Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Synopsis
Bobby and Susan Martin want nothing more than to have a child of their own, the blessing that would make their marriage whole. Never did they dream that a restorative camping trip would change their lives forever—when a tiny, filthy, freezing young boy dashes out of the woods near their campsite. The boy's violent kidnappers quickly come for him—and in a chaotic, explosive moment, the Martins appear to be drawn into an unthinkable crime: the brutal murder of a police officer.
Now Bobby, Susan, and the eerily quiet young boy must stay one step ahead of a vicious crime ring, and are unsure whether they can trust the police—or if they were responsible for the death of one of their brethren. As the couple desperately plunges into the heart of danger to save themselves and the boy, deep emotions about their failed pregnancies come to the surface. Even if Bobby and Susan figure a way out of their spiraling circumstances, will they be able to surrender this child who has come into their lives and, in his own way, filled a painful chasm in their marriage?
A galvanizing story of kidnapping, murder, mystery, and love, a page-turner that builds to a heart-stopping climax, John Gilstrap's gripping new novel enhances his reputation as one of the most ingenious and innovative of contemporary thriller writers. His works explore original territory, with characters that are refreshingly complex and aren't soon forgotten. Even Steven is a top-notch work of suspense fiction.
About the Author:
John Gilstrap is the acclaimed author of Nathan's Run and At All Costs, both of which were selections of the Literary Guild. A former firefighter and EMT, he is an explosives-safety expert and an environmental engineer. He lives with his wife and son in Virginia.
Publishers Weekly
Corny internal monologues drag down this action-packed third novel by Gilstrap (Nathan's Run; At All Costs), featuring an ill-starred childless couple and a hapless young mom caught between the cops and the bad guys. Still grieving over the recent stillbirth of their first child, a son they named Steven, Susan and Bobby Martin are on a camping trip in the mountains of West Virginia to mark their fifth wedding anniversary when they encounter a frightened little boy and a suspicious man claiming to be his father. After the stranger pulls a gun, Bobby kills him in the ensuing struggle. Finding police ID on the corpse and fearing the consequences of having killed a cop, the Martins take the boy and flee. Having suffered several miscarriages before the stillbirth, Susan believes that God intends the boy to replace Steven. Meanwhile, in nearby Pittsburgh, down-on-her-luck April Simpson discovers that a local drug dealer has kidnapped her two-year-old son, Justin, to hold as a hostage until he can collect a debt from her ne'er-do-well husband. Desperate for her child's safety, April threatens a mob boss with blackmail and is arrested while attempting armed robbery of a department store. Elsewhere, on a rundown farm, the brother of the man Bobby killed is anguishing over not having come to his sibling's rescue. The hero-protagonist (of sorts) who connects all three stories is aging FBI agent Russell Coates, himself embroiled in an old bull/young bull struggle for king of the hill. Although underdeveloped characters, hokey escapes and rescues replete with pulp romance epiphanies give the thriller a comic opera ring, its swift forward motion will speed readers past its flaws. Agent, Molly Friedrich. 7-city author tour. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|