Unthinkable is the latest standalone thriller from bestselling writer Brad Parks and asks an impossibly tough question: would you kill your significant other if it was the only way to prevent the deaths of a billion people? Nate Lovejoy is a former lawyer who is now a stay at home father to two young daughters and the poor soul who must wrangle with this wicked question. He and his wife, Jenny, reside in Richmond, Virginia, where she is eying up becoming a partner in the law firm she currently works at, one of VA’s most prominent legal businesses. When Nate is kidnapped by abductor Lorton Rogers, a member of a cult-like clandestine society known as Praesidium, he is held captive for a short time at the sprawling mansion of its leader, Vanslow DeGange. Praesidium truly believe that DeGange can see the future and his prophecy has shown that if Nate does not submit and commit to killing his wife Jenny Welker within 4 days, a huge number of people will die as a result of what they deem to be Nate’s selfishness and disregard for mankind.

The mass casualty event will be a direct result of Jenny's class-action lawsuit against Virginia's biggest power company. Filing the claim on behalf of 280 clients of Virginia’s Commonwealth Power and Light alleging that its coal-fired Shockoe Generation Plant produced record amounts of lung cancer and COPD will have unintended consequences: cataclysmic global warming. What choice, if any will be made, or will the couple be able to put a stop to DeGange’s disturbing and deadly ultimatum before time runs out? This is a compulsive and absorbing thriller with a rapid fire pace, well-written narrative, twists, turns and ample use of misdirection, and a cast of intriguing characters. It's an engrossing and thoroughly entertaining nailbiter from start to finish with a refreshingly original storyline, however, it does require you to suspend your disbelief quite a lot. This is an enthralling, fiendishly inventive tale narrated in alternating perspectives between Nate and Jenny that will keep you guessing until the end. Highly recommended.

A thriller leaning a little towards Sci Fi. Nate is a stay at home Dad and Jenny is a high powered attorney. Nate can’t figure out why he’s kidnapped and told he needed to kill his wife to keep him and his girls safe since he is the most boring person he knows. Based on the age-old dilemma, would you kill one person to save five. What if you could kill Hitler to stop his destruction? A little thought provoking, with most beings not all good or bad, how would you decide these types of dilemmas? This could lead to a good book club discussion.

I was all in. Told in alternating views of Nate and Jenny, the reader is left to try and piece together this cat and mouse game. With the slight dip into Sci Fi, I like that I wasn’t sure what was true. The book was always moving the story forward and felt a little unpredictable. There were a few red herrings and a few twists I did not see coming.

You need to be willing to suspend a little disbelief, but I think the reward is worth it. I wish the ending was a little different, but that is all I would change. This reminded me of a less extreme Dark Matter or Recursion. If you’re looking for a thriller that is different from the other ones you’ve read this year, I’d try Unthinkable.

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The butterfly effect has been used as a basis for films, books and generally to try to scare all of us into changing our habits to save the world. This book is an entertaining look at cause and effect in a world where alternative facts and deep fakes have made us even more reluctant to suspend belief than we normally would be. A normal couple with two young children is confronted with the unthinkable, which becomes possible, and where every choice has unintended consequences. I found it a compelling read exactly because of the transformation from normal to abnormal, and the building tension to follow along to see how this normal and likeable couple reacts - and triumphs.

Unthinkable
By Brad Parks

This is really an exciting read I enjoyed. I loved hearing about ordinary people being thrust into extraordinary, life-threatening, situations - becoming a hero of some sorts - but is this real or a hoax? I found that this speculative fiction an exciting read and I really came to enjoy the characters of Nate and Jenny very much. The story was fast paced and exciting - you will want to know what happens next and that will keep you turning those pages. Overall, I had fun reading this and really enjoyed it a lot.

This was a very enjoyable read, though a little “out there” at times. I really liked the character of Nate but maybe he is too much of a good person. The story was cleverly crafted and entertaining.
Many thanks to Thomas &Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Are you ready for a whirlwind plot that will simply not let you stop reading? You may have to suspend some of your logic but Unthinkable is a fun ride!

Nate has a problem. An undercover organization called the Praesidium has presented him with an ultimatum. Kill his wife Jenny or he and his whole family will be killed by the organization. It seems their psychic has foreseen that his wife’s Clean Air Act lawsuit may eventually kill a billion people. Or just she alone can die. The math clearly doesn’t work in Jenny’s favor.

I loved Unthinkable! All except for the rushed and somewhat inconclusive ending. However, it was a quick and enjoyable adventure for a few hours. 4 stars!

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Honestly, I tried really hard to get in to this book. But i couldn’t get past the first couple paragraphs. Just the way it was written just wasn’t meshing with me. Maybe I’ll try to give it another go sometime in the future, and it wouldn’t be fair for me to give this book a rating. But unfortunately i have to so please understand that I wouldn’t rate it to be fair to the author at this time.

