A World I Never Made: A Novel of Suspense

James LePore
The Story Plant (2009)
ISBN 9780981608723
Reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views (6/09)


The words suspense, love, betrayal, and terror are standard fare for literary hype promoting books in the genre of international thrillers.  But “A World I Never Made” by James LePore delivers the goods in short order, starting in the very first chapter.  It is a carefully crafted, well written book with a rich cast of characters and a plot as complicated and convoluted as the characters themselves.  In short, it is my kind of novel.

The plot is relatively straightforward, at least in the beginning.  Pat Nolan, an American, is summoned to Paris to confront a nightmare that would chill the heart of any father; namely, to claim the body of his estranged daughter Megan who had committed suicide.  After a painful interview with the Paris police during which he is given a suicide note, he is escorted to the morgue to identify his daughter‘s body.  But when the moment of truth arrives and the sheet is pulled back, Nolan realizes that it is not Megan. At that moment it becomes instantly clear to him that his daughter staged this fake suicide, that she is in serious trouble, and that she is calling to him for help.
  
Although Nolan feels certain that his daughter is alive, he has very few clues as to her whereabouts.  As he begins his search, he is joined by Catherine Laurence, a beautiful but tormented Paris detective who sees in Nolan something she never thought she’d find--genuine passion and desperate need.  But as the couple expands their search throughout France, it becomes evident that others are intent on finding Megan Nolan as well; namely, Interpol, DST--the French equivalent of the CIA, and a group of international terrorists carrying credentials from the Saudi secret police. The chase turns deadly when the latter begin to stalk Nolan and Detective Laurence, hoping that the couple will lead them to Megan.

Juxtaposed against this tale is Megan’s story. A freelance journalist, Megan is in Morocco doing research for a series of articles she hopes to write about Muslim terrorists. There she meets Abdel Lahani, a Saudi businessman who offers to assist her in her research.  Soon the couple begins a torrid affair and Megan becomes pregnant with Lahani’s child.  Too late, she discovers that Lahani is the mastermind of a vast terrorist group whose operation extends throughout the Middle East and Europe; and that she will be held a virtual prisoner in his home until the child is born.  Desperate to escape, she tries to poison Lahani but is not successful. Finally, she manages to escape through the slums of Casablanca and onto a ferry with the help of an elderly gypsy who is dying of cancer.

The book ends in fine fashion with a confrontation between all concerned in a gypsy camp on the Czech border.  By then, Pat Nolan and Catherine Laurence have fallen in love, which begs the final question; will they marry and have a life together?  You will have to read the book to find out.

This is a well written book with interesting characters and an exciting plot.  What more can I tell you? “A World I Never Made” by James LePore is a winner!

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