Kathy's Review: The Mediator by Michael Abayomi

ASIN #: B006K0G2WY

File Size: 298 KB

Format: Kindle Edition

Book Summary:

(From the author)

A lawyer's search for truth and justice makes him a victim of the very same criminal prosecution system he has sworn to serve.

It started with a simple phone call. Next thing John knew, he was meeting with a reporter who claimed to have the information he needed to prove his client's innocence. But John could not foresee that its pursuit would lead him to the body of the informant, placing him at the scene of the crime and also making him the sole suspect. Now, with a presiding judge who seems dead-set on making an example out of him, John must first prove his own innocence, before he is sentenced to erasure, a form of capital punishment wherein the convict's memories are completely erased.

Kathy's Review:

The Mediator is a (very) short story surrounding John Davidson, a seemingly powerful man who is set up for murder, uncovering some dangerous secrets in the process. He has an interesting back story which we unfortunately don't get to see much of during this brief novella.

Fast-paced action fills the pages, leaving the reader (in this case, me) wanting more.

Right now I'd give this book about a 6/10 with huge room for improvement - I think it could easily be an 8 or 9. I think Abayomi can definitely build upon these characters and create something fantastic. There's so much unexplored territory in this story - I know the author plans on having sequels, but I think more attention is needed to this first installment.

The character development could go a little bit deeper. What exactly is a mediator? It seems like it's kind of like a lawyer, but this needs more explanation. How did John come to be in this position? What's with his secretary, Renee? Does his mentor, Robert McAllister, know more than he's letting on? What exactly happened to John's father? There are just a few questions I had while reading. I'd love to see these questions each get answered within the context of this book.

Aside from that, there are a couple of misused words and some grammatical errors sprinkled throughout. The biggest offender was "breaking an entry" where I think the author meant to say "breaking and entering." This term was used three times, so I don't think it was just a typo the first time. The word "commandeer" is used incorrectly as well.

The author clearly is headed in the right direction and I think just needs a little bit more work to get where he needs to go with this story. Read for yourself and see what you think!