Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Silent Terrorism: Saudi Arabia
SERIES: Silent Terrorism #1
AUTHOR: Phetra L. Novak
PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing
LENGTH: 228 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2018
BLURB:
Early morning, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Swedish correspondent cameraman Ebbe Skoog is out getting shots for an upcoming story and stumbles upon something he isn’t supposed to see. On a building site, on the outskirts of the city, four men looking a lot like the Mabahith—the secret police—are sending a bound man to a certain death by stoning.
With camera still rolling, Ebbe begins to retreat when a second man enters the scene and throws himself on top of the dying man, shielding him with his body, soothing with loving words. Ebbe’s reaction is immediate. Clutching his camera, he drags the screaming lover out of the rain of stones, and in a storm of sand, they flee into the brutal uncertainty of the desert.
Correspondent reporter Mattis Andersson is the wild card, the rebel. He’s also Ebbe’s only hope of getting out alive with his new companion, Aasim El-Batal, and the memory card holding the footage that will make Saudia Arabia burn in the eyes of human rights activists the world over.
With their past as lovers, and their present as colleagues and best friends who would take a bullet for each other, it now falls on Mattis to protect his and Ebbe’s future. But the Swedish government wants to silence them, unwilling to jeopardize years of lucrative weapons deals for “some petty gay love affair.” It’s an impossible mission that will draw on every strength the two men possess.
REVIEW:
This story has gutted me. I’m still in tears. Let me just say first and foremost, this is NOT, NOT, NOT a romance. This story is a harsh reality that many face, although it may be ‘fiction’. If you can’t stomach torture and things of that nature, you may not want to read this. If you can, it’s a hell of a book. But it is a wake up call for those who don’t pay attention to the news. It is not a soft story. It paints a vivid portrayal of things that really happen in the world around us. And it is a reminder, be a voice. Everyone deserves to love who they love.
Ebbe was taking pictures of Riyadh, of the people and the environment, for his and Mattis’s next story. He stopped at a building that was being erected, looking to see if there were stairs, to get pictures at a different viewpoint, when he heard the most tortured scream. He thought he was hearing things when he heard it again. Everything in him is telling him to run but he can’t leave that scream behind. He sneaks in and sees a young man he briefly knows being stoned to death. He gets it all on film while trying to find a way to save him. All of a sudden, his lover bursts in trying to cover his body from being hurt anymore and Ebbe knows he has to move now. He runs in distracting this secret police and pulls the young man away, kicking and screaming. On the run now, Ebbe knows he has to get across the border to Israel or they will kill them too. Both for being gay alone. He gets ahold of Mattis on the way and both are trying to do all the can to get Ebbe and his young man to safety. But politics and evil government people are too busy trying to kiss each other’s asses to care. Ebbe gets the man to safety but is captured himself and Mattis has to do everything he can and call in every favor he has to free him. Hopefully before it’s too late.
I used to watch the news all the time. I wanted to make sure I was up to date on everything. But the more I watched, the more my stomach turned. It still never ceases to amaze me at the amount of hatred and bigotry and prejudice there is in this world. Just because someone is different. What really gets me, is if these people pulled their heads out of their asses, they would realize we all are different. There is no normal. We all have different DNA and traits for a reason. It hurts my heart that people can be so cruel. But yet they are. Even though this story is ‘fiction’, it is very much real. Countries still kill people for being gay. For being a woman. They are raped and tortured and no one lifts a finger to help. Anyone who tries to help is considered a traitor and killed as well. Most are defiled in ways that would make the most iron casted stomach churn. I cried all through this story. In sadness, anger and heartache. I can’t begin to imagine what horrors go through your mind in those situations.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly. If for no other reason, than for people who don’t know to see what things are really like. There may have been an HEA in this story, but even that HEA comes with a price. Be knowledgeable. Be a voice. Don’t let hate be a ruler. Everyone deserves love.
RATING: 
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