About:
January and July by Jeff Abbott is a standalone thriller with twists galore. Mr. Abbott is a published novelist known for his mysteries and thrillers.
- 399 pages
- Publisher : Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
- Language : English
- ISBN-13 : 979-8874822194
My rating for January and July - 3
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More books by Jeff Abbott*
Thoughts:
I do enjoy a good espionage book, and I was looking forward to reading this one as well. But I quickly discover that the book is more to a police procedural than one of a geopolitical or realpolitik nature.
I thought that the dynamics between January and July were done very well, and a refreshing way to tell a story, January is a cynical woman, hardened by her mistakes and intelligence background. July, on the other hand, is has a less analytical and more physical approach to his investigation-or more accurately, "investigation."
The story of January and July by Jeff Abbott is takes place in a small town of Lethey, Texas which gives the book a claustrophobic feel, which the author managed to capture wonderfully. The town itself, with its set of individuals and characters who might, or might not, be part of the mystery, gives the novel the shades of gray I enjoy in such genres.
Man of la Book's Margin Notes: System Latency and Genre Benchmarks
I really enjoyed Mr. Abbott's espionage setup in the beginning of the novel. Viewing it through other espionage books I've read I feel that January and July is more about integration between two completely different users, than actually searching for a mission asset.
1. The Flawed Female Intelligence Protocol
January Holte is a complex female protagonist with some trauma in her young life, as is tradition. In cyber security, we call that mindset a "zero-trust" framework, basically be cynic and assume everyone's a bad actors while hunting for the real ones. This mindset helps Ms. Holte realize that someone in her organization might be compromised.
This scenario led me to think about Amanda Cole and Mary Mitchell, the protagonists of Anna Pitoniak's The Helsinki Affair, as well as Lauren Wilkinson's American Spy, respectively. All three woman are very analytical, attempting to navigate a system which pulled all, or most, support from them. The difference is the environment, Ms. Pitoniak's protagonist is knees deep in international finances, while Mr. Abbot's heroine is stuck in a small, dusty, isolated town.
2. System Lag
The middle section of the book, as I mentioned, has some latency issues, January and July cannot simply query a system or a database for their investigation, but must ping local townspeople, with a lot of repetitive, manual pings which slowed down the pace.
In All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer, the slow burn investigation is done over a single dinner, which 1 felt maximized the psychological tension as well as not halting the narrative. The misdirection in the book is lightning quick (I had to read that section again because I totally missed it). Mr. Abbott relies on an explosive, physical execution to close the logic gaps towards the end.
The setting up of the story is fantastic, and I thought I was in for a great ride. But the middle of the book is just a slog to get through. It plays like a police procedural with repetitive questioning of the town folks that drags the narrative and stops the tension dead in its tracks. Luckily, the pace picks up towards the end-but the slow grind is much of the book.
There are also a lot of characters and many things which happen in January's life, which are either parallel or intersecting with her investigation. Much like real life, I know. But between the agency's politics and drama, the family secrets and small-town politics it was difficult for me to keep to track of who's who and what's going on.
Nevertheless, this is a sold summer thriller. The two main protagonists are very likable and the premise is enticing. It's a fun book, with action and twists which took me on an enjoyable ride.
Synopsis:
January Holt is an intelligence officer who would have been fired if her mother was not a legend in the agency she works for. She has been tasked with tracking a traitor selling agency secrets.
July Whitlock is a bouncer/bodyguard whose first client is Bill Connors, the man January is searching for. Both January and July end up in the same small Texas town trying to find out what they're in for.
Buy January and July from Amazon.com*
More books by Jeff Abbott*
In a world increasingly dominated by global, digitized surveillance as seen in thrillers like 'The Helsinki Affair', do you think a physical, 'air-gapped' community like Lethey, Texas remains the ultimate hiding place for modern secrets, or are tight-knit small-town networks actually easier for an outsider to crack than digital firewalls?
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free.
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account
