Book Review: Incitement by David Graham

About:
Incitement by David Graham is a fictional book about the drug trade. The book has won a national competition from over 500 entrants run by an Irish radio station.

• 342 pages
• Publisher: Andromeda Publishing
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1909483451

 

My rat­ing for Incitement— 5
Buy Incitement from Amazon.com*

Thoughts:
Incitement by David Graham is a fast-paced thriller about the drug cartels as seen through the eyes of Diane Mesi, a DEA agent. The book is well researched and a wonderful debut novel.

I found the story to be engaging with good characterization. The story moves fast between locations, the motives for the different cartels ring true and the author handled the balance of power, albeit fictional, masterfully.

The author keeps the reader guessing about the real motives of all the characters involved. As is in life, there is not black and white, but only shades of gray. Even the “good guys” have their own dark motivation.

The novel reminded me of a pivotal scene in the movie Lord of War () starring Nicholas Cage. In it Cage, playing a weapons dealer, has been arrested by a government agent who has been trying to build a case against him for a long time. As they sit in the interrogation room, Cage leans forward and says:

Soon there’s going to be a knock on that door and you will be called outside. In the hall there will be a man who out-ranks you. First he’ll compliment you on the fine job you’ve done – on you making the world a safer place. That you’re to receive a commendation or a promotion. And then he’s going to tell you that I am to be released. You’re going to protest. You’ll probably threaten to resign. But in the end, I *will* be released. The reason I’ll be released is the same reason you think I’ll be convicted. I do rub shoulders with some of the most vile, sadistic men calling themselves leaders today. But some of those men are the enemies of your enemies. And while the biggest arms dealer in the world is your boss, the President of the United States, who ships more merchandise in a day than I do in a year, sometimes it’s embarrassing to have his fingerprints on the guns. Sometimes he needs a freelancer like me to supply forces he can’t be seen supplying. So, you call me evil, but unfortunately for you, I’m a necessary evil.

This novel reminded me of this quote, after all the governments around the world make a lot of money keeping drugs illegal (as well as many other private and semi-private companies).

About:
DEA agen Diane Mesi is investigating a war between two drug cartels. Mesi thinks that there is a third part invovled but fails to get support from her superiors.

Michael Larsen, an ex-soldier and current mercenary, is hired to keep the war going so both sides can destroy themselves. Neither Mesi nor Larsen know what the point of what they’re doing is or that both are being manipulated by powerful forces.

Buy Incitement from Amazon.com*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account