prequel will follow very soon.
Nicely
plotted, James LePore, with your talented touch!
