Book Review – The Cyclops Conspiracy

The Cyclops Conspiracy by David Perry – (2012) Jason Rodgers has harbored a devastating secret.  A secret that nearly ended his career and cost him the love of his life. After the death of  her father, his mentor, Christine’s father, Jason returns to confront his own mistakes, questions about the older man’s death and a conspiracy that will take him far from the routine of running a pharmacy.

If the end of that last sentence strikes you as odd let me note that David Perry is a pharmacist.  He brings his knowledge of the field to offer an unique venue for a mystery/thriller.  The story moves nimbly working its way between Jason’s conflict with his lost love, their questions about her father’s death and his obsession with conspiracies in the years before his death plus a sexually aggressive female doctor with her eyes  on Jason and a mysterious pharmacy owner prepared to offer Jason a challenging and very profitable employment opportunity.


Perry does an outstanding job of holding all the story lines together and creates just the kind of adventure conspiracy thriller fans desire.  I totally enjoyed the ride and looked forward to every moment when I could keep on reading.  He creates characters that will stick with you after you’re done.


I only have two small issues with the book.  I would have loved a little deeper look into the whole pharmacy angle.  One of the things that Tom Clancy did so well was to take you inside the workings of whatever he was talking about (I swear in one book he actually told the reader how to build an atomic bomb!).  Perry has the chance to do the same with his career profession and I would have welcomed it.  I’m assuming that there’s more than just “pill pushing” to it all.


The other issue is a fairly stock one for most books of the genre.  It’s the apparent requirement that the characters always do the wrong thing and make the worst possible decisions at all times.  At one point Jason is asked, by a character that he neither likes nor trusts, to take some pictures of some vacant property being considered for an expansion location.  And, oh by the way, wander by the Navy yard and get some photos of the new aircraft carrier being built.  The outcome of his agreement is pretty predictable.  There are a couple other equivalent decisions in the book.  None of which ruin the story in any way.  I’m just wondering if a thriller can be constructed where people don’t make dumb decisions constantly.


I found this book while exploring the Williamsburg Book Festival this past fall.  I got the chance to chat briefly with the author.  Book fairs are a great chance to discover new authors and explore all kinds of books that you might completely miss otherwise.