Book Review

Sunday afternoons we typically relax, watch a little TV, play on the computer, or read a book. Sometimes it's even a mix of all. Today (after my nap, of course) I finished reading "The Last Days" by Joel C. Rosenberg. LOVED IT!

Mr. Rosenberg previously wrote the bestseller prequel, "The Last Jihad", however I somehow missed that one, but you really don't have to read it to follow the events. Found this on the $5 table at Wal-mart a couple of months ago. Started it and then got interrupted and just got back to it this past week. I can't believe I ever put it down, but life has an irritating habit of getting in the way of little pleasures. Gee!

Jon Bennett is a high-powered Wall Streeter brought onto President MacPherson's advisory staff to broker the most important deal of his career - peace in the Middle East. The Palestinian/Israeli conflict is escalated when Arafat (yes, a little out-of-date) and much of the U.S. delegation is blown to smithereens by the head of Arafat's security detail, also a high-level operative in a secret terrorist organization.

The organization is bent on chaos and throwing the peace process into the tank, assured that Israel will retaliate when suicide bombers strike in tandem at the heart of Jerusalem. An Israeli strike in the West Bank and Gaza will bring down the hard hand of other Arab nations against Israel, and the U.S. will be forced to come to the aid of Israel once again, inflaming certain Asian and European tensions. The entire world could be thrown into utter destruction as it holds its collective breath, awaiting the ultimate response sure to come.

But will the response be the right one?

Great tension. Dramatic action. The pace is quick, non-stop. The stakes escalate until you feel as if you're about to fall off a cliff.

I actually found myself squirming and holding my breath a couple of times in the last few chapters. It made me laugh at myself. Haven't got that caught up in a book for a long time. Thrillers aren't really my thing, but it sounded like a good premise. Plus I've been looking for some good reading material in other genres that I'm not used to reading. This one fit the bill BIG TIME.

Highly recommended!