The Overseer

I never had any interest in reading the Da Vinci Code, and if I'd heard about this, I might not have been interested in it, either. But somehow I picked up a damaged copy of it, and got terribly interested but it was in such bad shape that there was no way to go on reading. I found that I had to request it from the library, and as soon as it arrived I started over at the beginning. I've read it in chunks since then.

If I'd read this book when it was first released, back in 1998, I'm sure it would have been much more chilling. It was quite effective, even in 2011. I can easily remember the public figures who are echoed in Rabb's books - there are certainly similar ones in the news every day right now (some of them the same ones!)

I did, however, enjoy The Overseer for what it was. I didn't find myself chafing at the flaws other reviewers here have mentioned. Yes, government agents in such thrillers have to be nearly superhuman, and the protagonist, in order to survive, has to learn new rules very quickly. But the reader also has to suspend her disbelief, or she has no business reading such things. If the hero is an idiot, I'll accept that he's a slow learner and likely to die - but then he wouldn't be the hero, would he?

All in all, a decent read if you enjoy thrillers.