Saint Justice — Mike Grist

Book Review and Blog Tour

With on-point metaphors, suspenseful action scenes, and psychological twists, Saint Justice fully deserves a 5-star rating and will not disappoint.

Synopsis

Ex-CIA agent Cristopher Wren stumbles upon a warehouse in the boondocks of Utah stockpiled with baby formula, multi-vitamins, and sets of adult-sized clothing – everything you need to keep a human alive. He also finds a massive cage. A cage this size is only built for one purpose. Humans.

America’s homeless population has been slowly disappearing over the past few months, and no one knows why. Or even bothers to ask. When Wren discovers the warehouse, he realizes the owners must be a human trafficking organization bigger than anything the CIA has seen before. Something that has been growing under their noses like a tumor spreading through the underbelly of America.

After having abandoned the CIA in the midst of his own personal turmoil, Chris Wren is a wanted man. The CIA isn’t about to let him go unscathed, and now they’re willing to do anything to get him back. He grudgingly admits that he needs help. Thankfully, he has his group of misfit vigilantes that he either rules over, or helps, depending on who you ask. Regardless, they come when he calls, and he’s calling them all now. Everyone needs help. Even Christopher Wren.

Review

Saint Justice, the first in Mike Grist’s Christopher Wren Thriller series, begins with an incredibly moving opening told through the eyes of Mason, a homeless ex-marine living in Chicago. It was a creative and poignant introduction to the main plotline, and I became heavily invested within the first five pages. Part-psychological thriller and part-crime, this book is filled with fast-paced action paired with in-depth character profiles that left me quickly flipping pages to find out what happened next.

This book is like candy to a psychologist – there are a plethora of messed up personalities that you can dissect until your heart is content. Clearly a well-researched book, Wren digs into the psychology behind cultist groups as well as radical white supremacists. It is both fascinating from a psychological standpoint as well as extremely disturbing at times. It puts a whole new twist on the novel that I wasn’t expecting going in.

Wren himself is a dynamic character. At first giving off Jason-Bourne-minus-the-amnesia vibes, you quickly begin to realize the parts of his past that have significantly shaped his personality are purposefully hidden from the reader.

“There was no backup team to accompany him, no phone signal to summon support through his dark net, only a knife at his waist and his wits.”

His “Foundation” is essentially a cult, constructed to give him purpose and help others who are going down the wrong path. Wren saves them, filling a role similar to a sponsor for a drug addict. From there, the longer they stay on the straight and narrow, the more coins they accumulate. The coins are how Wren controls his Foundation members. With each new member comes another unique personality. Together they created an interesting and dynamic story. Parallels between Wren’s Foundation and the human trafficking ring created another layer of intrigue.

The more of his vigilantes you meet, the more you wonder whether he might need them more than they need him. Wren is a complicated character perfectly created for Grist’s thriller series. He works to right wrongs, but he’s not all pure. He essentially runs a cult and uses people’s worst fears against them in an effort to make them better which forces you to question his true motives – does he do it for them, or for himself?

Summary

Grist’s writing style mirrors Wren’s fast-paced story while also providing moments of sarcastic brevity that lighten the mood when needed. Saint Justice completely deserves 5 out of 5 stars. With on-point metaphors, suspenseful action scenes, and psychological twists, Saint Justice will not disappoint.

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About Mike Grist

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