LitPick Review
Erika Harder is still feeling adrift three years after the death of her husband. Gene had been her anchor, someone who had helped her out of a very dark place and had given her the chance to regain a part of herself that she thought she would never get back again. But now he was gone. Despite all of the treatments and all of her efforts, she could not save Gene the way he had saved her.
Erika tried to keep herself busy with her work at the hospital, which kept her mostly preoccupied. And her coworkers were decent enough people, all things considered. But even though she had somewhat managed to get to know one coworker in particular, she still would not let herself get too close to anyone. She knew that once she did, she would lose them just like she had lost Gene. And it would always be something beyond her control…
After her coworker is brutally murdered, another blow is dealt to Erika's already fractured psyche. But before she can even process everything, she is approached by a man named Wellesley with a recruitment offer from the CIA. Soon after accepting his offer, Erika is sent to Station 31 in Madrid to serve as their on site nurse. Her team's primary focus is gathering intel on potential or current threats, and at first things are quiet. It all changes when a suspicious Libyan is brought in for questioning. Unfortunately, the man dies a few days later due to an unknown illness before her team could learn anything - and Station 31 is bombed without warning.
By a stroke of bizarre luck, Erika and Guneet, a translator and fellow team member are the only two survivors. They are forced to flee Madrid and are given new orders to travel to Africa to investigate what they thought would be an unrelated incident. Instead, they make a shocking discovery in Bir Zar where everyone appears to have died from something very similar to what had killed the Libyan.
Could this be why Station 31 had been attacked? Was the Station attacked to destroy the evidence about what had happened to him and the others? Will they be able to discover the truth about what happened and get to safety before it's too late? Or will they end up with more than they bargained for and be forced to fight every step of the way just to survive?
Opinion:
This book proved to be an interesting read from a psychological viewpoint. Throughout the entire book, we can see how Erika processes trauma and the effects it has on her as the story continues. Some might say that she handles it considerably well, while others would probably say that she is potentially on the brink of losing herself completely.
At first, it looks like the reason that she was so quick to accept the offer to join the CIA was because her coworker had just been brutally murdered. And that just like with what had happened to Gene, she could not do anything to prevent it. She was most likely looking for an escape but did not really expect to accomplish much or have to do anything particularly challenging. After the bombing of Station 31 however, she ends up running to escape yet again, only this time both her physical and mental survival depends on it, putting a more serious strain on Erika's well-being.
The bombing of Station 31 gives us yet another look into the state of her mental well-being. She was there for at least two months, yet it was evident that she had yet again not allowed herself to get too attached to anyone. And yet again, she loses them. Only this time, she might have been able to help them if she had only paid attention. And once again, she isn't safe. She doesn't even know if she can completely trust Guneet, a fellow survivor of the bombing.
Her attitude towards Guneet is a bit confusing at first. Initially they cannot stand one another, but after the bombing, he sticks with her and tries to help keep her safe, despite her misgivings about him. I think the dynamic between Erika and Guneet was written this way intentionally because as their friendship develops, it makes you wonder if they became closer to provide each other with an anchor of some kind. Or it could be that it was strictly Erika's doing as a survival tactic since she was not familiar with where she was at, and she did not know anyone else that worked within the agency that might be stationed in Africa at the time.
As the story progresses, she only seems slightly better once she has a slight sense of direction, but quickly loses it again as she continues to struggle just to survive. Towards the end after facing her biggest challenge to survive and get back to the United States, it becomes apparent that a part of her could be gone for good. She no longer shocks herself when the thought of killing people comes to her so easily and does not bother her the way it used to.
The ending was perfect for this type of story. It leaves itself open for a potential continuation of the story but also gives the reader a chance to imagine for themselves what might happen after everything that Erika had to go through. When it comes to stories like these, I personally like the ones that do not have any sequels afterwards. It gives you the opportunity to think about how Erika's state of mind may continue to evolve in an attempt to adapt and cope with everything that happened to her. Or you could imagine what she might do if she fully embraces and accepts the fact that killing someone comes so naturally to her now.
I can see anyone that has ever been through a traumatic event of their own being able to relate to Erika very closely.The way that she deals with everything that has been thrown at her up until the end of the story has been written in a way that suggests two things. The author has either experienced severe trauma themselves, or knows about other people who have, and was able to effectively put the effects and emotions connected to traumatic experiences onto paper. And even if you have been fortunate enough not to have gone through a particularly traumatic experience yourself, you will still be strongly engaged in the story because you will be asking yourself “ what if?” throughout the entire story. How would you cope with losing a loved one? How would you come to terms with killing someone in order to save yourself? Would you turn into something twisted and unrecognizable? Or would you find a way to save yourself?
While the map at the beginning of the book gave me a general idea about where they were, I have never seen any pictures of the places mentioned in the story. More details about how the buildings looked and such would have given their environment a little more depth. That being said, the story is well written and guaranteed to keep you engaged. I would definitely encourage readers to look into other works that the author has done to appreciate his talent as a writer even more.
