Title: Sufficient Ransom
Author: Sylvia Sarno
Published: March 21/14 by Savvy Scribe Press
Length: 326 pgs
Format: ecopy
Genre: thriller/suspense
Shelf: review
Rating:
Synopsis from Goodreads:
What a mother wouldn't do for her child. Ann Olson takes her life for granted until her young son, Travis, disappears from the backyard one evening. Searching for her son, Ann throws caution to the wind. Soon, she finds herself enmeshed in the seedy world of Mexican drug dealers who operate just across the border in Tijuana. Does Ann, an atheist, embrace Christianity despite her husband warning that her pastor friend is more interested in converting her than in finding Travis? Does she make it out of the drug tunnel alive, or is her rashness her downfall? And is Travis’s disappearance related to that of other recently missing children in San Diego? A story of a mother’s love, courage in the face of evil, and her unexpected journey of self-discovery along the way.
My Review:
I’ve got to admit that I was a bit worried at the beginning of the book. I couldn’t quite figure out where this was going. After a few chapters, however, I was hooked. Sarno develops her story with a tact and grace rarely seen in a debut work. The story is very religious at times and very action packed at others, with a suspenseful undercurrent throughout. Of course, the infusion of religion into this story definitely makes it stand out from other thrillers.
I found the main character to have gone from a strong, if scatterbrained, individual to one who waited for others to act on her behalf. It almost seemed backwards to what one would expect in her situation. In fact, it was the opposite of what she expected from others. She verges on whiny quite a few times. Her son is missing, people are dying, yet somehow she still makes it all about her. That said, Sarno makes this characters seem so real that I found myself talking to her as if she were sitting next to me. I found myself so connected to this character that everything was vividly real. The husband was perfectly cast, in my opinion. I found him easier to understand and to connect with. This in turn made the main character more palpable.
I will admit that the main character in this novel is right. I don’t have kids, I don’t understand, not fully. That said, this author made me feel this situation as if I were living it myself. The author got my pulse racing and had me thinking in a different light. There were just parts of the novel that seemed upside-down compared to the rest. Everything all tied together nicely at the end. I’d definitely recommend this to those who want a work of suspense that is outside the mainstream.
I will admit that the main character in this novel is right. I don’t have kids, I don’t understand, not fully. That said, this author made me feel this situation as if I were living it myself. The author got my pulse racing and had me thinking in a different light. There were just parts of the novel that seemed upside-down compared to the rest. Everything all tied together nicely at the end. I’d definitely recommend this to those who want a work of suspense that is outside the mainstream.
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And now, for the part you've all been waiting for!
Enter to win 1 of 5 ecopies of this shocking novel.
There is not a sufficient ransom for one of my children!! Children are priceless.. <3
ReplyDeleteI want to read this book so much. It sounds so good, yet scary at the thought of any child being kidnapped. That has to be the most horrible thing us mothers and grandmothers could ever have to go through. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is worth so much more than my own life. I think I would have to trade myself for my daughter. This would be such a frightening scenario. I think it will be an amazing read. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds good. I would have hesitated reading it had I not read your review. Now I am very intrigued.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the giveaway.