Review: Pretty Little Creatures by Vince Milam

EBOLA, JIHADISTS, BLOOD DIAMONDS, DRUG CARTELS, AND A DARK FORCE DRIVING EVENTS.
In pursuit, an eclectic team of three very dissimilar individuals.

A reserved small town sheriff on a reluctant quest for justice. A beautiful and eccentric technology genius striving to piece together international clues to terrorism. An epicurean French priest committed to combat. Can they work together to challenge a nightmarish conspiracy?

The resurrection of the blood diamond trade in the fetid jungles of Ebola-infected West Africa draws the trio together. They are joined by a stunning CIA professional killer with a clear and final solution to any problem. Together they struggle against the leaders of the illicit diamond trade and the foul entity providing the child slave labor.

Have they won? The doggedness of the technology genius and the assuredness of the French priest uncover deeper plans—a game of misdirection and intrigue masterminded by a powerful source nested in the evil enclaves of ISIS.

The stakes rapidly rise as the trail leads them into the wild heartland of a Mexican drug cartel—a launching point to unleash a hellish scenario into the U.S. The final conflict looms as forces for good and evil muster for battle. Can three regular people prevent this terrorist attack? They need to, because failure will forevermore alter the life of every American.

As I mentioned in my previous review, I accidentally started this book before picking up the first one. But you know what? I’m glad I did because the one issue I had with the previous book: the character Nadine, was not so much an issue in this one. I think this can be attributed to the way you are introduced to her in this particular book. She’s outside with Cole and she and his neighbor are teasing him about their lack of extracurricular bedtime excursions. Sure, they’re all up for fighting Evil with Francois, but when it comes to taking things to a more physical level, Cole’s being a bit gun shy.

In truth, the author outdoes himself with this book. The adventure starts immediately and within a few pages, Francois is already confronting his first demon… in none other than Ebola-strickened Sierra Leone. That’s what makes Francois so charming as a character, though. He’s willing to go in guns blazing (metaphorically in this particular instance) with no regard to his own safety. He is truly committed to his mission and to helping to rid the world of Evil, one demon at a time. But their journey doesn’t stop in Africa, the quirky trio find themselves globetrotting as they continue to hunt down those seeking to set forth a bioterrorism attack on the United States.

The demons are more animated in this book and it’s a great addition to the story telling. The first one, for example, is almost spider-like in her movements and yet, when Francois first approaches her, she’s opening her jaws much like a snake, in order to devour her prey. I can really appreciate this type of imagery, because it helps add that needed paranormal sense to the demon.

Furthermore, the author holds no punches and is willing to even turn allies into enemies. As a reader, this is a great contribution to a series, as too many authors try to tread lightly with keeping the bad guys and the good guys clearly in their own corners. He’s also not afraid to approach some extremely relevant topics such as Ebola, the blood diamond trade and terrorism in his work. This is a great way to shed light on the evils of the world, while still allowing people a softer means of understanding these sometimes heavily covered topics.

This is a great book for anyone who enjoys adventure-filled thrillers. So if you haven’t heard of this series, now would be a great time to add it to your Christmas wishlist.

Rating

About the Author

VINCE MILAM has lived all over the world, traipsing through the Amazon, Congo, and Papua New Guinea—all the while demonstrating bourbon has medicinal qualities. Raised in Texas, he lives in the mountainous West where he proves—annually—that God doesn’t want us driving on snow. He relishes great reads, fine trout streams, family, old friends, and—especially—writing fast-paced thrillers with a dose of humor and a spiritual twist.

The first two books in the Challenged World series rank high on the Amazon lists in both Thrillers/Terrorism and Christian/Mystery. You can visit him at http://www.vincemilam.com to learn about new releases and writer’s angst. He can also be visited at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006177615953 or on Twitter @vince_milam

You can find and contact Vince here:
– Website
– Facebook
– Twitter
– Goodreads
– Amazon

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Pretty Little Creatures. These are the prizes you can win:
– 5 ebook sets which include the following ebooks: The Unknown Element and Pretty Little Creatures by Vince Milam

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Amazon

Pick up your copy on Amazon: Pretty Little Creatures by Vince Milam

Blog Tour

This is my stop during the blog tour for Pretty Little Creatures by Vince Milam. This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 1 till 14 December, you can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.
So far this series contains 2 books: The Unknown Element (The Challenged World #1) and Pretty Little Creatures (The Challenged World #2).