This book was reviewed via Netgalley
Fatal Option, by Chris Beakey, is a whirlwind collision of time, place, and players, where synchronicity is revealed in the obscuration of a ferocious blizzard.
As snows pile high, Stephen Porter is woken in the middle of the night to pick up his daughter whose car has died. Having had a prodigious amount of alcohol earlier that night, Stephen knows he should not drive. When AAA and the police both cannot help, Stephen makes the decision to go retrieve Sara despite the double dangers of ice and alcohol, rather than leave her to freeze or worse in the harsh winter weather. This choice sets off a chain of events that weave together the stories of no less than five different families, and reveal the truth behind a series of tragedies stretching back a decade or more.
Beakey’s fast-paced thriller snared my attention, and kept me up reading long after I should have retired to bed. A good book is a balm to the bittersweet of lost sleep, turning what insomnia makes an irritant into something savoured as time well spent, which Fatal Option surely did. This was a story showcasing both the absolute worst, and best of humanity, and all the gamut in between.
Da Vinci said ‘….everything is connected to everything else.’ This is a story of just how connected we all are. There are no coincidences; there is only synchronicity, and our ability (or not) to read it. The snowstorm is a catalyst that serves to reveal to those involved the truth of this. For some, it offers closure, for others, the astringent sting of new grief, and for yet others….perhaps it’s the universe’s way of putting down the rabid dogs among us.
It isn’t all about the darker side of life though. For several of our players in this dark drama, the destruction has prompted new growth in positive ways. It has offered second chances, and new beginnings. It is a story of life and love, of death and grief, and ultimately, a story of interconnection, growth, and change.
????? Highly recommended if you enjoy suspenseful thrillers/dramas like James Patterson’s Alex Cross books, or Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme novels.
