One decision. One family's future in ruins.
When Jake Buckman decides to let Ryan, his sixteen-year-old son practice driving home along a deserted street, he has no idea of the deadly consequences.
But in the darkness of night, a runner comes from nowhere and the hit is fatal.
Now Jake and Ryan have two options: admit Ryan's responsibility ... or drive home as though nothing happened. What follows is not a clear-cut hit and run, but a split-second decision by a father who will do anything to protect his son.
How much should a parent sacrifice for their child?
And could any family survive the burden of such a terrible secret?
Review
Last year I listened to the audiobook of 'Save Me' by Lisa
Scottoline and quite enjoyed it. Both that book and this had a moral issue that
was covered but this one really stood out as it also involved an actual crime
as well, so there was another dimension to consider.
What I found with this book is that what started out relatively
normal, escalated quickly into something much bigger than I could have
imagined. This added more length and more complexity to the book, but I had
mixed feelings over it. For the most part I really enjoyed the book but in my
opinion it got a bit far fetched in the last third or so of the book. I can't
say too much about it without spoilers, but I wish it had taken a path so the
ending felt more reflective and thought provoking than it does.
That said, I did enjoy this book generally. The opening chapters
really gripped me and reading the though process of Jake, the father was a
great insight. Obviously the moral thing to do would be to report the accident
straight away and ace the consequences, and I would like to think that is what
I would do in Jake's situation but people make mistakes every day especially
when making a split second decision whilst in a panic, and it is plausible that
a parent would want to protect their child.
Personally, I didn't really like either of the parents,
especially the mother. I didn't get her at all. I felt more sympathy for Jake,
which is terrible as he covered up a crime. I did absolutely like Ryan though,
he seemed the most traumatised and remorseful by the incident and cover-up and getting into his psyche was the best part of the book for me.
As I said I did enjoy this book, I think I over-hyped this book in
my mind and that's probably the main reason why I was disappointed with parts. I am glad I read it and will
definitely look out for books by Lisa in the future, but sadly this one left me
with mixed feelings.
Published by: Headline
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.
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