Review of “Justifiable Deceit” by Mikael Carlson

Score: 96/100 (9.6 out of 10)

Anyone who has followed our reviews for any amount of time knows that 9.6 is the highest score we've ever given a book. They might also know that this score is especially rare for fiction books with less than a handful of fiction books achieving the score. Well, Justifiable Deceit rightfully joins this elite and exclusive collection of books—the best of the best.

For starters, this book arguably has the best, most suspenseful opening we have ever read as a young student, Tierra, seeks shelter from a mass-shooter, and we aren't immediately given relief or a reprieve. In fact, the author and the plot leave us hanging, not clear about what happened or how Terra survived. In fact, the whole book surrounds the mystery behind how Terra survived the mass shooting while 66 of her classmates didn't, the mystery behind the shooter (18-year-old Caleb Pratt), and—perhaps most importantly—the socio-political repercussions of the shooting.

10 years after the deadliest school shooting in the nation's history, America is on edge with the escalation of more mass shootings. One of the survivors of the Brockhampton High School shooting, Ethan Harrington, emerges as the face, figurehead, champion, and mouthpiece of the gun control movement. Ethan is viewed as both a victim and a hero of the Brockhampton shooting. However, the book repeatedly lays breadcrumbs that Ethan may not be the perfect, blameless angel he appears to be.

In fact, Ethan's entire backstory becomes muddier and muddier as well as more suspect as the book goes along. You soon meet Ryan Baino, a king maker and Ethan's mentor, who views politics in a Machiavellian light. Ryan desires to “win at all costs.” He sees gun control as an issue that he can take advantage of to seize political power for himself and his protegees. He is not beyond bullying, hacking, doxing, assaulting, and perhaps even murdering political opponents to get what he wants. That's right: the very person who seems to be pushing hardest against violence in America is the very person willing to do these things.

A new bill has also hit the senate floor called the “Safe America Act” introduced by Senator Alicia Standish. A lot of this novel centers around the very real-world and relevant debate regarding gun control and the passing of this bill into law. This book's narrative does tend to lean toward gun control, but it does give readers the other side. Predictably, Republicans oppose the bill while most Democrats seem to support it. However, what's interesting is that not all Democrats support it or want to publicly admit their support for it. Some just want to get behind it for political gain, so that they can win reelection or save face to their supporters. It's politics. The author does a very good job at portraying a very balanced and fair view of politics. It's not a battle between angels and demons, it's a battle between fallible human beings who want power and control regardless of what party they claim allegiance to.

A lot of it is political theater. That means it's all for show. It's about looking good and gaining or maintaining power. There's even a moment in this book when Ethan must decide between presenting his big speech in the presence of the victims of mass shootings or in the presence of the governor.

There are two very strong and courageous female protagonists in this book in Tierra Campo, the shooting survivor turned journalist, and Special Agent Victoria Larsen of the FBI. Both of these women are after the same thing: the truth. Who is this mysterious survivor named Elizabeth Schwarzer and what might her diary reveal? How did Tierra and Ethan survive the shooting? Did any of them actually know the shooter, Caleb, and—if so—what were their relations like? Did Caleb have an accomplice or someone who may have known about his intentions beforehand? Why was Ethan covered in blood when he exited the school? Why do the regulars at the shooting range that Caleb frequented give conflicting testimonies about his personality and behavior?

This really is an extraordinary book that could fall into several categories. It's a mystery novel, a crime thriller, and a political thriller all wrapped into one. It explores how the issue of gun control isn't so much a battle between political parties as it is a battle between extremes.

Check it out on Amazon!