jbronderbookreviews

Guest Post

by Jay Amberg, author of The Healer’s Daughters

The Healer’s Daughters is my sixth thriller. In each of the previous five, there was a central character, an American male of a certain age, who eventually figured out what was really going on—and, in the case of America’s Fool, saved the world.

In The Healer’s Daughters, I axed that male character. The story, set in Turkey, focuses on three women who are battling criminal oligarchs, corrupt officials, and ISIL terrorists. Having a male character ala Charlie with his Angels seemed both silly and superfluous. Making that character American would have been egregiously jingoistic. The story is, I hope, far more interesting because of the subtraction of that sort of male character.

In this moment in history in various places around the world, bright energetic women are pitted against old male autocrats. I can’t, of course, predict how any of these conflicts will play out, but we are, I believe, at a tipping point. The Healer’s Daughters is my attempt to explore both the characters’ reasons for stepping up and the consequences, positive and negative, of their actions. The women at the center of the story have a certain power to act, but they must still deal with the effects, intended and unintended, of their actions. 

There are three additional important female characters in the novel. All of them pay an exceptionally high price for the violence wreaked upon their cities. The green-eyed wife and mother in ISIL-controlled Raqqa, Syria has little control over her life and almost no choice about what she must do. Little Mehmet’s mother, Hafize Suner, also has no say whatsoever in the events in Bergama that destroy her family. The third woman, Özlem Boroğlu’s mother, provides the perspective of an older generation. She does not act as her daughter and granddaughter do, but she understands some things that they are only starting to grasp.

A terrorist bombing in Bergama, Turkey has killed twenty-three people. Investigator Tugce Iskan finds evidence that the terrorists are linked to a powerful criminal family. They are selling artifacts from ancient Pergamon and to the philosopher Galen to fund their plans. Iskan is trying to get help in her investigation but finds herself at a standstill so she enlists the help of local archeologist, Ozlem and his daughter, Elif.

This was an interesting read. You can tell that Jay Amberg clearly loves this area. The history was enough to keep me reading the story. But when you add in the present circumstances it just makes the story that much more entertaining. I don’t agree with the terrorists but you can understand how they become wrapped up in the criminal underworld.

Following the past of the artifacts and people just trying to survive kept me engrossed with the story. There are several threads that wrap around and around until you can see that one or two threads keep them entwined.

This is a wonderful read and one I recommend to anyone that likes a great thriller with a history twist added in.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.