Title: Hope Betrayed
Subtitle: A Stripping of Trust
Author: Charles R. Kuhn
Publisher: LitFire Publishing
Pages: 278
Genre: Fiction / Thriller
Reviewed by: Jake Bishop
Hollywood Book Reviews
Author Charles R. Kuhn has fashioned a contemporary thriller whose subject matter reaches into the very heart of present-day commerce, religious, and political debate. His tale involves a chase across countries and continents, eventually coming full circle in revelations that rock long-respected institutions. Before his novel’s end, extreme examples of corruption, greed, and amorality are laid bare. But does the disclosure come in time to save the individual who takes it upon himself to unmask an inconceivable conspiracy?
James Armstrong is a man with a death sentence. He has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The disease has already begun its crippling effects. When it is determined that his daughter may also be in the early stages of the malady, James refuses to accept the general consensus that there is no cure. He becomes obsessed with finding out everything he can about the ailment. Initially teaming with a pharmaceutical company to do extensive research, he slowly becomes aware that those ostensibly helping him may not be what they seem. Paranoia begins to set in when James uncovers a document buried deep within the Library of Congress that sheds light on avenues for a potential cure. Soon he’s on his way to Italy to track down a doctor pursuing revolutionary techniques in stem cell rejuvenation and transplantation. But he’s not alone. Multiple forces are at work—forces determined to stop him before he learns too much.
James finds that the doctor in Milan, Isabel, is as beautiful as she is brilliant, but she’s been slapped with a restraining order and is unable to continue her procedures. When they decide to go to London to seek another doctor with similar capabilities, failed attempts are made to stop them. But in England, the doctor’s facilities are destroyed by fire. James and Isabel realize that powerful, sinister forces are determined to keep them from learning too much. Undeterred however, they strike out for Sweden while simultaneously attempting to elude those who would stop them. Amid escalating attempts on their lives—one of which results in a gunshot wound to Isabel—their desperate trek to uncover information leads to Australia and New Zealand. When James discovers explosive information there which he needs to get back to America; he’s catapulted into a deadly cat and mouse game. Will he be able to get his evidence back to the states, or will he lose his life in the process?
Kuhn keeps his story moving at a swift pace. Choosing to tell most of his tale in first-person narrative from his protagonist, he’s able to maintain urgency as suspense builds. While readers are definitely caught up in the individual plight of James and Isabel, they’re also exposed to the philosophical, ethical, and moral arguments involved in the whole aspect of stem cell research. Conflicting agendas of corporations, politicians, and religious organizations are interwoven with the basic rights of individuals in ways which make Kuhn’s yarn as stimulating to one’s intellect as to one’s adrenal glands. Those who like their thrillers smart, will likely be engaged by this one.