Reading this story was a lot of fun as it made me stay at the edge of my seat throughout because I was hooked on it from the earliest scenes.

In the story, Jonathan Curtis has a troubled background, but he is not incarcerated anymore and is trying to stay good and clean. When he sees an ad for an old car restoration on the board in the place he is staying, he jumps at the chance; however, the person who promises the job wants something more. He wants Jonathan to kill a man. When Jonathan refuses, the man threatens him by calling the police and telling them that Jonathan attacked him. Later, things get hairy with this man dead and his house blown away, and Jonathan is in trouble. Added to this are Jonathan’s curiosity, a theater group, adversaries, a young stage actress named Kris Boland, a possible unidentified killer lurking around Jonathan and Kris, a couple of detectives, and several other complications, turning the story into a fast-moving and suspenseful yet hilarious rollercoaster.

The characters are developed just enough for the story’s needs. The pace is lightning fast, and the suspense-filled plot is believable with unexpected twists and Murphy’s Law situations. The point of view changes within the story are very smooth and they help the reader’s assessment of the characters. The dialogue is funny, and the sense of humor of the author shows up at every turn.

Above all, what most attracted me to this story is its author’s relentless backstabbing of his main character, and I said to myself, “For all upcoming writers, here is a good lesson on the proper treatment of a protagonist.” The second most instructive aspect of the story is its directness through the economy of language while expressing adequate information for every situation. In short, it is the actual know-how of the author's storytelling that captures the reader’s attention and makes this story a huge success.

feeling the suspense in the situations and pitying the main character

the expert storytelling with all its wonderful extras.

read all of the JSB novels, although I had read all his non-fiction books and articles in Writer's Digest.

entertained and instructed.

is James Scott Bell, winner of the Christy Award. Some of his books are: Try Dying, No Legal Grounds, Presumed Guilty, Glimpses of Paradise, Breach of Promise. In addition to his many thrillers, he has articles and books on the art of writing such as Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure and Revision & Self-Editing.

You won't regret reading it even if you are not a mystery-thriller fan. The story is captivating, concise, clear, and told with a great sense of humor.

I especially liked Kris's trust in Jonathan and their collaboration in the story. Although theirs has the feeling of a romance, that romance doesn't cast a fog on the twists and suspense of the story. I appreciate it that the author didn't choose to elaborate on the romance too much and divert the reader's attention.

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Created Mar 25, 2018 at 2:00pm • Submit your own review...