Keith Yocum

An ex-CIA man, who lives with his law-enforcement-girlfriend in Perth, is contracted out by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to find a missing person. This “thriller” is part of a series, but I read it as a stand-alone, and I did not feel that I was missing anything but perhaps the characters were shown to have some redeemable qualities in the prior books. I found them unlikable and many of their interactions, whether social or business, were unpleasant. For example, the main character, is repeatably told to his face that he is “difficult” and terrible to work with, and even unliked. Ironically their frankness is what they are accusing him of. I also found the plot too far-fetched. For these reasons, I did not enjoy the book and during the first half, I repeatedly thought of giving up. I persevered and found that the story picked up in the latter half with some twists and an ethical issue, though this wasn’t explored much. But by the end, it was a convoluted mess.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.… (mer)

Daniel, by Keith Yocum, is one of the most unique books that I've ever read about the Vietnam War. The story captivates you right from the start and keeps you guessing about this new visitor. For most of the book, I thought Daniel to be either a ghost or an Archangel with a mission to protect this outpost from being overrun by enemy soldiers. Yes, it is late in the war and many U.S. troops had already left the country, those remaining were simply in a defensive posture awaiting their turn - nobody wanted to be the last soldier killed in Vietnam.

The story is riveting and the reader can't read fast enough to see what will happen next. I thoroughly enjoyed this story! Keith did a wonderful job at describing those last days on Firebase Martha; the boredom, dust, loneliness and fear. I especially enjoyed reading about the main character's first encounter with the visitor in the middle of the night. The fear experienced in a situation like this can be paralyzing to the young soldier in the bunker. In the dark of night, the shadows played tricks on you; unnecessary firing at imagined enemy soldiers attacking was always frowned upon. However, Keith describes the fear and emotions perfectly - something real is out there...it is walking directly toward you...you are mystified by the appearance...afraid...this can't be happening!

Daniel is a wonderful story...the last chapter left me breathless...rejoicing finally when it was all over. A great read and highly recommended!

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel… (mer)