A Novel By David Dvorkin (New Release!)
Cage Of Bone tells the intriguing story of Max, an unremarkable man until he starts hearing the thoughts of a killer in a movie theatre. The unusual skill gives him evidence that can put criminals behind bars, and he works with DDA Grady Jacobs to bring down some very bad men. Jacobs offers Max a job in the DA’s office, targeting organised crime on a larger scale. It is then that Max meets other mind readers, leading him to discover why he has this peculiar ability, and into a maze of crime and cover-ups that threatens Max and those around him.
Cage Of Bone has a very interesting premise, and I consumed it at breakneck speed. The trials and tribulations that Max endures in the book show us both sides of his nature. He learns to kill, but he never loses touch with the good guy that lurks inside him.
The twists and turns of the plot lead us down some cul-de-sacs and cause us to question characters who are not all they appear to be. Max’s fractious relationship with his father and stepmother is a great example of how to weave a thread of complexity into a story, and Dvorkin throws us breadcrumbs that we eagerly consume, then reveals the more tempting dishes that the breadcrumbs had blinded us to.
The story races along at a great pace, and the compelling plot demands that you keep going until the end to find out how everything ties together and what will happen to our reluctant hero, Max, especially when he encounters the people at the top of the organisation he finds himself working against. The bodies stack up as the plot thickens, and the mind-reading element, so key to the story, is intriguing and entertaining throughout.
The reason for the ability to read minds is explained, and that was the only disappointment in the book for me. It was tenuous, I thought, borderline conspiracy theory. I would probably have preferred to be left wondering about it than be spoon-fed the somewhat trite explanation that eventuated.
Apart from that one element that I didn’t enjoy, but many probably will, the story was faultless. Some of the characters were a bit too good to be true, and I thought they might have spiced up the later stages by revealing their darker nature, but that was not to be. The denouement revealed sinister connections between Max, Lynnette, and the leaders of the group Max became entangled with and explains some of Max’s misconceptions along the way. I think Dvorkin sold himself short here; he could have got more books out of Max had he chosen a different ending.
There were a few typos, and a lot of the writing was quite passive, but the book was hugely enjoyable nonetheless, and I suggest you grab a copy, read all about mind-reading Max, then strap on your tin foil helmet in case it all turns out to be true.
‘Cage of Bone’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/49jMyi3
(Review by Hayley Price)
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