When the Dragon Roars Book Review
Brimming with twists, turns, and non-stop drama, Nesly Clerge’s When The Dragon Roars is an ideal thriller for any fan of the black prison.
When The Dragon Roars opens up with the protagonist, Frederick Stark aka The Dragon, at the lowest point in his life. After being betrayed by his ex-wife Kayla, a life full of opportunities is now extremely limited. He’s in jail, serving a long sentence for putting the man who cheated on him into a coma. But Starks doesn’t let life get him down so easily; Using the acumen he had acquired as CEO, he boldly but subtly begins an attempt to rise through the prison hierarchy. But things start to get complicated when prison officials suspect him of the two inmate murderers, whom he did have a heavy hand on in the execution.
On the outside, he seeks out his private investigator Michael Parker to manage his finances, and that need for a link to the real world grows even greater as suspicions about his deadly activities behind bars mount. A medical scare only increases your desire to get to the top and get your affairs in order. But he also seems to make him bolder, as he can stab some nastier prison gang members with a poisoned scion, as an act of retaliation for killing a follower prisoner.
With the help of his cellmate Jackson, Starks begins recruiting his own gang members: Pete, Tommy, Stinky, and Tank. But the hostility of the gangs increases rapidly, and after a fight, Starks is sent to the SHU, where he has time to contemplate: how he got to jail in the first place, the women in his life, plans for the future. Also, while at SHU, Stark realizes that his situation is becoming more precarious as he is losing the protection of the guards. To gain a further advantage, he and his team turn to the prison black market and begin trading cell phones.
A few days later, Starks meets the elderly Gabe Bianchi, who has similarly lost wealth, family, and professional reputation. He’s attracted to the Bianchi, but Bianchi is bad news: the former head of an infamous crime family with a reputation for cruelty. It’s a dangerous friend to make, but one that could also prove useful.
Meanwhile, Starks’ new nineteen-year-old inmate Kane is under his protection and asks him to be his new cellmate. But Kane may not be quite what he seems.
All this time, Starks’ health has only been deteriorating. He goes to the hospital and discovers that he has a dangerously low hemoglobin level and is severely anemic. In the process of searching for a donor, she discovers that her oldest son, Blake, is not her biological son. It seems that the blows are still coming from his ex-wife Kayla.
From there, gang fights and family secrets emerge from every corner, keeping Starks on their toes and the reader turning the pages.
While a bit hackneyed and predictable at times, When The Dragon Roars will make for an enjoyable read for devoted fans of the genre.