Review of “Chita Quest” by Brinn Colenda

I haven’t read many stories about POW conspiracies, but this one was thoroughly entertaining and grounded in enough detailed reality to be believable.  Clearly the author’s background and experience adds an air of credibility to this book, and all the military details weave together nicely without being overcomplicated for someone (like me) not from that same background.   I never felt lost in the jargon.  And the story country-hops quite a bit, but each stop along the way is individualized so that you get a unique, flavorful picture of each major setting, whether in D.C., Bangkok, Chita, etc.

There’s something very “Hardy Boys” about Tom and Brian. They’re smart, capable, educated, trained, and seem to be good at absolutely everything.  And Colleen and Elizabeth are equally well-rounded characters, not at all portrayed as the typical, flat “wife character.”   The minor characters are fleshed out well too, and I cared about them just as much as I cared about the fates of the main characters.  In fact, the strongest aspect of this book, for me, was the portrayal of how they’ll do whatever it takes for family.  Early on, there’s a scene with Tom at the hospital that had me nearly in tears (which is saying something, for anyone who knows me), and from then on I was absolutely rooting for these people.  A very strong emotional element holds the book together, which I think is especially fitting for a story that could hit close to home for many.

I don’t want to reveal much of anything about the plot, but the story certainly pulls you along and stays interesting, maintaining suspense all the way through.  I never got bored.  There weren’t really any major plot twists or anything, but suspense is certainly maintained all the way through.  Car chases, home invasions, skiing shootouts, etc. chase these people all over the globe.   Who can they trust? What actually happened to their missing father?

The only thing that was a bit of a hiccup for me was that everything always just kind of fell into place so that everything was fine.  There’s plenty of danger, but they kept bouncing out of it and could focus on enjoying their surroundings and their wine again.  And it all wrapped up really easily and nicely, although there’s of course still trouble with the Russians.

Overall, I really recommend this for anyone who’s into military/political conspiracies.  Well worth a read.

 See it on Amazon!