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Pablo Omar Zaragoza was born in Cuba and emigrated to the US with his family when he was a young boy. He is a keen observer of people and is inspired by how people relate to one another in a variety of circumstances. The basis of PROTECT THE GUILTY is true; fiction fills in the blanks. Zaragoza is primarily a fiction writer, but he has mastered seamlessly blending fact and fiction. He is a prolific writer, having written six novels on a broad range to subject matter in seven months. His creative partner, Susan Giffin, is also a writer of numerous books and editor of more than 175 books for clients all over the world.
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Protect the Guilty by Pablo Omar Zaragoza and Susan Giffin is an inspiring story that features a unique protagonist, Sam the Ghost. Sam Westmore has been a murderer in his pre-suicide life and has taken the lives of many people, the last of which is his own. As the story opens, he says: “I’m floating above what used to be me, yet I’m still here.” After committing suicide, he wanders about observing what goes on in the city and narrating the circumstances leading to his multiple murders. Follow him as he narrates his stories and as he selflessly does some good for the people of his city, unseen.
This is an interesting story and I enjoyed the fact that it is told from the perspective of a ghost who enjoys a great sense of freedom. The narrative voice is powerful, clear, and irresistible, and the use of the first person narrative pulls the reader into the world of the protagonist. Character development is stellar and there is a bleakness that permeates the entire narrative, a darkness that haunts the human spirit, and the narrator captures it very beautifully. Each chapter begins with a powerful expression, an image that portrays the emotional and psychological state of the protagonist like “I blur into a small office,” or “I have been drifting.”
The prose is powerful, at times evocative, and readers will enjoy the colorful descriptions and the stream of consciousness that permeate the work. Protect the Guilty raises powerful moral questions, features great social commentaries, and takes readers into the mind of a killer, exploring the depth of human nature in ways one could never have expected. Pablo Omar Zaragoza and Susan Giffin have crafted an entertaining and inspiring story that will captivate readers from the beginning till the end.
