Book Review: The Hubley Case
The Hubley Case. J. Lee. Moonshine Cove Publishing, LLC, November 6, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 270 pages.
Reviewed by Robert King.
Peter Hubley, a family man with a heretofore impeccable reputation, is assassinated in the Sao Paulo airport while on a business trip to Brazil. His widow calls upon a family friend, Ben Siebert, an ex-Marine, to find out who is responsible and why this killing occurred. Siebert joins forces with FBI agent Nikki Benton, who is charged by her superior to investigate the crime. It is revealed to the reader—although not immediately to Siebert and Benton—that there is an evil mastermind, Mr. Riddle, behind the killing, and that the murder is part of a larger, more sinister plot to sell specially-developed malware to Arab terrorists. As Siebert and Benton begin unraveling the mystery, plot twists occur left and right, new enemies are revealed, and Riddle’s hit-man begins eliminating witnesses and co-conspirators. The story becomes littered with the bodies of friends and foes alike, leaving the reader to wonder if Siebert and Benton will be able to survive.
The exploits of the hero of this story, as well as portions of the plot, will sound familiar to the fans of Mitch Rapp, the hero in Vince Flynn’s numerous political-thriller books, and Jack Reacher, the hero in Lee Child’s action thrillers. With books of this genre, the reader must be willing to suspend disbelief because these heroes seem to possess mental and physical abilities far beyond the normal human. But with Flynn’s and Child’s heroes, there is a developed backstory that explains why their heroes possess their extraordinary skills. In The Hubley Case, however, all we know about Ben Siebert is that he is an ex-Marine who, since his discharge and the death of his wife, has been engaged in some sort of vigilante activities trying to right various wrongs. Siebert’s ability to get difficult-to-obtain information or track down people in remote locations is never explained or substantiated. Siebert is aided by his mentor and friend Tom, another ex-Marine, who also apparently has access to non-public information, but without sufficient explanation as to how. At least for me, this made it harder for me to suspend disbelief. Also, some of the plot twists in this book were a little too forced for me.
For fans of this genre, this is still a worthwhile read. The writing is crisp and easy to read, and although some of the dialogue seems somewhat forced, the action portions of the book—where there is actual violence or the threat of violence—are particularly well-written and create real suspense.