Beakey deftly defines his characters and evokes setting with skill, allowing him to build tension to a fine hum.

Hang on to your seats, people! This is a fast-paced wild ride from the very first page. It would be difficult to unfold the plot without giving some serious spoilers, which I do not do. Suffice it to say that Stephen has no idea what brutal awfulness is coming for him, even after he thinks the worst (his wife’s mysterious death) has already happened. Sara and her brother Kenneth have no idea what unintended consequences can be, or what shades of darkness may hide in seemingly normal people’s lives. None of them know how a single choice can change many lives, or how fatal connections can be made anytime, anywhere in everyday life. They don’t know it until it is too late, and once they are careening down that black mountain winter road, there is no stopping what is coming…and coming…and coming….

Read it, you’ll see.

This book is written so tightly that I did not want to stop reading until I was done. When I finished, I took a deep breath, my first in hours, and promptly handed it off to a person (my mother, to whom I have listened ever since she finished it many years ago) pining for a book as intense as Intensity by Dean Koontz. She says she stayed up until she fell asleep, picked it back up as she made coffee in the morning, and took it with her to the bathroom all day. .She is still talking about Fatal Option being the closest she has gotten to that wonderful sustained tension she felt with the Koontz. No small praise. Way to go, Chris Beakey!

It is true, the action and suspense continues to rise throughout Fatal Option like a flood tide-,truly thrilling, all-encompassing, spreading out and up in an inexorable consumption of reason and other sane plot boundaries. It all makes sense, though I don’t know how. It even has a satisfying ending. The characters are easy to get to know, good or bad. Their choices may be cringe worthy, but it is easy to empathize. Beakey sets a mood sufficient to thrill, and the chill makes you want to grab a warm blanket to snuggle down. Overall, a fine read.

If you love a tight thriller, this is a good one.

Very suspenseful from start to finish. Many mysteries going on simultaneously and then all come together for an exciting climax.
this author sends the reader in many emotional directions. I was glued to the pages.

This is a fantastically thrilling book all about how far a person can be pushed in order to help the people he/she loves.
If you want something great to read, something gripping and thrilling and at the same time fast paced and easy to read but will still be very enjoyable, read this and enjoy the ride!

This book left me with conflicted feelings. On one hand, by the end of the book, I disliked every character (except the brother Kenneth) as everyone made really terrible choices, for example at least four people had made decisions/took actions that directly led to different peoples deaths. On the other hand, the book was really fast paced and I couldn't put it down. Additionally, the story was anything but predicable, as the author makes it seem like the book is going down one path, only to switch directions quickly in the end. There were several moments where I literally said aloud "What, REALLY?", in an entertained way. So, if you want to read a book that is really entertaining, but might make you doubt the good in humanity, this is the book.

I received a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the mystery in this book. ☆☆☆☆☆rating.

Review of FATAL OPTION by Chris Beakey

What a thrilling mystery! A one-session read because you just can't stop! Author Chris Beakey introduces multiple tangled plot lines, admirably maintains all, and leavens them with a sizable dose of humanity: emotions, mistakes, failings, success, regrets. Overarching are events that change lives, the kind of events about which reader and characters both ponder "if only--." My heart stayed in my throat the entire reading, and many times I wished I could reach into the story and shift the characters out of danger, or stop villains. Even the "bad guys" have their own backstory here, so that behavior which is not admirable is at least comprehensible.

I will definitely be anticipating more novels from author Chris Beakey and enjoying rereading FATAL OPTION.

Fatal Option by Chris Beakey

Suspense Triller with plenty of twists.

This well written triller sucked the reader in, making them invest in the story.

The characters were well developed, each with their own personal demons they carried with them, giving them a sense of realness.

The plot was well developed, and moved fast enough to keep the reader interested, and at times, hanging for more. The twists keep the reader guessing until the end.

Chris Beakey takes a close look at what doing the right thing can possibly cost a family. This novel was tightly written to create a believable situation where drinking, driving and responsibility can affect the future of all parties concerned. What actually happens is often misconstrued through the lens of fear.

Excellent!

This was a great read. There were so many twists and turns. It is hard to imagine that one decision can ruin your life. You always want to help your family but it is sometimes not the correct thing to do. I enjoyed this story. I received this book from Smith publicity for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

Beakey manages to keep the plot tight in this thriller which starts off as unsettling as it means to go on, with a winter storm reminding the reader that they are not in control here.

What would we all do if our child needed us but we had to break the law in order to help her? Stephen Porter is faced with this moral dilemma when his teenage daughter calls him in the middle of the night after lying to him about where she was going. Now her car is broken down during a blizzard on the side of a mountain. There's tension and violence in the form of murders, suicides, child abuse, sexual dysfunction and accidental death but at its heart can be found the loving ties that bind.

Stephen Porter has just heard some terrible news about the insurance claim concerning his wife's death. He begins a night a binge drinking knowing that his son, Kenneth is safely in his room nursing a black eye after upsetting the school the school hot-head and his daughter, Sara is supposedly a few houses away in their cul-de-sac sleeping over at her friend Madison's house. However, when the weather begins to turn and the roads turn to ice, Stephen receives a call from Sara saying she is stranded on Rolling Road at a teacher's house and near the site of her mother's death, Stephen begins to panic. Eventually, he decides to go save his daughter himself even though he is a little buzzed. Stephen doesn't know that Aiden, the autistic younger brother of the teacher she was visiting is lost outside in the dark that night. When the collision inevitably happens, Stephen opens up a can of worms concerning the death of his wife, the death of three other women that died similarly, and the troubled mind of teacher, Kieran O'Shea.


