Thrills, chills and romance: ‘Department Thirteen’ review
Ashley Smith
The Signal
Spy thrillers are not the easiest novels to write. Authors have to immediately capture the reader’s attention from the first line and keep them guessing until the last page. James Houston Turner does just that in his new book “Department Thirteen.”
“Department Thirteen,” sucks the reader immediately into action, with KGB, secret meeting places and a cold-blooded killing – all within the prologue, which takes place during the Cold War.
From there, the book jumps to the present where protagonist Aleksandr Talanov, a retired KGB agent with ties to the United States, has established a new life in Los Angeles with his wife Andrea, who has no clue about Aleksandr’s past.
The couple soon departs to Australia, where Aleksandr’s past crashes into his current life in the form of members of KGB’s non-existent Department 13, threatening to take all that Aleksandr cares about with it.
An alumnus of UHCL, Turner returned to his alma mater, where the ideas of his first book, “The Identity Factor,” began to kick off his “Too Ugly Tour.” The Alumni Association brought him to campus after connecting with Turner through Facebook.
After graduating from UHCL with a Master’s in history, Turner went through several odd jobs including journalism and a smuggling.
During Turner’s time as a smuggler in the 1980s, he smuggled books, food and other miscellaneous items behind the Iron Curtain. During that time in his life he became acquainted with members of the KGB. That experience inspired the events and characters in this book, especially Aleksandr.
On the outside, Aleksandr is a trained spy and killer with a cold and standoffish exterior. During the course of the book, the writer reveals the heart underneath, the love for his former comrades and the growing love for his wife. As early as the prologue, when Aleksandr is disgusted by a needless death, readers develop a fondness for him and throughout the chapters gain a desire to see him succeed.
The same cannot be said for his wife, Andrea. At the beginning of the book, Andrea is perceived as somewhat vapid and clueless to the world around her. The stark contrast between Andrea and Aleksandr’s personalities causes the reader to question why a relationship ever developed between them knowing that Aleksandr deserves better.
This original feeling of dislike is the reason why she becomes such an interesting character. Though Aleksandr finally opens up and begins to allow people in, Andrea becomes the character who grows the most. Turner delves behind the glossy cover of her character to help the reader discover the depth of her personality by showing readers how far she is willing to go to save the one she loves.
The only complaint about “Department Thirteen,” comes at the end, or where the book should have ended. The book should have ended with the second to last chapter. This chapter satisfies by resolving the initial conflict and showing that even though Andrea and Aleksandr have been through so much heartache, they are stronger because of it. But then Turner had to write one more chapter. The addition of this final chapter will infuriate readers, causing them to stare at the blank inside cover, willing more pages to appear because of the open-ended last scene and the new conflict it opens up.
Turner plans to write a sequel to “Department Thirteen.” The idea to further the series must have been Turner’s motivation to write that last chapter, ensuring that those who have read it will be first in line for the sequel.
