This “5 Star” review was posted on Amazon.com on 10/5/13

This is a superb book. Set in the near future in the USA, or maybe the Disunited States would be more apt, the author shows just how easy it is to turn a civilized tolerant nation into a fascist dictatorship in no time at all. Just two presidencies after Obama, the authorities are rounding up ethnic minorities, and shipping them off to who knows where. Well observed, and not at all far fetched, it’s only too easy to imagine this happening. The central characters are very well written and the dialogue flows smoothly. You actually want to know what happens next. Mel Hawkins has done a splendid job in juggling all the twists, turns and complications of this very believable novel. I think that this is his first work of fiction (Amazon don’t have any others) but what a start! Books like this don’t come along very often so if you’ve read this far in the reviews, you can stop now and just buy it. You won’t be disappointed.