The Smuggler's Promise by Rufus Hylton (Book Review)

This is a proper rags-to-riches story about working your way up the ladder in organised crime. I love those kinds of stories, and I always feel a little sad when they eventually get bust and everything falls apart.

That does happen in this story, but in a completely unexpected way. Without giving away any spoilers, I was blown away, but absolutely satisfied, The Smuggler's Promise neared its conclusion.

What I loved the most about this book were the short chapters--no more than five pages each, and most a lot shorter. My reading sessions tend to be quite short (less than ten minutes each), and It's nice to be able to read a couple of chapters in each.

The language is also really simple and easy to follow, and although there are a lot of characters, I hardly had to scratch my head once, trying to remember who was who.

On the editing front, I will say that it needs a bit of work. Not in terms of typos--there are precious few of those--but in the style. It's simple, yes, but it's a double-edged sword. Perhaps it's a little TOO simple at times. In one sentence, for example, the author mentions the same character's name three or four times. The same goes for objects like "the boat", where those things could have been mentioned once and "it/he/she" used subsequently in those sentences.

Still, it's a fantastic read, which you won't be able to put down. I can highly recommend it if you're interested in true crime.

My Review: 4 / 5 stars

About the Book

Stumbling into the dangerous and lucrative world of drug lords and the smuggling scene of the 1970’s was the last thing Ryan O’Dair pictured for himself when starting a new life in the Florida Keys. But like the lure of love and adventure in a tropical paradise—it pulls Ryan in—planting him in the crosshairs of Scott Jones, a rogue DEA Agent who will stop at nothing short of sabotage, heists, and murder to take down Ryan and the crime syndicate as it networks across Florida, the Caribbean and South America. And as the pursuit becomes a high stakes game of survival, Ryan has to decide if the wrong side of the law is the right place to be.

Click here to find out where you can get yourself a copy.