Pitfall

Another great suspense/thriller from Clair Poulson. I was so absorbed in the story I finished it in less than two days. Orphaned at a very young age, you'd think Sparky Graves would be considered one of the lucky ones considering he was placed with a foster family that then went on to adopt him. But it wasn't a wonderful life for Sparky, because the Graves' older son, Kal, never accepted Sparky and proceeded to make his life miserable. Sparky was blamed and punished for things he hadn't done, because his adoptive parents never believed him when he tried to explain that it was Kal who'd done them. After standing up to Kal and Kal threatening to kill him, Sparky leaves home and stows away on a big rig headed west. This is not the end of Kal blaming Sparky for everything.<br /><br />I really enjoyed this fast paced suspense. The reader already knows who the bad guy is, it's a matter of everyone else figuring it out and waiting to see how the villain gets what's coming to him. There are a lot of characters in this story, but I as they're introduced as the story progresses, I really didn't have a problem keeping up with them. <br /><br />Sparky is a very likeable character. I was amazed at how easy going he was considering the bullying he'd had to endure from his older brother for so many years. He often thought of others, such as his younger siblings, and Alfred Briggs (the man who takes him in) and tried his best to be helpful. Speaking of Alfred, what a great character he was. Who knows what would've happened to Sparky if Alfred wouldn't have taken him in, and most importantly, believed him when he's accused of a murder back home.<br /><br />I was completely surprised when one of the characters dies, as I was hoping things would work out with them and another character. I did appreciate the epilogue to see how things turned out for Sparky and Alfred. There's not much else I can say without giving anything away. If you enjoy clean suspense/thrillers then you'll enjoy this captivating story. This author continues to be one of my favorites when I want to read something other than a romance.<br /><br />I received a complimentary copy, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book is intense! Right from the beginning, a tale is told about two brothers, one is a good boy who gets blamed for things he didn't do. The other is a manipulative evil boy. The magnitude of hate grows as the book progresses.<br /><br />I loved two of the private investigators. They really propelled the story even though it was about the relationship between Sparky and Kal. They were both honest and fair and were not only investigating for a paycheck.<br /><br />If you enjoy suspense, you may want to give this one a try.<br /><br />This book contains religious elements. It also contains non-graphic violence.<br /><br />Source: I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Left an orphan at a very young age, Sparky is adopted by the Graves family. His older adoptive brother is a bully and learns to be extremely manipulative and lies to make Sparky look like the bully. His father always sides with his natural son and comes to believe that Sparky is a rotten kid. <br />As the bullying and lies get worse, at age almost 16, Sparky decides the best plan is to run away. He packs a duffle bag with food and a few clothes and hides it in the park. After school he goes to the park, gets his stuff, and heads out. At a truck stop, he finds a truck hauling large pipes and stows away in the pipes. He slips out of the pipes at rest stops and truck stops, and watches for the driver to return to the truck, returning to his hideaway. As time passes, he approaches the driver, to ask where he is going. He is headed west, from Kansas to Nevada. <br />Along 1-70, he has decided that southern Nevada will be too hot for him, and leaves the safety of his hideaway in Salina, Utah. He is picked up along the road by an elderly farmer, who is kind and cordial. He hires Sparky to work for him on his farm. As he and Albert are watching the news one night, his picture flashes on the TV as a wanted murderer. His adoptive mother has been killed and he has been blamed. He instantly knows that his brother is the culprit and is blaming him for the murder. <br />The story goes on with him trying to prove his innocence and how to make sure that his father and the authorities know about his brother and his innocence. <br /><br />

<strong>Two Brothers in Opposition</strong><br /><br />Sparky is orphaned at age 2. The family who fostered him eventually adopted him. He had an older brother, Kal, who bullied Sparky his whole life, but the story always was manipulated to make Sparky the bad guy. Dad always took Kal's side so believed Sparky was the bad child. Sparky ran away when Kal threaten to kill him. Kal continued to torture the younger children so they ran away. The events and twists make this story a hard-to-put down, fast-paced mystery to love.

