P.E.A.C.E.

by Guy Holmes

The police procedural meets 1984. In this sharply drawn, prophetic literary thriller, an anti-crime video surveillance system turns New York City into the base for an astonishing conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of government. In this gritty cop story in the tradition of Mike Figgis's Internal Affairs, a radical crime-fighting system has just been implemented in New York. With thousands of video cameras mounted around the city -- and a special undercover division of the NYPD roaming the streets with tranquilizer guns -- P.E.A.C.E. (Police Enforced Anti-Crime Environment) details a future where the intensive monitoring of society is the price paid for safety. Strongly supported by the public, the new system has dramatically reduced crime, but something below the surface is festering. At the center of Holmes's futuristic novel is Mac Wells, a cool-headed P.E.A.C.E. Force officer whose steely nerves have made him a legend in the NYPD. But when Wells accidentally "tranqs" his partner and best friend, he unveils the first layer of a shocking conspiracy. Suddenly, this champion of the P.E.A.C.E. system becomes its target: he and his wife are hunted down in a world where the truth the public accepts is a lie, where the technology that sets people free is their jail, and where reality itself seems to be slipping away. More than a thrilling story, P.E.A.C.E. is a cautionary tale ripped from today's headlines. An eerie reflection of the explosion of video surveillance used today, Holmes's startling debut novel hardly reads like fiction.

320 pages, ebook

First published December 5, 2000

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story overall was good. It follows Mac, a police officer of high caliper as he gets wrapped up in a conspiracy involving his agency and people in higher powers. It shows how surveillance can be good or bad depending on who holds the reins.

The story was fast paced and is definitely a quick read. The frustrating part is that the parts of the story you really want to know and understand never really get explained.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

New York City is stomping out crime, once and for all. How? A system called P.E.A.C.E.(Police Enforced Anti-Crime Environment). Cameras on every corner, undercover police all over the place who have the authority to use tranquilizers at will, etc. In my mind, I saw 'Gattaca' or 'The Minority Report' - that sort of imagery - only people still used pay phones and rode around in taxi cabs. *shrugs*
Luckily, there are still a few good cops and one of them decides the new system isn't all it's cracked up to be. A rather predictable plot without a whole lot of interesting characters. Somehow I still found it mildly enjoyable.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thriller that doesn't quite live up to its potential, though it did keep my interest throughout.