{"id":2172,"date":"2025-03-04T14:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T14:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=2172"},"modified":"2025-03-04T14:25:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T14:25:00","slug":"book-review-otellos-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=2172","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Otello\u2019s Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Otello\u2019s Oil<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by D.W. Layton<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Mystery, Thriller & Suspense \/ Political<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798350954302<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 344 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Warren Maxwell<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>A sprawling story of espionage, international intrigue, and family ties<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Unfurling in the year 2031, Otello\u2019s Oil <\/em>tells the story of Elliot Jones, a senior agent with the US Diplomatic Security Service tasked with protecting diplomats, foreign dignitaries, and the Secretary of State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His world descends into chaos when the oil minister of Kuwait is assassinated in the heart of Washington D.C. while seated beside the Secretary of State at an opera. The beginnings of a landmark oil deal between Kuwait and the United States are disrupted, and Elliot begins investigating threads that lead from Middle Eastern political leaders to Russian oligarchs and all the way to U.S. officials. Meanwhile, he stumbles onto a plot to blow up a major Seattle ferry and, through heroic action, draws further unwanted attention onto himself and his college-age daughter Rachel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cElliot could have revealed more. He could have shared with them the photos and recording of Abramovich\u2019s meeting in Jakarta with the SVR agent, but that would have to wait.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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In sketching political governments, power hierarchies, and global business dealings, the narrative sparkles with real world knowledge and an ability to create histories that blend fact with fiction. The infamous Enron Corporation collapse becomes an element of the story, as do figures like Madeleine Albright and past U.S. presidents.<\/p>\n

The attention given to practical matters\u2014how characters landed in their current careers; what foreign political and business negotiations look like\u2014gives the novel credibility and veracity. Yet, this level of background detail can become ponderous. Action sequences can be dragged down by exposition-filled dialogue that makes events move slower. Sometimes, when facing imminent danger, characters even take their time to introduce themselves and unload exposition instead of deal with the situation at hand. A similar pattern plays out in some narrative descriptions, like the use of geographic details. These moments can feel out of place and break with the suspenseful nature of the book.<\/p>\n

The book has an impressive ability to develop and maintain an enormous universe, not merely of characters but also of political forces and underlying intentions. As the perspective freely shifts between Elliot and other characters, from the Secretary of State herself to members of the president\u2019s cabinet, we\u2019re also given insight into the myriad perspectives that, together, form the book\u2019s plot. Along with its clear erudition, this makes the power machinations of, say, a Russian SVR agent and an American businessman thrilling to follow.<\/p>\n

Espionage, politics, and intimate relationships become intertwined inOtello\u2019s Oil<\/em>, a richly imagined novel about a government agent facing off against the corruptions of a not-so-distant future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Warren Maxwell\u2019s book review of Otello\u2019s Oil <\/em>by D.W. Layton! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Otello\u2019s Oil<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Otello\u2019s Oil by D.W. Layton Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense \/ Political ISBN: 9798350954302 Print Length: 344 pages Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Warren Maxwell A sprawling story of espionage, international intrigue, and family ties Unfurling in the year 2031, Otello\u2019s Oil tells the story of Elliot Jones, a senior agent with the US Diplomatic Security […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}