Infamy
Tom Milton, 2009
Nepperhan Press
277 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780979457951
Summary
Fenly Aquino, an American security agent, is working in Madrid with Raquel Lopez, a member of a Spanish security team that has heard about a planned terrorist attack. The plot involves the use of laundered money to buy weapons of mass destruction that will be directed at a target in New York City. The key to stopping the attack is to find the trail of money and follow it to the source of the weapons. They have only two weeks to stop the attack, so time is running out on them as they desperately try to unravel the plot. (From the author.)
Author Bio
• Birth—April 3, 1949
• Where—St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
• Education—Ph.D. Walden University, M.A. University
of Iowa (Writers Workshop), B.A. Princeton University
• Currently—lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Tom Milton was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. After completing his undergraduate
degree at Princeton he worked for the Wall Street Journal, and then he was invited to the Writers Workshop in Iowa City, where he completed a novel and a master’s degree. He then served in the U.S. Army, and upon his discharge he joined a major international bank in New York. For the next twenty years he worked overseas, initially as an economic/political analyst and finally as a senior executive. He later became involved in economic development projects.
After retiring from his business career he joined the faculty of Mercy College, where he is a professor of international business. Five years ago he found a publisher for his novels, some of which are set in foreign cities where he lived (Buenos Aires, London, Madrid, and Santo Domingo). His novels are popular with reading groups because they deal with major issues, they have engaging characters, and they are good stories.
His first published novel, No Way to Peace, set in Argentina in the mid-1970s, is about the courage of five women during that country’s war of terror. His second novel, The Admiral’s Daughter, is about the conflict between a young woman and her father during the civil rights war in Mississippi in the early 1960s. His third novel, All the Flowers, set in New York in the late 1960s, is about a gifted young singer who gets involved in the antiwar movement because her twin brother joins the army to prove his manhood to his father. His fourth novel, Infamy, set in Madrid in 2007, is about the attempt of security agents to stop a terrorist attack on New York City that would use weapons of mass destruction. His next novel, A Shower of Roses, set in London in the early 1980s, is about a young nurse who is drawn by love into an intrigue of the Cold War. His next novel, Sara’s Laughter, set in Yonkers, NY in 1993, is about a woman in her mid-thirties who wants a child but is unable to get pregnant. And his latest novel, The Golden Door, is about a young Latina woman in Alabama whose future is threatened by a harsh anti-immigrant law that the state passed in 2011. (From .)
Extras
From a conversation with Tom Milton appearing at the end of Infamy:
Q: A major event of Fenly’s life was his meeting Camila in the elevator of the World Trade Center and falling in love with her.
A: Camila challenged his ideas about women, which had come from his imagined father, and Fenly had to change those ideas in order to attain her.
Q: You wrote so movingly about how he was affected by losing her in 9-11. Did you lose a loved one in the attack?
A: I knew people who lost parents, spouses, and children. When it happened I was at a location where I could see the towers collapse. I’ll never forget it. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Book Reviews
Infamy is the story of a Latino American, Fenly Aquino, who works for Homeland Security. He is assigned to travel to Spain to work with Raquel Lopez, a former cop, to assist the Spanish anti-terrorist team in stopping a terrorist attack about to happen on U.S. soil. Both Fenly and Raquel have lost loved ones to terrorism: Fenly lost his fiancée, Camila, in 9/11 and Raquel lost her brother in the attack on Madrid commuter trains. They discover the current plot involves laundered money, drug dealers, prostitutes, Americans living in Spain and possible involvement of other U.S. security personnel. Eventually, it becomes obvious to the terrorists that Fenly, Raquel and the entire Spanish anti-terrorist team know too much about the plot and, by the end of the book, their lives are in danger.
Overall, I liked this novel very much. The story and plotlines were interesting, relevant and for the most part, the book was a page turner. The author is a competent writer who is also a good storyteller. His characters are believable and well-defined.
I particularly enjoyed the flashback scenes, although a few times, it took one or two sentences for me to realize that the paragraph was the beginning of another flashback. Milton does a good job showing Fenly's early tumultuous relationship with his mother, his longing for his absentee father, his eventual maturity, the growing relationship with his fiancée, all leading up to the horrible events on 9/11.
The romance which eventually develops between Fenly and Raquel happens a bit too abruptly.
Although the two work well together, there is very little indication that they will become romantically involved. All of a sudden, at the end, they decide they love one another. As well, the cover is too simplistic for a book of this caliber.
I recommend this book as an entertaining, interesting and relevant read.
Ellen Gable Hrkach - Catholic Fiction.
Discussion Questions
1. We learn early in the story that Fenly and Raquel both lost a loved one in a terrorist attack. How do they deal with that loss?
2. Both Fenly and Raquel grow up without a parent of their own gender as a role model. How did they deal that experience?
3. How are their mentors similar and different?
4. How is Fenly affected by the unexpected return of his father?
5. What does Fenly learn from falling in love with Camila?
6. What inner conflict does Raquel reveal in her words and actions?
7. What role does Leandro play in the story?
8. What role does Samira play?
9. How does the author use the characters of Antonio and José?
10. How does the method used by the terrorists to launder money relate to the theme of the novel?
11. What do you think of Daryl? Do you believe his claim?
12. What role does the mural near the Plaza del Carmen play in the story? Do you agree with its message?
13. Why did the author call this novel Infamy?
14. How might the ideas expressed by characters in this novel apply to situations in the world today?
(Questions courtesy of author.)