Review: Inherit the Throne by Steve DeWinter

Inherit the Throne
by Steve DeWinter
Release Date: February 3, 2011
2011 CreateSpace
E-Book Edition; 276 Pages
ISBN: 978-1456403249
ASIN: B004V9GKNW
Genre: Fiction / Thriller
Source: Review copy from Pump Up You Book!: Virtual Book Publicity Tours

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Some lines should never be crossed. Living under a new identity in the tiny Northwestern tourist town at the base of Mount Hood, Melissa thought she had finally escaped her past. That is until an assassin tries to kill her and forces her back into a treacherous shadow world she vowed never to return.

That same night an unmanned robotic SUV slams into the limousine of the Vice President of the United States and detonates with several hundred pounds of explosives. Melissa soon discovers that the attack on the Vice President and the attempt on her own life are related.

And time is running out to find out who wants her dead and why she alone holds the key to saving the President of the United States.

My Thoughts
Inherit the Throne was a fast, fun, enjoyable read that was comprised of non-stop action on pretty much every page, and a slew of characters that kept the action interesting and somewhat suspenseful.  With a few surprises that caught me off guard, and a delightful new heroine, this novel was a pleasant surprise.

Once I was able to suspend some disbelief in the storyline as it seemed a little over the top at times, I really enjoyed the multiple plot lines as they converged together into a whole.  There was a bit of technical language used in the novel, but as I am married to a military man, I was able to gloss over those with ease; however, someone with little technical knowledge might get caught up in it and find it somewhat confusing.  The pacing from one event to another is quick, the chapters being fairly short, and the story told from multiple perspectives.  Yet, it all works and I think it's because the author does not seem to get involved in a lot of unimportant details that deter one from the real action at hand and focuses in on what the characters are doing and saying in the moment, giving us just enough detail to help us figure out what is really going on.  Or at least think we figured it all out.

Another reason why everything works out so well is the characters.  There is not a lot of time spent on character development and you don't get too involved in the moral implications of what the characters are doing.  While this can often be a negative in most novels, it seemed to work in this novel, and I sense that there is build up for a lot of character development to happen in future novels rather than this one; this one was to set up events and characters for future novels.  I will admit that the chapters I enjoyed the most were those that involved Melissa, the main character, and I found her to be gutsy and courageous.  We learned only a little about her past and about a mysterious woman named 'Hannah' who seemed to be controlling everything in Melissa's life as well as the events that forced Melissa out of hiding.  I enjoyed the struggle she had with herself when she had to choose between someone really important in her life and the President of United States as it made her seem more human and vulnerable.  There is definitely more to her character than meets the eye and what we saw in this novel.

This was a complicated and intriguing story and the concept of being watched digitally all of the time certainly gave me pause.  To have the government recording every phone call, and to be watched all of the time would be creepy and frightening.  And to have this knowledge in the wrong hands could be very deadly.  And knowing who to trust with this knowledge, especially if the wrong person is chosen, could have devastating effects on everybody.  I love how the President talks about how we are so focused on preventing harm from international sources that we often forget to look clearly at those who are with us daily as potential threats and we should always be on guard. 

What I would liked to have seen was a little more substance to some of the chapters and to some of the relationships between the characters as I felt sometimes like there was something lacking or I was missing something.  I even went back a couple of times and re-read some chapters because I thought I missed something important relating to one of the characters or to one of the events.  While I enjoyed the complicated and intriguing storyline, a little more information would definitely have helped, or a more developed storyline would have helped.  Sometimes characters just appeared (or disappeared), with little explanation, and I was left wondering how Melissa knew them or how they related to the story. 

Verdict
Inherit the Throne was an interesting, quick read that had some intriguing plot twists, although it could be predictable at times as well.  I enjoyed the characters, although there was not a lot of character development, and particularly enjoyed the ending as it definitely set up the novel as a type of series.  If you are looking for a thriller with a lot of action and suspense, then I would recommend Inherit the Throne.