Watch List
Edward Y. Tanner
E.T.S. Mercier (2024)
ISBN: 979-8224966967
Reviewed by Scott Hall for Reader Views (08/2026)
In the fiction thriller Watch List, Edward Y. Tanner weaves a taut story of an innocent young journalist who is mistakenly put on a government terrorist watch list by the Transportation Safety Agency (TSA) and Department of Homeland Security. What ensues is a race to put his life back together after it begins falling apart. Each chapter adds a visceral and psychological element of fear, to include bounties being set for those who can find and kill the young journalist.
Fear and frenetic anxiety drive the plot forward from violent encounters with conspiracy-deranged individuals to poignant moments when the main character, Hakim, is making sense of the emotional weight of being put on a terrorist watch list.
Lena rubbed my shoulder and leaned in close to my ear. “Relax, hermano. These people just want to go hiking.”
“I hope so.” I smiled weakly and tried to think of the people sitting on the bus as ordinary hikers. It didn’t help. I couldn’t stop wondering what was going on in their heads. Were the young couple and their five-year-old daughter whispering about the brown people in the back seat? Maybe the guy wearing a Cubs cap was telling his buddy anyone with brown skin was a terrorist or criminal.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the book is its pacing. The chapters are short with a countdown building towards an unknown future event. Throughout the novel, Hakim travels through shifting scenery that is set across the national parks. It is in one of these majestic parks that Hakim meets Mary Jane and her boyfriend Ace while camping. The meeting sets up a blurring of the lines between paranoia and risk-taking. Should Hakim trust this couple that seems genuinely friendly or treat them with the skepticism that led him to hide from the authorities? He gets little help from the police, who seem malicious towards individuals who look different from the general population. Throughout the book, there are many twists and turns as well as violence. The author deftly acknowledges the long-standing problem of how people of color are profiled based on their skin color.
In between the reflections of the protagonist, the story is moved forward by the author’s use of one-on-one interviews with a journalist. The story goes to print just before the final climax.
An Oregon man’s life has been turned upside down since the Department of Homeland Security placed him on the no-fly list…
In the book, some events are escalated rather quickly with references to heightened national paranoia that happened right after September 11, 2001. The book is excellent at highlighting the targeted suspicion and mistrust towards those who looked like they were from the Middle East.
Edward Y. Tanner’s Watch List is a fun read due to its well-paced dialogue wrapped in action and deeper insights into racial profiling. Readers of psychological thrillers will enjoy the sustained tension and anxiety that is explored throughout the book.
At a Glance: A psychological thriller about a young journalist wrongly flagged as a terrorist whose life spirals into a dangerous fight for survival. Fast-paced action and mounting paranoia explore racial profiling, government surveillance, public fear, and the uncertainty of whom to trust.
Best for Readers Who Enjoy: psychological thrillers, government conspiracy fiction, wrongfully accused protagonists, racial profiling themes, survival suspense, manhunt stories, high-stakes action, social issue thrillers, fast-paced fiction