Bazaar book review

If you're that guy, are you sitting there thinking, "Wow, I'm so famous people want to take me out?" Is it a badge of honor?

That question stayed with me the entire time I was reading this book.

The title comes from Bazaar, a marketplace on TOR, a dark web-style website where people can bid cryptocurrency to have someone killed.

Terrifying.

A lot of the people on the list are politicians. Others are celebrities. Their rankings move up and down depending on who wants them gone and how badly.

It reminded me of Scandal when Olivia Pope was being targeted and people were making moves behind the scenes.

But the question that kept popping into my head was this:

If you're on that list, how do you feel?

Do you feel threatened?

Or do you secretly think, "Wow, I must be important."

This book was actually sent to me.

I post book reviews on YouTube and TikTok all the time, and someone reached out and asked, "Can I send you my book?"

Yes. Of course.

One of the coolest parts of doing book reviews is when authors trust you with their work.

So thank you, Miles.

The book starts with a murder.

A college student is out drinking with a friend when he's killed using a gun created with a 3D printer.

From there, we meet Yemi.

Yemi works in executive protection. If there's a high-profile executive who needs security, Yemi and his team figure out how to keep that person safe.

We also meet Yemi's sister, Karen, and get a glimpse into their family dynamic.

Then there's Aaron.

Aaron is the person responsible for the murder at the beginning of the book.

The 3D-printed gun becomes important because lawmakers are trying to stop people from downloading blueprints and creating untraceable firearms.

Naturally, that puts those lawmakers in danger.

The people trying to stop the problem become targets themselves.

And that's where things start getting really interesting.

Aaron ends up connected to multiple murders throughout the story.

What fascinated me most about him is that he's not written as a typical cold-blooded killer.

He's an assassin with a heart.

At one point, Aaron tracks down a character named Rode. He finds him, gets close enough to hurt him, and then decides not to.

Part of me didn't completely buy that decision.

Another part of me understood it because the book consistently portrays Aaron as someone motivated by money rather than cruelty.

He doesn't enjoy killing people.

He just wants the payout.

It's a complicated character choice, but it fits with who Aaron is throughout the story.

"He's an assassin with a heart."

The thing that really impressed me was the storytelling.

When I would put the book down and go about my day, I'd find myself wondering:

"What happened to Aaron?"

"What's going to happen with Yemi?"

That's how you know you're reading a good book.

When you're excited to get back to the story because you're invested in the characters, the author has done their job.

After I finished the book, I looked up Miles Joyner and read more about him.

Then it clicked.

He's worked on television shows as a writer.

And honestly?

You can tell.

Get your copy of Bazaar. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The pacing feels cinematic.

New characters are introduced naturally.

The storylines weave together smoothly.

Whether it's the police officers in Maryland, Ryan Frost, Bobby, or the various people connected to the investigations, every character feels like they belong in the story.

Nobody feels randomly dropped into the plot.

My favorite part of the book comes in the final twenty pages.

Yemi tells Aaron:

"You could have been my illegitimate child."

By that point, we've learned so much about both men.

We've learned about Yemi's military training in Nigeria and how he transitioned those skills into private security work.

We've learned about Aaron, his upbringing, the loss of his father, and the complicated reasons behind his choices.

When Yemi says that to him, it feels like the highest compliment possible.

It's not literally about being family.

It's about respect.

It's Yemi saying, "I see your talent. I see your skill. I recognize what you're capable of."

For me, that moment landed perfectly.

Here's the funny thing.

This is not normally my genre.

I'm usually reading romance novels. Give me the soft-glove love stories.

When I branch out, it's often historical fiction or nonfiction.

Books about assassins, executive protection agents, political conspiracies, anarchists, and investigations are not usually my thing.

And yet I absolutely loved this book.

Would I read Bazaar again?

One hundred percent yes.

Miles, I hope you're getting rave reviews.

And now that I know you came from television writing, I'm going to need somebody to turn this into a show.

The writing actually reminded me of the Gideon series by Eric Jerome Dickey. Gideon is also an assassin, and both stories have that same quality where the killer somehow becomes the character you're rooting for.

That's not easy to pull off.

https://youtu.be/rRJ-zlNMRzI?si=ZNUGqd0o4BszOyC9

Until the next book review, 

Kyla