I’m not a fan of thrillers – never have been. I’m that person in the office that can still look at hundreds of thriller queries and just not get the good ones. (Hence why I’m also that person in the office, passing thriller queries to someone else and asking “What do you think?”)
I just don’t read thrillers. I’ve read 1 James Patterson novel (he writes thrillers right?), and I can’t even remember the title. And I read it in the name of teaching, for a homeroom student who was struggling with his independent reading project and had chosen said Patterson novel and needed help writing an essay. I started out trying to help without reading the book and realized it’d be easier and faster to read the book so I knew what I was talking about. (We worked on that essay for two weeks after school and went through multiple drafts, but said student got his first A- on an English paper.)
But I kept hearing good things about Patrick Lee’s upcoming debut novel, a supernatural thriller called The Breach, and I’ll try just about anything once. So I set my mind to it that I would read it. Then some of Patrick’s writing happened to move its way through my inbox, and I caught myself getting sucked into a document I was only supposed to print. (Oops.)
And when I found myself headed home without a book to read on the train ride home, I knew it was time. I borrowed the ARC from the oh-so-benevolent mean and sharkly and oh-so-fabulous agent extraordinaire, Janet Reid. And –
Wow.
I devoured The Breach in an evening, and suddenly find myself wondering – what have I been missing by avoiding these things called “thrillers”?
Here’s the book description:
Travis Chase. Ex-con. Ex-cop. The next action thriller hero.
Deep in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Travis Chase stumbles upon a terrifying mystery – a 747 has crashed, no rescue crews are in sight, and no one heard it go down. Even worse, among the bodies is the First Lady of the United States – and she’s left a cryptic note alluding to “Tangent.” When Travis sees hostages held at gunpoint, he must do whatever he can to rescue the prisoners…and uncover the secret of Tangent.
The hero – Travis Chase? I’m in love (yeah, move over Prince Brigan, I found another fictional hero to add to my unrealistic expectations in men). But more than that I liked and respected Travis right from the beginning. I empathized with him and wanted him to be successful. Almost immediately he became a hero I could – and had to – root for. He’s complex, fallible, imperfect, and real. He comes to life within the first two pages.
From pages 4-5:
There was pressure to go back home of course…What future did he see for himself up north, two thousand miles from his family? What future did he see among them? Even to the few who could understand and forgive what he’d done, he’d always be the brother who spent half of his twenties and all of his thirties in prison. Twenty years from now, in the eyes of the next generation, he’d be that guy. That uncle. You could only get so free.
Seriously. This is a Must Read for anyone who likes thrillers and also likes supernatural and science fiction elements. I love am terrified of the mean and sharkly Janet Reid and now I love Patrick Lee. I've just added Travis Chase to my list of series which I have to buy as soon as they come out.
Check out the trailer and pick up a copy of The Breach on 12/29!