Chris Beakey

This book is the perfect example of how one mistake can ruin a life.

Stephen Porter, depressed after the death of his wife in a car accident only five months earlier, had a bit too much to drink – okay, he had a lot too much to drink. Stephen cannot accept that his wife’s death was a suicide. His son Kenneth is sleeping right down the hall, and his teenage daughter is at her friend’s house just four blocks away – or so he thinks. He gets a late night call from Sara. Crying, she begs him to come get her. Her Jeep won’t start and she’s scared and stranded – in a snowstorm. She admits to having gone up the mountain to meet a boy. Being the typical father he quickly gets dressed. However, it has only been an hour since he had his last drink. He knows he shouldn’t be driving – but he has to get to his daughter.

At the same time Kieran O’Shea, a high school teacher, is searching for his younger brother Aidan who has run out into the snowstorm. Kiernan has his own demons – hearing voices and seeing his long dead mother. And he has an inappropriate relationship with his student, Sara.

So many lives will be forever altered on this fateful night when Stephen and Kiernan are thrown at each other and suffer the consequences of bad decisions.

The story has many flawed characters, just like real life. I felt the characters could have been better developed, and there were just too many flaws presented. Take all the bad qualities you can think of and sprinkle liberally. Popular girl Madison, a high school student, has spread gossip about Sara and Kenneth while her boyfriend Marco is the local bad boy. They both have their secrets. The plot had twists that each time I thought I knew what was unfolding, I was thrown in a different direction.

Even with all its flaws, I still was totally engaged in the story and held my breath awaiting the next move.… (más)

**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.… (más)

Fatal Option is about choices and consequences. How seemingly random decisions by various people can align into the perfect storm. This is exactly what happened to the Porters.

Stephen is still mourning his wife’s death and after an evening of drowning his sorrows in a bottle he receives a panicked call from his daughter. She was supposed to be spending the night at a friend’s house just a short distance from their home. However, she has lied and instead gone to a teacher’s home. Now she is scared and wants to leave, but her car has died and with a snowstorm raging outside she calls her father to rescue her.

Stephen knows he should not drive drunk, but when he calls 911 and gets no help he feels he has no other option but to attempt to rescue his daughter. This decision is the fatal one that will touch and change so many lives and someone will pay.

The first third of the book starts slow and is setting the stage for the heart stopping action that follows. While some information is revealed, there are surprises along the way that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters in the book are very tangible, especially the teenagers, the way they think and act is portrayed expertly. Then there is the ending, it is just perfection. My rating is 4.5 only because the first is a little too slow for a thriller.

If you enjoy a good thriller, Fatal Option must be on your TBR list. Don’t let the pace at the start deter you from a great story.

I received a free galley copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

You can see other reviews, and author interviews, on my blog at www.thespineview.com.… (más)