Review of Deadly Faux by Larry Brooks

I have been a fan of Larry Brooks since I began my dream of writing professionally. His concepts on Story Engineering have helped me tremendously in my process as a novelist. His website, Storyfix.com is a wealth of information for any seasoned or beginning writer. You might have seen me mention Larry and Storyfix in the past, having posted about his site several times, the first being more than two years ago. If you want to get it right, check out Larry’s take on the Six Core Competencies, Plot Points and Story Structure. You can find it all on his website or, pick up a copy of his Story Engineeringand more recently, Story Physics: Harnessing the Underlying Forces of Storytelling.

This is not a case of, “If you can’t do—teach” as Larry has published six novels. His most recent, Deadly Faux, is the second with protagonist Wolfgang Schmitt. After a ten-year break, Brooks returned with a sequel to Bait and Switch, and his reluctant undercover FBI agent in this new thriller. The following is my review posted on Amazon.

 Larry Brooks hits it out of the park. I’m a big fan of Nelson DeMille and at times, I forgot that I was reading Larry Brooks. His development of the protagonist, Wolfgang Schmitt leaves you wanting more. In Deadly Faux, Wolf gets in deep, using only his witty dialogue and ballsy attitude to turn the tables on the mob. 

Full of everything that makes a good book—plot, concept and premise—Brooks sprinkles in a handful of great characters and believable action. 

Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Brooks throws a curveball, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the last page. The writing is sharp, smart and fresh. This is not my first Larry Brooks novel, but by far, it’s his best.  

In conclusion, I want to thank Larry for all the nuggets that I’ve mined from his teachings and stories. For full disclosure, (not that it matters because my review would have been the same) I received a complimentary copy of Deadly Faux from Larry. If that diminishes anyone’s opinion of my review, then how about this—I purchased a copy of his Story Engineering years ago which I kept with my laptop and writing notebook. Someone broke into my car and stole all that stuff. After that, I purchased a second copy of Story Engineering. So there, I’ve purchased one of his books twice, so were even.