by Ted Dekker

A Mystery/Thriller, 2009 by Center Street, 402 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

The “bad guy” felt predictable and very similar to other bad guys, which made him feel fake and silly instead of terrifying.
The main character didn’t fit with his lifestyle. What I mean by that is this is supposed to be a highly decorated military man. It seems strange, then, that he makes some of the mistakes he makes in this book. He doesn’t pay attention to his surroundings, for one. It just felt … off.
There are inaccuracies and errors. No shirt becomes a shirt being grabbed, getting rid of the truck becomes driving in the truck with the same tires, things like that.

The riddles were great. It didn’t feel like an obvious challenge for the reader, as the MC figured it out pretty quickly, but I took it as a fun challenge anyway.
The kidnap stuff was well done, tipping this one toward horror and away from thriller. Plus, I did like the way you see Stockholm syndrome taking root in the victim, that was interesting.
The ending works. It’s satisfying and ties up things nicely.

Thriller fans who don’t mind dark stories that dance with horror. Think what would happen if a Dan Brown book took a really dark turn and let more horror into the book.

Although this one attempts to cross genres I think the inconsistencies bothered me and pulled me from the story. If you aren’t one to notice such things, you’d like this one more.