Kirstyn Petras

I received my copy of 'The Next Witness' through the Early Reviewers Program.

First: some technical issues. My copy of 'The Next Witness' was a pdf file that I read using the Kindle app on my iPad. The layout (and I trust this pre-release) is awful. There were many places inside chapters where there should have been a line break to indicate a shift in the story, but there were none of these, resulting in many confusing moments. Word-spacing was also regularly poor, with as many as threeorfourwords all running together. I expect those problems will be fixed before publication, but they certainly did not enhance my experience.

'The Next Witness' is set in a dystopian future, a couple of generations after a major conflict, and the country is still rebuilding. The nation's politics have taken a turn, and an authoritarian regime controls all aspects of citizens' lives, paying particular attention to 'members of the party' who have the opportunity to live a privileged life, if...

Being set some 70-odd years in the future, I was surprised that items such as newspapers and magazines can still be purchased - they are difficult enough to find now! Television is mentioned in a way that makes me think it operates in the same way as in the 2010s, and that was a bit surprising. There were other little things I found irritating.

I found the story difficult to follow, and at times lost track of who was present in a scene - there seemed to be so many characters to keep up with. While I could sense that the story was developing in a certain inevitable direction (I did not expect the ending which was a very dramatic surprise), I still found myself confused as to the motivation of some of the characters. In then long run I suppose it's a case study of futile resistance, which is pretty bleak.

I really didn't enjoy this much, but did read it through to discover how the author would finish it - and as I said in the previous paragraph, that was dramatic.… (meer)

This is a well wrought thriller and pager turner that manages to examine some interesting points of tension in our current political landscape even though it is set in a future where some of our current trends have coalesced into an oppressive state apparatus that the majority approve of. How might an effective counter movement arise and evolve? How might the state respond? In a series of clearly written and gripping episodes which to me evoke Christopher Sorrentino's Trance our author answers us and although the final outcome could be optimistic or realistic she veers to the realistic. A well written, carefully plotted and elegantly executed text.… (meer)

This is set in a dystopian police-state future in which people had limited freedom, presumably inspired by the events of 2020 (the lockdown and BLM riots). It is mostly set in Washington DC with a (not particularly likeable) young female protagonist. The author is slow and stingy with the backstory, so that it takes a while for the reader to get a sense of what is going on. I thought that the book must be part of a series (it isn’t) that I was starting in the middle. Unfortunately, the ‘big reveal’ was anti-climactic and fell flat for me. I didn’t feel any connection with the characters, some of whom I found it a little challenging in keeping track of. While the book was interesting enough that I read through it quickly, it wasn’t especially enjoyable, notably the horrid ending.
I won a free copy of this book (thanks to the author & publisher!) and am voluntarily providing an honest review.… (meer)