Fatal Option by Chris Beakey

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.