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Michael Marshall
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Book
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Publisher | Harper | ||
ISBN | 978-000721004 | ||
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Deborah
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Synopsis
The new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Straw Men and The Intruders. A heart-stopping tale of secrets, lies and our culpability in our own misfortunes. On a beautiful summer's afternoon four-year-old Scott Henderson walked out onto a jetty over a lake in Black Ridge, Washington State. He never came back. John Henderson's world ended that day, but three years later he's still alive. Living a life, of sorts. Getting by. Until one night he receives an email from a stranger who claims to know what happened to his little boy. Against his better judgement Henderson returns to Black Ridge, unleashing a terrifying sequence of events that threatens to destroy what remains of everything he once held dear. Bad things don't just happen to other people -- they're waiting round the corner for you too. And when they start to make their way in through the cracks in your life, you won't know until it's far too late...
Review
A short prologue introduces us to Scott and his wife, as their son dies unexpectedly and unexplained. We then meet the main character, Scott Henderson, again three years later. Scott has turned his back on his once affluent life, divorced and moved to the beach. His life is pretty boring - he gets up, goes to work, goes home, doesn't sleep much and then gets up and goes to work again at a local restaurant - as a waiter and sometimes chef; and although anyone would be screwed up after the death of their child, we learn more about his guilt as the story progresses.
I guess I was expecting some kind of crime thriller, perhaps solving the death of his son or finding out that he isn't really dead, with everything turning out good in the end! But it wasn't quite what I anticipated, as this story is about a supernatural influence over the locals in a small US Town. When Scott receives an email claiming to know more about his son's death, he deletes it - he's got enough on his plate with his boss's daughter Becky and her druggie boyfriend - who are being pursued for money by local drug dealers. The emailer persists though, and after speaking to her on the phone, Scott catches a plane back to his old town of Black Ridge to find out what is going on.
Scott finds Black Ridge to be a dark, heavy place with people dying for no apparent reason, other than being sad. I won't say anymore because I don't want to spoil the story - but the pace quickens as the book reaches its climax, with a lot of shoot ‘em up action as the sub-plot merges with the main story; in fact I could actually see Hollywood turning this book into a movie, with Matt Damon in the leading role!
The characters in this book are well written - I always think that if words on paper can make you like or dislike a character, the writing must be pretty good, and Michael certainly instills feelings about the people in his book. I was a little disappointed with the ending, but Michael Marshall is a good author and I would certainly read his other novels.
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