15 Seconds
by Andrew Gross
Publication Date: July 10, 2012
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: I received a copy of this ARC at Book Expo America
*****
Amanda Hofer’s life changed in just 15 seconds.
On her way to work and strung out on Oxycontin, Amanda crashes her car, killing a woman and the woman’s young child.
Dr. Henry Steadman is on his way to speak at a medical conference when a series of bizarre circumstances begins to unfold. He is pulled over for a minor traffic violation, harassed by the patrol officer, arrested and placed in the back of the police car. When he is asked a series of 9-11-esque questions, he becomes concerned – what is going on here? The officer finally lets him go and as he is writing out a ticket, a car pulls up and shoots the officer and speeds away. With no witnesses, a dead police officer, and Henry as the last contact, the police are hot on his tail.
He retreats to his good friend’s house for help, only to find another unsettling situation. Not knowing what to do or where to turn, Henry runs, trying to uncover the mystery as he hides out. Finding a sympathetic ear in Carrie Holmes, the Community Outreach Director at the police department who is manning phones at the hotline center, Henry and Carrie begin tracking clues to discover who is framing him and why. Carrie is recovering from her own tragedy – an accident that took the life of her husband and severely injured her son.
Gross skillfully plots a suspenseful and intriguing story from start to finish. What I found fascinating is that the initial elements of the story are actually based on fact; something that Gross describes in the Acknowledgments section at the end of the book (you can also read about it here). Something so small can truly change your life – in a matter of 15 seconds.
I loved this book. It kept me riveted to see how the plot would play out. I was not sure how Amanda and Henry were connected, if they were connected at all. Gross kept me turning those pages, wanting desperately to know how the story ended. There was only one thing that was not completely resolved for me, but if I talk about it here it will give out spoilers. So, if you have read the book and want to talk about it, let me know! But that is my reason for the 4 star rating instead of 5 stars. I just wanted a bit more detail about a particular situation. Other than that, I definitely recommend this for mystery/thriller lovers out there!
Note: This book contains graphic violence and language.
I love how you read books that not everyone is reading. This one sounds very suspenseful and kind of sad. I thought I saw this at BEA, but I chose not to get it.
This sounds like an excellent read – thanks for the great review! I can’t wait to check it out :}. Reminds me of another thriller book I just finished entitled, The Rx Factor by J. Thomas Shaw. The story is fast paced with non-stop action and very believable. I couldn’t put this one down – you can find the author’s website here: http://www.therxfactor.com/
This really does sound like a page turner & I love diving into a good one of those!!!
Nice review – this would be a great post to link up at my hop (http://forfunreadinglist.blogspot.com/cozy-book-hop-two.html) if you are interested
Marissa