Deep as the Marrow by F. Paul Wilson

Should the United States legalize marijuana? The question is valid and there are many compelling arguments that support such legislation. Sadly these arguments are usually difficult to hear due to all the noise being thrown up by the opposition, noise that doesn’t really further the debate in a meaningful way and instead uses scare tactics to divert attention from the real issues at hand; the most successful of which always uses the ‘protect the children of America from harmful drugs’ approach. And then of course they also like to paint the supporters of legalization (or decriminalization) as hopeless dope heads themselves because obviously the only people that could support such a thing are those that use it on a daily basis, right? Wrong. I’m a perfect example. I’ve never touched the stuff, yet I think legalizing it would be good (same thing with prostitution and several other ‘vices’), not because I want to start using it myself (hell, I don’t even drink), but because I know its not going away and would rather see it regulated and taxed. Plus, after looking at the statistics on how much of our tax dollars goes into prosecuting those who have been arrested for such crimes, and then goes toward keeping them alive in a jail cell during their imprisonment, I can’t help but think that the money could be put to better use. In the novel Deep as the Marrow by F. Paul Wilson the president of the United States feels the same way, and takes steps to start the decriminalization process. Little does he know just how far some will go to keep him from reaching this goal.

Without warning John VanDuyne has found himself in a horrible position, one which no parent would ever want to experience. His six year old daughter, Katie, who he has already come close to losing once thanks to her psychotic mother, has been kidnapped and is now being held for ransom. Unlike most ransom demands, however, this one is not asking for an exorbitant amount of money for her return. Instead, if John VanDuyne ever wants to see his daughter alive again he must kill the president, and he has to do so in a way that looks like an accident so that no one ever connects the death to the drug cartels that have ordered it. Being the president’s personal physician John VanDuyne is in a perfect position to carry out this demand, the question is, will he do it? More important will the kidnappers really give his daughter back after he kills the president, or will they simply kill her and him and anyone else who knows the reason behind the kidnapping and the fact that president’s death was not a medical accident? Wanting to prove how serious they are the kidnappers send John VanDuyne a bloody toe, and threaten more such packages if he continues to hesitate. Unable to stand the thought of his daughter in pain John VanDuyne gets everything he needs in order to follow through with the assassination plan, and makes an appointment to see the president the next day. Will he do it? Will John VanDuyne kill the president for the drug cartels so that his goal of legalizing marijuana won’t become law, one which would quickly destroy the drug cartels who make millions off of the fact that drugs are illegal? Or will another solution present itself at the last minute?

Deep as the Marrow was an exciting read, one that is a prefect example of what people want when sitting down with a suspense novel. Making this one even more enjoyable was the freshness with which it was told. Far too often suspense stories like this become too cliché and predicable, their authors tweaking a formula that works just enough to make the tale unique, yet far from original. F. Paul Wilson doesn’t do that with this one. Even better he doesn’t destroy the realness of the tale with unreal characters, and instead paints a landscape that everyday readers could project themselves into. Most impressive of all was the sense of understanding one has for the characters involved and the motivation behind everything they do, be it good or bad. At times this can be a bit scary because one finds themselves listening to the evil intentions of the opposition and nodding approval with their reasoning for the despicable acts, which in turn makes one wonder if they themselves would behave in such a way. Blending all this together, F Paul Wilson has created a magnificent suspense novel that never slows down and keeps the reader guessing throughout; the need to turn the page and continue reading so powerful that one will find themselves staying up long into the night, their minds never wanting to stop until that final page is turned.