OH MY! This is a story. The twists and turns and pure psychopathy kept me engaged and on edge which is what I am looking for in a good suspense. I found myself with the same level of tension I would have had watching a horror or true crime movie or show. I just knew that something was going to happen that I didn't want to happen. <br /><br />This was well written, exciting, with engaging characters. Every time things changed and something twisted, the story got better, and I wasn't sure that was possible. It had me from the beginning and didn't really let go. There were times when there wasn't an immediate danger, but the danger was always in the back of my mind. <br /><br />Very well written, very exciting, definitely worth a second read.

I have recently started reading books by Clair Poulson and I have to say this is another great suspense novel! I love how he writes the story from many different character's perspective, it gives insight into the many different aspects of their lives and the story. I found this book easy to read and not very predictable. <br /><br />He definitely isn't afraid to kill his characters and it makes me sad and happy at the same time because you never know who you are going to lose. <br /><br />This story is about a young boy Sparky Graves, his story doesn't start out the way a young boy's life should start out, losing his parents in a terrible car accident and eventually adopted by the Graves family.<br /><br />After several years he can't stand the hostility and vindictiveness his older  brother displays towards him. He thinks if he were to leave then life would get better for not only himself but for his younger siblings. It's not until after he leaves though, things really fall apart and we discover who really experiences their pitfall.<br /><br />There are many characters you love in this story and characters you love to hate.  To me this book also had a few loose ends or maybe even openings into another novel. I also wonder if there are other books he's written with two of the detectives in this book. It also has references to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, that I don't think detract from the story but adds to the character development.<br /><br />I was given access to a copy of this novel through the publisher all opinions are my own.

Another good read from one of my favorite authors.

Good clean, suspense novel. <br /><br />The story travels back and forth across the mountains from Kansas to Utah. The jealousy of one brother toward another causes loss after loss for his family, but Sparky, the younger brother, shows courage and resilience in dealing with the frightening and dangerous situation. He runs away and finds love and acceptance in the company of an old farmer and some of his neighbors. Detectives from both states work tirelessly to solve the mystery, which first places the blame on Sparky and then exonerates him. A few loose ends that could be a lead-in to another book.<br /><br />*Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was the first “Mormon” fiction book that I’ve read in a long time, and it was a bit weird to read characters talking about ministering and young women’s activities in the context of a murder mystery. The author was a career detective, who has since written several dozen mystery novels. The thing that I found most unbelievable though was the motivations and intelligence of the bad guy. In the book, sixteen year-old Sparky Graves is the adopted second brother in a family of four. His older brother is literally a psychopath, who always manages to blame his wrong-doing on Sparky. Fed up with the abuse, Sparky runs away. His older brother, Kal, kills their mother when she begins to suspect that Sparky wasn’t responsible for everything his older brother had blamed on him. That’s right. Sparky kills his mother. This seemed really dark considering the audience and general tone of the book otherwise. The book tells the story of Sparky’s escape and how he eventually finds a safe haven at a ranch in southern Utah. I was surprised to find though that after this, the story was mostly told from the perspective of two detectives who are trying to piece together what really happened to the boys mother and find Sparky. It’s billed as a “suspense” novel, but it wasn’t the suspense that kept me reading, but the disbelief at the stupidity of the murderous older brother. His absolute hatred of the protagonist was mystifying, and the author’s only explanation is “he’s a psychopath.” Maybe there are criminals like that in the world, but it wasn’t very believable to me.

This was a great book with a lot of suspense. It is about a 15 year old adopted boy from Kanasa who runs away from home and stows away in a pipe truck and gets out in Utah. An old farmer/rancher picks him up and he begins to work for this widowed man. Although Sparky originally lied to the farmer, while watching a news report on himself, he comes clean. His brother, Kal, kills their mom by pushing her off of the deck of their home and he blames Sparky. There younger brother and sister run away from home becasue Kal is threatening them (they saw him push their mom). Kal also blames Sparky for taking their siblings. A private detective is hired in Utah to help prove Sparky's innocense and she drives to Kansas looking for eye witnesses that Sparky was not in Kansas at the time of his mom's death. At the same time another private detective is hired in Kansas and heads to Utah to try and find Sparky. Kal follows the PI from Kansas and kills several people on his way to Utah. When he arrives at the ranch, he accidentally steps into the boars pen which is the death of him. Such a fitting ending for the evil brother.