Books*Reviews*Etc: THE INTERROGATOR'S NOTEBOOK by Martin Ott

THE INTERROGATOR'S NOTEBOOK by Martin Ott

OVERVIEW: (from Amazon)

Story Merchant Books presents the debut novel Interrogator’s Notebook from prize-winning author and blogger Martin Ott. A former U.S. Army interrogator, Martin Ott uses his real-world experience and meticulous research in creating the character of Norman Kross, a master interrogator skilled at unlocking others’ secrets but blind to the truth of his relationship with his wife, sons, father and friends.

In the novel, Norman Kross is a career interrogator who has worked covertly in some of the most dangerous places in the world. It’s taken its toll, though. He returns to his Los Angeles home, contemplating retirement and coming to terms with his past in his Interrogator’s Notebook.

Floundering as a teacher, Norman agrees to take on one last assignment, to interrogate the character actor George Stark who may be responsible for the death of a director’s daughter. Armed with cunning, deceit and a deadly past, the actor poses an escalating challenge, and a terrifying threat to everything Norman has ever cared about.

For the author, the heated debate surrounding enhanced interrogation techniques and the role of the interrogator in protecting our national interests provides the backdrop to this crossover literary/suspense novel. But it is the personal life of a man pushed to the brink of his and societal moralities, and the choices he makes that is at the heart of this story.

Find out more at www.interrogatorsnotebook.com.

ABOUT NORMAN KROSS: (from back of book)
Norman Kross is a career interrogator who has worked covertly in some of the most dangerous places in the world. He returns to his LA home, contemplating retirement and coming to terms with his past. He may be a master at unlocking others' secrets, but he is blind to the truth of his relationship with his wife, sons, father, and friends. Floundering as a teacher, Norman agrees to take on one last assignment, to interrogate a character actor who may be responsible for the death of a director's daughter. The secrets he uncovers are far more terrifying than any battlefield, any windowless room, any passage in the notebook he feverishly writes in to make sense of what men are capable of behind their masks.

REVIEW:

The author, Martin Ott did a great job of writing this book. It provides the reader with a lot to think about. It's about an interrogator on his last assignment. The author shows the fight within the interrogator between his family and his job.This book took the thought that most women have that men leave them because they can't handle the responsibility of a family. The author shows that it's much more than that. When you think about interrogation, you think about torture. This story isn't about torture, at least not physical.The book is written with a common theme in mind, but there isn't such a thing as a ccommon theme. Every writer writes in his own style with his own ideas and reasoning. No two are the same.

The minute you start reading you become hooked on the book. You keep turning those pages wanting to know what the ending holds Norman has many flaws but the author shapes him into a totally rounded man. The book is more than just a thriller. The author adds detail and images that are very thoughtful. You expect this type of genre to be hard and uncaring. You won't want to put this book down. It's a page turner and a keeper. You'll want to keep this on your shelf to read several more times.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: (from Amazon)

Born in Alaska and raised in Michigan, Martin Ott joined the Army as a Russian linguist and interrogator before attending the University of Michigan. He began writing fiction and poetry in his undergraduate years, and early publications include the chapbook Misery Loves on Red Dancefloor Press.

He has traveled through the United States and internationally, and these influences can be seen in his poetry travelogue, Poets' Guide to America from Brooklyn Arts Press, cowritten with John F. Buckley. He moved to Los Angeles in 1995, and often writes about his adopted city, including in the novel The Interrogator's Notebook, Story Merchant Books, and poetry books Captive, De Novo Prize Winner, C&R Press and Underdays, to be published by The University of Notre Dame Press in 2015.

I would give this book 4 STARS.

I received a complimentary copy of this book THE INTERROGATOR'S NOTEBOOK by the author, Martin Ott., for this unbiased review.