Fresh off the last page, I cannot praise The Pendulum enough for its ingenious and disturbingly resonating story, uber-realistic protagonist, horrifying antagonist straight out of a slasher movie, and mind-blowing twists that kept me glued in for the entire 481 pages way past my bedtime. Adam Hamdy has become one of my favorite authors already.
John Wallace, a war photographer, is hunted by a relentless and mysterious man wearing body armor and mask to cover up his identity. With the first attempt on his life written off as a suicide attempt covered up by an elaborate lie, Wallace sets off to investigate on his own. Never have I felt so bad for a character as I do for Wallace as he ends up in some of the worst possible situations which devastatingly break his mind, but not his spirit. Unlike most gun toting protagonists in the genre, Wallace is neither a lethal operative nor a spook, but a regular person who rises to an occasion none of us would want to endure but would like to believe we would rise to as well. I deeply resonated with Wallace and his bone-chilling fear when the masked killer would show up undeterred by any number of guns pointed at him. It speaks volumes for Adam Hamdy’s stellar and vivid writing that even I felt scared of the antagonist especially when the antagonist would go through trained cops like child’s play. Each sequence felt right at home in a slasher movie where NO ONE is safe from the big bad killer.
Even without big action sequences, the narrative powers on at full steam. The twists kept persuading me to read more and more. Each plot-turn shakes things up with eye-opening revelations and ‘WOAH!’ shock factors. I felt so excited to find out the big mystery which, kudos to Adam Hamdy, was not revealed until the last few pages. Actions fans need not worry. John Wallace is trained in Aikido, a Japanese martial art which he liberally uses against the killer and a few other unsavory opponents in undesirable situations. The action is handled wonderfully with just the right amount of detail to easily picture the punches, grapples, and kicks without going into too much detail for the uninitiated.
Every now and then a story comes along that surprises you and fills with exciting and tense energy. The Pendulum is that and much more. Even before reading to the halfway point, I knew I would want to read more of this series. Everything about it is phenomenal, and I do mean EVERYTHING. If you haven’t read this book, it should be on the top of your to-read list without any hesitation.
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Purchase The Pendulum
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Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
