Book Review: Burn Notice - The Reformed by Tod Goldberg (Novel #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Perfect characterization and great plot

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: 

Priest against a gang

Provide a great showcase for

Michael and his friends

Escaping the Gang Family

My addiction to the USA Network's shows has spilled over to my reading.  Not only do I finds myself watching every episode of the TV shows, but I pick up the novels tied in to them.  I've recently finished The Reformed, the fourth novel based on the Burn Notice TV show, and it was great.

If you've missed the show, it centers around Michael Westen, a spy who was burned (read fired) and dumped in Miami.  While he works on trying to figure out who burned him and why, he takes odd jobs from those in need to pay his bills.  They're your average problems like gangs, drug runners, or hit men.  Assisting him along the way are his ex-girlfriend Fiona and ex-Navy seal Sam.

Michael does not have found memories of Eduardo Santiago.  The two were in high school together, and even then Eduardo was quickly rising in the Latin Emperors.  But a stiff prison sentence turned Eduardo's life around, and after being released, he became a priest and devotes his time to helping other ex-cons get their life turned around after prison.

But Father Santiago's past has come back to bite him.  The leader of the Latin Emperors want to use Santiago's church as a cover for their operations and is blackmailing Santiago to get him to agree.  And so he turns to Michael.  But can Michael, Fiona, and Sam come up with a way to free Santiago from his past?

For me, the biggest thing that makes or breaks a tie in novel are the characters.  If I can hear the characters saying the dialog on the show, then I easily get lost in the book.  That's the case here.  These aren't some random characters named Michael, Fiona, or Sam but ones who already know and love.  Considering much of the book is written in Michael's voice and sounds like the voice overs in the show, that's quite impressive.  I often found myself laughing at the banter between the characters.  Those created for this book were equally real and easy to picture in action.

Of course, without a good plot, I don't care how good the characters are.  The plot is great.  It captured me from start to finish.  Just like the show, it featured some great setbacks for our heroes and twists along the way.  Things got very complicated before a page turning climax.

The author has always managed to throw in some political references, something the show doesn't do, but in the last book, they went a bit further, clearly showing his political leanings.  That's been toned back in this book; any references are neutral and actually fit the book.

I already mentioned that most of the book is written in first person.  The occasional chapter is told from Sam or Fiona's third person point of view.  No matter the point of view, the writing is wonderful, and the pages fly by.

While the book is obviously targeted toward fans of the show, it could easily be read by anyone looking for an action packed story.  No reference is made to the on-going stories of the show, and the book gives you enough background to the characters to understand relationships.

If the wait between new episodes of Burn Notice is too great, I highly recommend The Reformed.  It reads just like an episode of the show and will leave fans satisfied.