Entanglement: A Johnny Denovo Mystery

Andrew Kent
Dog Ear Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9781608447794
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/10) 


Andrew Kent’s “Entanglement” is a rarely intriguing, fast-paced and extremely eloquent mystery. With most books in this genre I tend to have a pretty clear idea of what is going to happen as soon as I finish reading the first couple of chapters. This time I had no idea where the story was going until the very end. Granted, the technical aspects of the device used by the villains for their dastardly deeds far surpassed my understanding of such matters, but even without that I would have found the story refreshingly unpredictable, genuinely intriguing and vastly entertaining.

There is no rest for the weary. Johnny Denovo, still recovering from some lingering effects of his latest case, receives a strange message delivered in an even stranger way. In fact, it looks like there were several messages, slightly masqueraded as mysterious fires and deaths. When Johnny finally pieces them together, he realizes that it was a former colleague of his who was intensely trying to get in touch. The story he tells sounds rather fishy to Johnny, but he also realizes the pressing need to investigate. Aided by his agent and lover, Mona, and a charming cast of supporting characters, Johnny faces two seriously deranged and genuinely dangerous adversaries. To make matters worse, his usual side-kick and invaluable ally, Tucker, is mysteriously missing, seemingly vanished, but still keeping in touch via occasional cryptic messages.  Johnny and Mona, aided by their friends Ivan and Izzy, as well as the enigmatic Wei and his family, have to find and disarm the bad guys. But do they even know what exactly are they hunting?

“Entanglement” was a finely crafted, highly entertaining and very satisfying book. The dialogue was sizzling, the characters wonderfully intricate, the storyline compelling. Andrew Kent’s writing style is fresh, rich and unique, a cut above most of the self-published books I have seen in the past years. I could not help but wonder how would this story translate into a movie? While the fast pace and imaginative twists certainly seem ideal for the silver screen, I am doubtful that the entire mastery of Mr. Kent’s writing could be successfully transferred that way. Having said that, I still think “Entanglement” would make a terrific movie, and I can only hope that if this were to happen, Mr. Kent would not stop writing.

I highly recommend Andrew Kent’s “Entanglement” to anybody who enjoys a well crafted and nicely challenging story, one that keeps you guessing until the very last page and definitely leaves you wanting more. 

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