‘A State of Despair’ by Trey Stone —BOOK REVIEW

About ‘A State of Despair’ The Columbus Archives book 2 by Trey Stone::

Genre: Crime; Psychological Thriller; Suspense

«I need to finish this now. I’ve crossed so far over the line I can’t even see it anymore.»
A simple drug bust. That is what the Critical Response Unit thinks they’re dealing with.
It goes horribly wrong when shots are fired, an explosion goes off, and a fire breaks out. Chaos erupts and the unit is left shocked when the dust settles.
One agent is dead.
Two hospitalized.
One missing.
Agent Greer is prepared to do anything he can to catch up with the case and find the people responsible.
Anything.
How far would you go to save a friend?
Would you risk losing another in the process?
A strange case of cat and mouse is launched as the hunt for the missing FBI agent begins. Friends and enemies alike go toe-to-toe in this psychological thriller. Friendships are put on the line and lines are crossed.

Other titles by Trey Stone that I have reviewed:
The Consequence of Loyalty (Columbus Archives book 1)

Often, it’s extremely difficult to follow up a great story with a sequel that pleases both author and audience, but Trey Stone has crafted a second installment in ‘The Columbus Archives’ that is even better than the first. I loved everything about this story from the way it was set up, the writing style, the plot, the continued character development- everything.

I wrote in my review of the first story ‘The Consequence of Loyalty’ that it was like reading the book version of an NCIS episode in the sense that it had the same atmosphere. However, I’m now convinced that NCIS, a favorite show of mine, couldn’t hold up to this series.

The story is mostly written as a flashback where Agent Greer is having to explain his actions to the FBI board. During the interview, we get a good recap of the last events of the first book in addition to new details on those events, what happened between books, and into the present. However, it doesn’t feel like a flashback or one of those recaps of a part 2 episode that we all skip past- it remained enthralling. As you know, this kind of format typically allows the viewer to put together certain information that would not have been known had it not been told from the present/future; such as x character is alive now so whatever suspense happens, we know they make it. But in ‘A State of Despair,’ the author succeeds in keeping the telling candid while never revealing even the smallest detail that would ruin the mystery created in those flashbacks.

If you read the first book, you’ll know that Greer, albeit reckless, is highly intelligent, capable, and has amazing deductive skills. So while reading this book and his conviction of his theories, I kept telling myself ‘he’s right; he has to be right’ while at the same time completely doubting that he is. By the time everything was revealed, I was still surprised by the outcome as I was shocked at the extent of what he did in order to achieve his goals. This aspect alone kept me on edge. Add to it said shocking actions and it’s a wonder I didn’t have an anxiety attack or something.

Final note is that drama, action, and suspense remained until the very last page. Trey Stone did an excellent job at crafting a style that not only has no dull moments, but keeps the reader in question of all characters and events to the end. Not sure if there will be a follow-up (I don’t see the need for it), but either way, will be looking forward to future work from the author.

Buy the ebook on Amazon!

Buy the paperback on Amazon!
(also available on Books-A-Million)

Trey Stone can be found on:
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~Sahreth ‘Baphy’ Bowden