Lynch,
Chris. Kill Switch. Simon & Schuster/Little Brown, 2012. 169p . $16.99.
ISBN 978-1-4169-2702-0 hs/adult Conflict VG-BN
When Da, Daniel’s grandfather,
starts telling stories from his past that include torture and murder, Dan
doesn’t know what to believe, as he knows his grandfather is suffering from
dementia. Dan spends the summer before college
vowing to enjoy time with his beloved grandfather, but he soon comes to realize
that not everyone in town has Da’s best interests at heart. The secret road trip he embarks on with Da reveals
real threats to Da's welfare, as well as the depth of the love between
grandfather and grandson. A
marijuana-smoking no-count cousin provides Dan and Da with a safe haven
involving connections to people who live in the shadows of life but are vital
to the success of Dan’s road trip. This
book is filled with lots of belly laughs as well as poignant moments of
compassion. For anyone who has lived
with a person in the intermediate stages of dementia, Dan’s frustration and
concern about Da ring true. The story
may be unsettling in its content, as it reveals the sometimes ugly underside of
government and the illicit activities connected with intelligence work. The ties and bonds of family are explored
with wry humor. Not long on narrative or
description, this novel zips along from one scene to the next. Kill Switch is a spy novel, an action-adventure
novel, and a novel of family love all rolled into one. The strong, almost exclusively male cast will
appeal to male readers.
Subject: Family Relationships
-- Fiction Lois
McNicol
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