About the Author
Anna M Holmes is originally from New Zealand and lives in South-West London with her partner. She holds a BA in English, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism and an MA in Dance Studies. She began writing fifteen years ago, has shown work at the Marbella International Film Festival and her screenplay version of Blind Eye was joint winner of Green Stories screenplay competition in 2020. She released her debut adventure novel Wayward Voyage in April 2021, inspired by the famous female pirate Anne Bonny. Follow @AnnaMHolmes_ on Twitter, Visit annamholmes.com
About the book
Set in the Indonesian rainforest, Blind Eye is a fast-paced political environmental thriller exploring moral predicaments and personal choices.
Ben is an economist whose life is falling to pieces. The last thing he needs right now is to compile a report for the government on sustainable exportation of timber from Indonesia. But he has got to keep the pennies rolling in.
Everyone seems to have an angle. The Government want trade, the businessmen want low-cost products, the environmentalists want to maintain endangered habitats and one young woman, Yulia, is determined to protect communities. Ben rushes through the report, but then tragedy hits. A community is shattered, and Ben realises, there is no staying neutral. He has a part to play in the global picture.
Review
I think Holmes captures the nature of the beast when it comes to Linda in her role as the staunch activist. They are often so blinkered in their views that they are unable to see the world beyond that. They come off as arrogant and entitled, and for the majority the over-exaggeration overshadows the truth they are trying to communicate to others. Result: everyone shuts down and stops listening.
It makes them not very likeable characters - I can think of a few that fit the same description when it comes to Extinction Rebellion or their offshoot protesting for the insulation of homes in the UK. Perfect example of a valid point or cause being lost in the entitled attitude of privileged activists, who are only causing harm to the very people they are allegedly supposed to be helping - and I say the word help with irony.
The situation Ben is confronted with is quite similar. The destruction of habitat and species to create non-essential items. There is no thought to the end result, because in the end only money and profit talk.
I really enjoyed Wayward Voyage by Holmes. This is a completely different read, more of a conservation thriller with a strong drive towards environmental crime. Very much a topic that is in the mouths of everyone from politicians to pupils in school. A reminder of the food chain and the destruction of our ecosystem, which translates into a direct threat of said chain and our survival.
Buy Blind Eye at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : The Book Guild; pub date 22 Sept. 2021. Buy at Amazon com.
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