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Colony by Benjamin Cross is a mystery thriller set in the Russian Arctic. A dynamic cast of characters is thrust into an ancient mystery when they discover a mummy frozen in the ice.
Wow, you guys. This book definitely achieves what it sets out to as a mystery thriller. I was getting some real Fortitude vibes in the beginning. It’s chilling, there seems to be more going on than we realize, and then it really kicks into gear once the main character lands in the Arctic.
I had a little bit of a hard time getting into the story at first. We sort of flip between perspectives of something that happens in 6000 BC, then to Callum and his son, Jamie. Then to some more characters we aren’t familiar with. But once the story did start rolling, it flowed more naturally.
The dialogue and character interactions are very sincere and I really felt pulled into their conversations. From Callum learning that Jonas has cancer again, to his sweet interactions with his throughout the book, to the way that he handles the Russian guards on the base that watch everything he does. There were some moments that really surprised me with how genuine they were. You don’t always get that in thrillers, but these characters are very well thought out.
There’s this moment where Callum is talking with his son Jamie over a webcam and a Russian guard is standing watch. He is kind of nervous about saying the wrong thing and he’s apologizing to his son who is upset that he left for this frozen wasteland. And the guard surprises the reader by telling Callum to “give to him time.” This endearing moment of offering fatherly advice instead of chastising him for giving away his location is a turn on what you might expect from him.
Throughout these interactions are moments where we feel the tone shifting. There’s this sense of impending doom. Something is wrong here. I feel like this quote conveys that well:
“Inland, away from the lapping of the waves and the groaning of the remnant icebergs, there was no movement. No sound. Not even time intruded on the vast, desolate sweeps of tormented rock. A place for ghosts, Callum thought. If ever there was one.”
Benjamin Cross, Colony
Cross does a great job of layering in foreshadowing and giving us some clues about how the mystery may have come to be in the first place. There’s this mist that rolls in that tip us off that once again, things are not as they seem. This is just one example of some of the ways that Cross builds tension while adding depth to the mysterious circumstances.
This book is a great read for adults that enjoy mysteries with a darker twist. It isn’t so much a cozy, slow mystery as it is an intense, burning one. I don’t want to give too much away, but the pay off is worth sticking out the slower start.
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