As I expand my literary horizons out to self-published and independently published novels, I find myself also drawn to genres I wouldn’t normally choose for myself, in this case, thrillers. I’ve only ever occasionally read mysteries and thrillers, though in retrospect, after reading them I find I’ve deeply enjoyed the suspense.
Suspense is one of the appeals of The Blackout of Markus Moore and it has it in abundance. Indeed its mystery is spun out to the very end. For readers who enjoy domestic thrillers, reflective and tortured unreliable narrators, and edge-of-your-seat urgency, this is the novel for you.
The novel opens — and reads — like a blockbuster film, with a bang (literally) and the blackout of the its eponymous protagonist. Markus is blind to his past, to his present, and finds himself chasing who he is just as much as he finds himself being chased relentlessly by others. This is a man born under an unlucky sign, but there is the possibility that he has designed this complicated constellation himself — and is now the victim of his own making. Readers may find themselves both rooting for and against Markus; even he himself isn’t entirely sure of his role in all this mess. I will leave it to the reader to discover the outcomes themselves.
But they should know there is little time to catch their breath; the novel accelerates, rather than slows down. There is no lull in this thriller. Moreoever, it culminates in an unpredictable, surprise ending. At 256 pages, the novel delivers its payload quickly, which, for some readers who dread heart palpitations, this will be a relief. Though, I imagine, most readers who favor thrillers will love the breath-catching factor of this novel.
Grylles’ prose sets the quick pace of the novel; it is straightforward and succinct, even while it permits the reader — and the novel’s characters — time to ruminate and reflect on events. This is a plot driven novel which proceeds much as a film of its genre would, with one thing leading catastrophically to another. That said, its characters — Markus, Maria, Clark, and even Jackie — are fully fleshed out individuals, visible to the reader both in terms of their physical representations and as players in the fatal cat and mouse game that runs Markus into a frenzy.
Overall, The Blackout of Markus Moore is well-crafted, both in its delivery and conceptualization, a true seat-gripper of a thriller. Readers who would like to purchase it may find it on Amazon here in paperback for $11.99 or read it as an ebook via Kindle Unlimited (subscription required).
Dr JoAnn LoSavio 