Imagine a central character who is a Middle Eastern refugee
dealing with PTSD and culture shock.
Then think about how she’ll deal with being thrown into an undercover
assignment for the FBI. Will she sink or
will she swim? I certainly found this scenario
intriguing.
Protagonist Zoe Mousa is a wonderful character. Yet many
readers will never find out about her because the cover of this book is so
misleading. Perhaps the author thought it might increase sales. Ben Zehabe may not realize that his cover
amounts to deceptive advertising. It is
an appropriate cover for erotica, but there are no sex scenes in this
thriller. Not only this, but it’s a poor
representation of the central character’s values. Zoe prefers to dress modestly in accordance with
her upbringing. Another marketing
problem posed by this cover, is that no one will want a post about this book to be going out to their friends’ feeds on social
media. I can't even add the book to a shelf on Goodreads without the cover going out on my feed. It could cause problems for my Goodreads
friends at work, or in their homes if they contain children. This is why I won't be reviewing this book on Goodreads.
I wish that Unassimilated had a cover that better represented its content because this novel deals with some important themes. In addition to the challenges facing
immigrants, there is also the issue of technology’s increasing role. The TV show Mr. Robot has brought the power
of hackers to cause disruption to the fore.
The hacking element in Unassimilated
caused me to reflect even more on how vulnerable our technology makes us.
Although I found only one typographical error, I need to
point out an inconsistency in this novel.
Ben Zehabe doesn’t seem to be aware that the United States has an agency
that deals with overseas espionage called the CIA. The FBI is limited to
domestic operations. This is the second
time that I’ve seen this error in a thriller.
Zoe makes some serious mistakes in judgement, but I felt that
they are very much in character considering her background. My affection for Zoe deepened over the
course of the narrative as I learned her entire story. I
recommend this book to anyone who likes character complexity with their thrill
rides.
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