Publisher: Revell
Date of Publication: February 4, 2020
Number of Pages: 400
Three years ago, a collision between a fast-moving freight train and a school bus full of kids led to devastation and grief on an unimaginable scale. But a fresh clue leads San Antonio police detective Amara Alvarez to the unlikely conclusion that one of the children may still be alive. If she’s correct, everything law enforcement believes about the accident is a lie.
With time running out, Amara must convince others–and herself–that despite all evidence to the contrary, the boy lives. And she will do everything in her power to bring him home.
A fresh voice in suspense, Tom Threadgill will have you questioning everything as you fly through the pages of this enthralling story.
Clueless Gent’s Rating
Every once in a while, all the elements come together and turn an interesting plot into a great story. Such is the case with Collision of Lies. I was very quickly hooked, and I much enjoyed turning the pages. I could have finished the book several days earlier, but I dragged it out because the story was so enjoyable.
This book is classified as contemporary christian suspense. I can agree with contemporary and suspense, but I didn’t really feel any christian aspect. It certainly wasn’t anti-christian, but I don’t remember reading anything that would push it into that genre. Maybe I just missed it.
Christian or not, Collision of Lies is the best suspense story I’ve read in quite a while. Let me tell you why.
Why I Liked Collision of Lies so Much
Although the story centers around the detectives of a big city police department, I wouldn’t call it a cop story. I like cop stories, but this one had more to it. The story wasn’t about the detectives (and the FBI), yet they were the vehicle that kept the story moving along.
I thought the mix of characters was very good! It is so easy to stereotype detectives and FBI agents in novels, but Threadgill did a commendable job of avoiding that. In a sense, he made the ordinary extraordinary.
For example, detective Amara Alvarez, our protagonist, does commendable work in a somewhat boring job. She’s divorced. Yes, I know this is borderline stereotypical, but the author adds more so the character doesn’t fall into that bucket. Amara has a large family and has dinner with them every Sunday at her mama’s house. But she wants more. She gets more, but in a very roundabout way. Further, she’s the only detective I’ve seen in a story who has a pet iguana at home. If that isn’t unusual enough, even the iguana has a pretty cool personality.
Similarly, Threadgill employs similar devices with the other characters to keep everything original and fresh. I’d dig into it more, but I’d rather you just enjoy it for yourself.
Here’s something else I found unusual – in a good way. The crescendo to the climax actually starts at the end of the first chapter. (That’s the hook.) Most of the rest of the story is specific in getting us to that climax.
Lastly, I thought the ending was quite unusual for a story like this – if there are any other stories like this. I won’t say whether I considered it good or bad. If I piqued your curiosity, you can read the story and form your own opinion.
Technically Speaking
The book I read was not the final copy, so I will not comment on SPAG issues. (Even if I did, I wouldn’t really have anything to write about.)
The pacing was perfectly on point! As I said, the build to the climax starts very early, but the pacing keeps the action in check. This is one of those stories where you might want to skip a few pages ahead to see what happens, but you don’t because you don’t want to miss a thing!
The character arcs are plentiful and very believable. Even some of the minor characters had some pretty good arcs.
The best news, however, is that this is only book one of this series! Whoa! If Tom Threadgill can make the other books in this series just as good, it will easily become one of my favorites!
I very highly recommend this story!
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2/6/20
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Notable Quotable
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2/6/20
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BONUS Post
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2/7/20
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Review
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2/8/20
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Guest Post
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2/9/20
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Author Interview
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2/10/20
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Review
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2/11/20
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Excerpt
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2/12/20
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Review
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2/13/20
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Excerpt
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2/14/20
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Review
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2/15/20
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Review
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2 thoughts on “Collision of Lies”
Excellent review! I love that the author keeps the religious aspects subtle. Sounds like a great story!
Very good review, and I loved your memes and graphics. Sure dresses up a blog post.