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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A passionate thriller about organized crime! A great book., March 20, 2008
This review is from: White Soul (Paperback)
Brandt Dodson's newest novel, WHITE SOUL, is a thrilling intense glimpse at the life of Ron Ortega, a man compelled to succeed at his career even at the risk of losing everything he loves. The novel jumps right into the action. A drug deal is going down. The cops arrive and a shootout ensues. Ron Acuna grabs Michael Santiago and together they drive to safety. Ron Acuna is actually Ron Ortega, undercover cop. Ron was supposed to let Michael be captured, but he had just discovered that Michael has a link to one of the biggest drug lords in Miami, Ricardo Estevez. Ron convinces his superiors to allow him to remain undercover to try to catch Estevez. Ron also has to convince his wife, Libby, that this is a good move. She is at home, pregnant, and struggling to make ends meet.
Ron Ortega quickly infiltrates Estevez's gang. The gang is in a midst of a drug war, one of several factions trying to gain control of the Miami drug market. The primary conflict of the novel is simple. Can Ron, a reformed alcoholic, Christian, and family man remain a man of integrity and faith while at the same time pretending to be a thug and right hand man to one of the most ruthless drug lords in Miami? Orgega knows he can't committ a crime or allow them to be committed, yet he goes along as thugs working for Estevez harrass and beat up dealers and informants. Ron keeps getting drawn in deeper, and given more responsibility. As he gains the trust of Estevez, Ron has to walk the line of playing the part of an ex-con drug dealer and being a law enforcement officer.
Ron begins tending bar at one of Estevez's bars and meets Chipper, a beautiful woman who is attracted to Ron. Estevez also buys Ron a new Lexus and gives him a Rolex. Ron also finds himself longing for the approval of Estevez and his goons. Will Ron realize, before it is too late, that he has been snared by the evil and all it has to offer? Will the money, the women, the drugs and the power pull him over the edge?
This is Dodson's first book after his four-book Colton Parker series. I liked it a lot. Dodson brings the reader right into the innerworkings of a Miami drug cartel. Estevez is a truly evil adversary, Ron is a great, conflicted character, and the novel is peppered with authenticity. This book is full of action and somewhat light on the emotional front. For example, I wish Ron's relationship with Chipper and his wife Libby had been developed more. Dodson set up Ortega's relationship with Chipper to be a major stumbling block to his faith, then kind of drops the on that storyline until the end of the novel.
I recommend this book to those who enjoyed Dodson's previous Colton Parker novels as well as fans of James Scott Bell, Ted Dekker, Randy Singer and fans of all Christian suspense. Dodson takes you to the seamy side of Miami where no one is safe, least of all a Christian like Ron Ortega. You can tell Dodson is passionate about the subject and has done a lot of research into the area of organized crime. It pays off in the tight writing and the attention to detail.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Action and Suspense Never Let Up!, February 2, 2008
This review is from: White Soul (Paperback)
Ron Ortega has gone deep undercover trying to bring down one of Miami's most notorious drug lords. Just a few years into his career with the DEA, Ortega has worked hard to make it this far. A stroke of luck has landed him inside Ricardo Estevez's circle, and he will stop at nothing to bring him down. Along the way he is faced with impossible choices and insurmountable odds as he strives to prove his allegiance to Estevez, all the while trying to hold onto his struggling faith.
White Soul is Brandt Dodson's first novel since his groundbreaking Colton Parker series. This is indeed a worthy addition to what is already a stellar body of work. Dodson writes at a frenetic pace, always holding the reader's attention through short, concise chapters that continually pack a punch. The action and suspense never let up, and the explosive conclusion is both thrilling and satisfying.
As with Colton Parker, Dodson has created a great new character worth pulling for in Ron Ortega. He is anything but perfect, but his flaws and shortcomings will pull readers in effectively. The tension filled glimpses we get into Ron's undercover life are handled especially well, and at no time do these elements come across as phony or forced. Dodson's hardcore fans will love this latest offering, and new readers will have a blast discovering this great new talent who continues to shine.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Victory over vice, March 23, 2008
This review is from: White Soul (Paperback)
I finished "White Soul" this weekend and immediately wanted to know more about the future of Ron Ortega. The undercover detective left Chicago -- and his pregnant wife -- for a temporary stint in a Miami drug sweep, but a twist of fate establishes him in deep cover with a major drug operation.
The passage from which Dodson takes the title is a chilling indictment of what we, as a society, use to fill the need for something more, the something only God can provide.
And though Ortega has God in his heart, it becomes harder and harder to find Him in his life where he witnesses brutality he cannot stop, hears plots for power that begin to make sense, and glimpses the "good life" he could buy if not limited to a cop's salary. Surrounded by alcohol and drugs and tossed into the company of a beautiful woman, Ortega finds it hard to obey the Biblical command to flee from temptation.
On another level, Dodson's novel is an intriquing glimpse into organized crime in Miami, where the leaders of the drug trade struggle in the ultimate turf war: dominance in the vice industry of a new Cuba. With Raul Castro now in control and the promise of economic reform, the possibility of free trade and relaxed travel restrictions could make Dodson's fiction a reality.
Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, Dodson added a new but believable twist as Ortega battles for his life -- and soul.
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