The Recruit: Book 1 (CHERUB)

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This socially complex police procedural, with its issues that remain all too relevant today, deserves a wide audience.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) This is the second book in a series. I did not read the first book, but the subject matter in the two books is completely different, and this book works fine as a standalone. In 1987, the police in a small California town are faced with several seemingly unrelated incidents - a poisoned child, a murdered real estate developer, a dead dog behind a Vietnamese grocery. But when detective Ben Wade and his pathologist girlfriend Natasha Betencourt look closer, they find the links, and once they see them it is obvious that hatred is all around them. Finally, I hated how emotions were discarded in this novel. The main character had to go through extensive training to become a full-fledge member of CHERUB. These tasks would've required a huge amount of physical and emotional effort. Yet, the only emotional descriptions consisted of, "It was freezing," or "I was so mad." I wanted to get into his pain. I was some in-depth descriptions of his inner and outer turmoil. However, that was not the case. There was simply a shoddy attempt at development, but, in reality, his big conflict taught him nothing. This one-dimensional character was just no relatable. The first day of this crime spree might have been the best day with even more deaths, more domestics terrorism and more heartbreak following. This might be one of the best books I’ve read this year, but it will most likely be the darkest.

Imagine a world where terrorist organisations, drug barons and major criminals are brought to justice by children. In CHERUB this is a reality. Title meaning: "That Sounds Like a You Problem" (Technically, Owen says, "Wow, sounds like a you problem".) The Recruit is a disturbing novel that focuses on white supremacy during the years following the Vietnam conflict when certain people in California and throughout the US were wrongly concerned about being displaced in society by immigrants. While I know there are person with such offensive ideology in the USA, the degree of hate and vitriol was hard to realistically accept.The kid was 11. Actually, except for like two other minor characters, everyone was under the age of 12-13. And if that isn't enough, they're way more worldly than preteens. They're cursing, drinking, smoking, fighting, partying, and overall way too mature in adult situations to be taken seriously as little kids. Thank you to Random House and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. A 3-CD audiobook was released in the UK on 21 September 2006, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt. [5] [6] Critical reception [ edit ] Prior to James’s 100 days of basic training, he begins some physical drills. Since he can’t swim, one of his greatest challenges is overcoming his fear of water. A 16-year-old CHERUB named Amy trains him. James is pleased to learn Lauren has been removed from Ron’s care and invited to join CHERUB as well. Basic training is brutal, emotionally and physically. James gets off to a bad start with his 11-year-old partner, Kerry, but eventually sees her as an asset, friend and potential romantic interest.

Drew does a great job of painting 1987 Southern California. This small, middle class community doesn’t have a crime problem. In fact, people move here to escape the crime of the big cities. Ben Wade was one of those people. But still, there’s a Vietnamese sub-community that isn’t welcome by all. “This kind of thing didn’t happen until they got here.” The parallels to today are frightening.Cherub agents are kids ages 10-17 and are trained to be spies to infiltrate criminal organizations that have eluded the M15 for years. The reason? Adults never suspect that kids are spying on them. Extraordinary! I can think of no other thriller that portrays its vital themes—all relevant to our times—in such a riveting and up close and personal way.”—Jeffery Deaver, author of The Bone Collector