Threshold is the second book in Kevin Barry O’Connor’s Key Murphy Thriller series.
Key Murphy and his cousin/lover Arin are summoned to Philadelphia as there is a threat to the Vice President of the United States. An ex-military woman possessing the Ancestral Memory gene saw the threat before it could happen in real. But she refuses to talk to anyone except Key and Arin. They have four days to stop the killer.
I read the first book of this series – The Key to Kells – and was eagerly waiting to catch up on the next installment. I must say I am at tad disappointed at how things turned out in the second installment.
When I read the first book, the series-plot caught my attention. An Ancestral Memory Gene that allows certain people to relive the actual memories of their ancestors – it sounded like a genius plot. (It still is!) Having said that, in this book, the ‘mystery’ slowly turned into a fantasy fiction-ish. Some scenes seemed unconvincing and fanciful. The story started on a promising note but fell flat soon after.
Key and Arin are called back to Philly as there’s a threat to VP of America and the person who learned about this possesses the Ancestral Memory Gene. Then we have scenes of the flood from Hurrican Ida, Covid-related issues – infections, deaths, masks, etc. (which was explained at the end of book #1 as a result of recovering the artifact), and the January 6 attack on Capitol Building.
The main plot seemed lost under these various side stories. The VP does make an appearance – a short one and that particular scene (which was supposed to be the most anticipated climax of this story) was short and quick.
There also seemed to be too much emphasis on Arin and Key’s lives – Arin’s attack on a white supremist going viral followed by some more “I ain’t afraid of your threats.” The story felt dragged and included unnecessary additions.
This story had a lot of potential and could have been better. The ending was good, but I saw the twist coming so there was nothing shocking or unexpected about it. Overall, this was an okay read. The book didn’t live up to my expectations, so I am not sure if I would follow this series. I don’t like it when the series-plot turns unrealistic.
I received an ARC from Book Whisperers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
The Book Decoder 
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