{Review} KNOLL by Stephen Hillard

Description:

(Taken from back cover)

Bus McIntyre, a small-town lawyer and Sixties survivor, is presented with evidence from the cold-case murder of his father Dean, a hard-drinking cop, four decades ago. It reveals Dean's ties to a dead Mafia kingpin - and the assassination of JFK. Meanwhile, Banner McCoy, a young NSA data analyst assigned to a project code-named KNOLL, goes into hiding when she learns its objective: eliminate anyone with information on what really happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963. When Bus falls into the agency's sights, all paths lead to a small Louisiana town full of secrets, where the late don's aged but indefatigable hit man awaits, determined to tie up all loose ends.

Charlene's Review:

Let me start by saying I have always been interested in the whole JFK conspiracy theory. KNOLL is a historical fiction based in part by truth and speculation, while leaving the mystery as to how/why for all the generations past and present. Using present-time characters with a tie to the past allows a whole new generation of readers, removed from the actual events, to delve into the mystery surrounding JFK's murder.

I stumbled through the back and forth of characters (Bus and Banner) between chapters and it confused me to no end, at first. I felt a little disjointed. And yet, it was this quality that ultimately led me into feeling the whole thriller part of the story. Feeling slightly out - of - sorts left me with an eerie feeling, like many experience while thinking back on this time in history. We may never know the TRUTH.

While the flow slowed me down, the eccentric but strangely emotion-evoking characters kept me reading. Seemingly unconnected people, all held together by a mysterious string of coincidences and circumstances. Bus's lone journey on his motorcycle especially speaks to the human condition - setting out on a journey to find the truth, and ourselves, in the process.

Whether you label it thriller, fiction, or mystery, or just read it as a book about a man seeking the truth about his father, KNOLL is a commendable work.

*A physical copy was provided by the publicist, FSB Associates, in exchange for an honest review.