This is the type of thriller where you just have to go along for the ride. Every time that I thought I had an idea of where the author was going with the story, there was a new twist. The suspense of the story is layered through carefully guarded secrets of many of the town's inhabitants. Secrets, the fact that we will do anything for our children and the struggle between good vs. evil were central themes. I do like that in many of the characters, there was a grey area between good and bad. Characters that I thought that I had pegged turned out to be someone different. Sara's teacher, Kieran turned out to be one of the most interesting characters, he was not exactly who I thought, but still harbored evil within. His relationship with Sara was something I'm still having trouble with, it seems like either Sara or Kieran should be smart enough to stop a romance that is asking for trouble. I also wish that Kieran's life was explored a little more; there was some back story, but it seemed like his story could have gone further. I can't say much more without giving things away, but in the end I was thoroughly surprised at how everything came out with a bang. I do wonder if anyone else in the town is alive afterwards and I truly wondered about the fate of Kieran and Stephen. Overall, an intense thriller that has a lot going on and will keep you guessing until the end.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Make sure you have a lot of day left before you start reading this book. You will not be able to put it down.

Outstanding read! My heartbeat was definitely going and it was only going one way and that was up - just like the side of the mountain which played a very big part in this story. A lot of twists, a lot of bad people which make for a lot of suspects and I thought I had it all worked out - WRONG! This was a tale that had me screaming at the characters - NO, don't go there. Like they could hear me. A most entertaining, thrilling, edge of my seat, stay up all night and read a chick lit next to calm the nerves kinda of read.

I have not read this author before, however, that will change.

Thanks to Post Hill Press for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

There was certainly a lot going on with this book, I had to re -read a few pages as there were so many characters but once I'd settled into the story or stories and style of writing I buckled in for the ride.I saw another reviewer described the domino effect and that sums it up perfectly, at first the characters seem disconnected but it comes together as you read more.Interesting book,original and a good read.Thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The synopsis had me hooked and the book did not disappoint. I was drawn in from the first page. Brilliant pacing plot and strong, realistic characters. The book has it all: action, suspense mystery and family drama.
I recieved an advance reading copy of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. A brilliant thriller I did not want to end.

An excellent story that engages you from the first and had me trying to decide what I would do if I were the dad being called by his daughter on such a night and in such conditions (won't say more as I never give plot away) and then the options of what would I do seem to keep on coming!
The characters were ones I easily could sympathise with so some were very likable whilst others definitely not. The plot was easy to follow on the whole and the descriptive passages came across so well I could feel the icy coldness of the mountainside.
So an almost five star for me with just the final couple of chapters not quite hitting the spot. I can't say too much without it being a spoiler but I just couldn't go with how Sara handled things and it did not ring true of how I would expect a young girl having had the experiences she did would have behaved.
All that said I will certainly read Chris Beaky again as he is a great writer.

Stephen Porter, recently widowed due to his wife's presumed suicide and trying to deal with his two children's issues and problems, turns to alcohol as a means of solace. During a night of binge drinking he gets a phone call from his terrified 17 yr. old daughter who is caught in a blizzard near the top of a mountain after having lied to her father as to her whereabouts-on the mountain for a secret assignation. Knowing he has no business driving in his drunken state he heads out to find her and bring her home. At the same time a high school teacher is searching the same mountain trying to find his autistic younger brother. Suffice it to say there are intersecting plot lines reaching from the past to the present with secrets unearthed and many twists and turns that emerge from that one fateful night. Great writing and characterization. An excellent thriller and mystery you won't want to put down so be prepared for a long night.

Incredibly amazing book!!!! I couldn't put this down!!! Loved the characters, and how the author showed their flaws as well as their perfections. Could never have predicted the outcome of this. Can't wait for another novel by this author!!!

Thank you Net Gallery for the opportunity to read Fatal Option by Chris Beakey. I had never heard of Chris Beakey and I liked the cover for this novel. Well I am glad I did - from start to finish, this is a really good book. When two forces collide on a dark road, on a snowy evening, all "hell breaks loose".
I could not put this book down and that hasn't happened to me in awhile.
This is a thriller and mystery. Readers will be on the edge of their seat.
Really good - RECOMMEND!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book so much I read it in only three days. I'd put it down, but have to keep coming back to it.

For me, a book is really good when I find myself involved in the story and invested in the characters.
As I read Fatal Option, I kept talking out loud saying things like, 'Who could do that?' or 'WHAT!REALLY?' or 'Oh, no!' And I'd get concerned about the characters, talking to them and giving advice or a scolding. Okay, it may sound goofy, but the book pulled me in.

There was action, mystery, and plot twists. I got confused sometimes with some of the transitions and I really wasn't happy with the ending. I think I just wanted to know more about what was going to happen to my characters.

But, truly it was such a fun book to read. Also, I kept thinking throughout that this would make a really good movie.

I will be reading Mr. Beakey's first book now and am following him on Goodreads.