Review: Shattered Shield by Camden Mays

A story that could have been ripped from the headlines – or a heavily redacted report – Shattered Shield by Camden Mays is a riveting spy thriller that draws readers in with an intoxicating flood of action and suspense.

Cole Cameron is a leading character that you might recognize – a worn out government agent who is beginning to question his path in life, and may be dipping his fingers outside of the boundaries of the law. However, when real danger rears its head, he dives back into his duty, and his patriotic, heroic side wins out over the bitterness and disillusionment. With the beleaguered CIA agent at this story’s core, the stakes have never been higher for the United States as a terrorist group attempts to bring the country to its knees.

As is often the case with intelligence thrillers, particularly those that deal with multiple agencies, ranking officers, and potentially dense exposition, there is a procedural side to the story that can drag the pace, but those tiny moments of detail also lend authenticity to the writing. There is a good balance between action and exposition, where the procedural detail makes the action more plausible and visceral.

In terms of character development, Cameron is compelling in his own right, with his reservations about public service and his own personal demons that color many of the scenes. His emotional entanglement with Agent Hannah Jacobs gives readers even more insight to his troubled mental space, and a gentle depth. Protagonists with cracks in their heroic facade are the most interesting to read, and Camden Mays nails it in this book.

There are parts of this plot that may tickle the memory banks, as some of the motivation behind the villains of this story seem a bit hackneyed, as do their tactics. That being said, the characters on the whole are well developed, with backstories and moments of introspection that make them both memorable and likable. The interactions between characters are generally believable, and the level of detail and personal knowledge of governmental operations makes the plot accessible and engaging.

The pacing in certain areas could also be improved, as could the perspective shifts in some of the chapters. Readers are occasionally dropped into the minds or viewpoints of other characters, and some scenes seem to peter off, without any clear purpose behind them. Additionally, the ends of chapters are often neatly tied up bows, but rarely do the conclusions that characters reach feel completely organic – the author sometimes helps them along with heavy-handed narration. It is clear that Cameron has emotional depth, but readers are too often told what he is thinking, rather than having the character’s actions speak for themselves.

Despite the few rough spots, Camden Mays has written a timely and gripping thriller, and launches what could be a very impressive series with Cole Cameron leading the charge. The line between fact and fiction is often blurred, heightened by the dire straights of the world today, resulting in a suspenseful thriller that is at once ominous and entertaining.