Book Review - Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

When I first read the synopsis for Cold Fury being a sort of mixture of Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos I was all over it. I love both franchises. After reading the book to its conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually liked 16 year old Sara Jane Rispoli as the main character and protagonist.

Perhaps the main reason I liked it was that the story is told in Chicago and has mob elements in it which always peeks my interest since I am Italian and know a thing or two about being surrounded by “The Boys”. Of course, I could be a sadist as well since nothing about corruption, the Mob or Chicago has ever bored me. Even as I grow older, I love the old stories about Al Capone, Frank Nitti and the FBI’s attempts to take them both down. Cold Fury returns to the old days with tunnels underground, doors leading to secret hideouts, and former speakeasies that were used to transport ill-gotten goods, including alcohol during the Prohibition.

To its core, Cold Fury is about Sara Jane’s quest to find her family after discovering some dark secrets behind the Rispoli Clan on her Sixteenth birthday. Armed with a steel briefcase filled with money, an Amex Black Card in her name, A Sig Sauer .45 and an Old Leather Notebook that has been passed down from generation to generation, Sara is forced to confront her families dark past while staying one step ahead of those who want what the books secrets hold.

What really interested me about Cold Fury was Sara Jane’s ability to absorb a person’s deepest fears and project them back to the person she is confronting. She is also a trained boxer who stands up for herself and fights back against corrupt cops, an uncle who went too far in his attempts to sabotage his own brother, and a mysterious masked man who appears seemingly out of nowhere in an attempt to kill Sara. There are other elements to this book as well, but, I would just be spoiling the ending to the book, and I won’t be doing that anytime soon.

Cold Fury is supposedly the first book of a trilogy planned by T.M. Goeglein, and thus not all the questions are answered. There are relationship issues between Sara and several characters that really aren’t explored since Sara spends so much time on the run, and hiding from those who are attempting her harm.

Author T.M. Goeglein has created an exciting and fast paced story with a very likable character and I am definitely looking forward to continuing the series by reading Flicker and Burn when it releases later in 2013.

Author - T.M. Goeglein
Title - Cold Fury (Cold Fury # 1)
Publisher - Putnam Juvenile
Released - July 24, 2012
Genre - YA, Thriller, Suspense