“Men like us believe we are gods,” is the innuendo of the
belief of CIA operatives woven into the fabric of C Street, a novel by Claudette Walker.
Possessing the absolute power with unlimited resources of
the government’s Central Intelligence Agency,
Jacqueline Bovia Rosenberg (having shortened her name to Jacqueline Rose)
is being watched as she traces the prior path of her late husband’s career
working within the clandestine organization.
Solomon Rose had amassed evidence of the agency’s illegal and unethical
activities throughout many international operations, and had a collection of audio
tapes secretly held for his wife to retrieve in case of his death. Although his death came about naturally,
Jacqueline remained under surveillance and investigation by the CIA until the
agency could get possession of this revealing and possibly incriminating series
of audio tapes. Unfortunately for
Jacqueline, the CIA represented not the only government seeking to get at these
secrets, and to get to her!
From her London home, Jacqueline traveled to the US; first
to Tampa, Florida, and then up to Manhattan on a mission to retrieve the
tapes. Constantly looking over her
shoulder, she takes precautions and she believes she’s not being followed until
she meets an Israeli colleague of Solomon’s when she is given new
identification documents; surprisingly showing a photo of her taken without her
knowledge. Knowing very well not to
trust anyone, she becomes swept into the current of people with power and
influence, deep into a world of sex and violence, murder and betrayal with characters
not having her own best self interest in mind.
Claudette Walker takes the reader on a very detailed journey
throughout the secret methods of falsifying responsibilities within the back
operations of government intelligence organizations in C Street, revealing new and fascinating methods of how our history
has been manipulated by those in power.
Walker masterfully develops and sustains an intelligent level of
suspense throughout her novel, capturing and holding hostage the reader while
being totally in control of the information revealed. Unlike authors which use quick “snippets” of
storytelling to create within the reader’s mind a series of fast moving action
scenes, Walker embellishes her scenes with descriptions based on her research and
experience. She noticeably narrates as
seen through a feminine mind’s eye of Jacqueline, complete with the coupling of
vulnerability, her fortitude of strength, and instinct for self preservation.
Her novel is clearly written in a fashion which lends itself
to her screenplay adaptation, which I believe is available, and would no doubt
gain innumerable accolades by audiences especially for having her feminine
character, Jacqueline Rose, yet appear once again and become so memorably
articulated. C Street has it all, and done in a way you’ll be looking over your
shoulder when reading this extraordinarily entertaining book.
Buy this book at Amazon.com