The theme of kill one person to save others seems to be popular right now. This version has Nate, a house husband, being kidnapped and told that he must kill his wife Jenny, an attorney,because she's involved in a class action suit against a power company which uses coal. While the bones of this are familiar (and of course there's a bigger conspiracy thing going on), Parks is good with ramping up tension. Thanks to net galley for the ARC.

I really like the way this one started. I hadn't read bread Parks before, although head certainly heard of him. The premise and setup were intriguing and well-managed - unfortunately about 40% in it felt like it was floundering and I started to lose my feel for the characters and the story. I didn't see how they could possibly drag 60 more percent of the book out based on what had happened so far...

It started feeling like the author was deliberately dragging things out to make the story longer, and that just didn't work with the concept or the pacing of the start of the book. I just couldn't stay with it at that point, despite repeated attempts...

I don't know why this one didn't work for me - there wasn't anything objectively that I could point to. Frankly, the concept was pretty out there from the beginning, and it didn't bother me early on,so I don't think it was the suspension of disbelief, since that was pretty much present from the beginning. I just lost interest, I guess that's really the only thing I can say. I don't know if it was just the wrong book at the wrong time for me or if Parks is just not an author that resonates for me. Other readers have had a much different experience, so definitely check it out for yourself and see where you fall on the spectrum...

Aptly titled, Unthinkable has an innovative premise with twists you never see coming. An ordinary man is faced with an Unthinkable task that could ultimately save or condemn the world as we know it. Well written and fast paced, The novel is engaging and heart stopping.

Nate is a former lawyer and now a stay-at-home father of two young daughters. His wife, Jenny, is a lawyer who is building a pro bono case against a large power company whose generators are suspected to be causing cancer in local residents.

Nate is kidnapped one day and told that because of the ripple effect of his wife's case, billions will die. So Nate is ordered he has to kill Jenny or he and his family will be killed.

He had been kidnapped by a secret society whose leader claims to be able see into the future. Nate is disbelieving at first (he assumes it's the power company that had him kidnapped because of Jenny's case) but as he investigates, he is eventually convinced that this is indeed true. As a reader, you have to leave your sense of belief at the door and go with it. Though he obviously doesn't want to kill his wife, Nate is led to believe that this is his only course of action and he has to do the unthinkable.

I was liking the story up until the point where Nate was ready to shoot Jenny. But then it took a weird turn that I shook my head over and I started losing interest because it became too fanciful. I thought the ending was lame and unrealistic.

I liked the writing style. It is written in first person perspective in Nate's voice and third person perspective when the focus is on Jenny (the chapters are labeled).

Big mistake! I started "Unthinkable", by Brad Parks, late in the evening, then I couldn't stop. I read until my eyes glazed. None of that slow, set the stage  here, it starts with a bang (actually a syringe) with action that doesn't let up. It's been awhile since I've read Mr. Parks books and I had forgotten how good he is.
Stay at home Dad, Nate, is placed into an unfathomable, no win situation. His wife Jenny, a lawyer, is suing a mega power company over air quality. The outcome of the lawsuit will permanently alter future generations. Just your average family next door - right?
Nate is tasked with the age-old moral dilemma of sacrificing one (Jenny) to save millions. Then the twist drops like a bomb. I found myself holding my breath again and losing more sleep.
While there are many adjective used to describe a story, I am often dismayed when a book review that was described as a thriller, is in fact a mystery or suspense, etc. This book was my idea of a thriller and there is plenty of suspense. It would be an awesome action movie.
This was a "what happens next?", "what would I do?", story for me. If you read to be entertained, to get lost, to be distracted, to be challenged, mindless or thoughtful, you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I do not give out high ratings and recommendations for all books I read. I have to honestly like the book and I most certainly loved this one!
Many thanks to Netgalley, Brad Parks, and Thomas & Mercer for the advance digital copy. The opinions stated here are mine alone.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO MARCUS SAKEY IS??? Ok, so this was a fun rib at a fellow author that Parks tossed into this book, and if you're in the know, it was genuinely hilarious. I don't know if Parks and Sakey know each other or have any kind of relationship at all, but it was hilarious regardless. And great levity in an otherwise pretty heavy tale that asks the classic trolley problem in a much more personal and yet global context: If you knew that one singular person was going to be the thing that ultimately tips global warming beyond repair and that billions of lives would thus be lost, could you kill that person? What if that person was your wife? Through the first 2/3 of this book, this is the primary driver and raises a lot of thought provoking questions, as Sakey's own books tend to do. The back third goes more to direct action tale (as the back parts of Sakey's own books tend to do), but the interesting connection here given the ribbing is that there are elements that *could* tie this tale to Sakey's own Brilliance Saga. Whether this was the intent, this reader has no clue. But again, an interesting thought experiment. Ultimately this is a fun mystery/ action tale that mostly sticks to the realistic - even the exact scenario of the finality of global warming is plausible given the facts recorded in After Cooling by Eric Dean Wilson, which releases just weeks before this book itself does. If you're looking for *purely* mindless action, eh, there are other books better suited to that. If you like "action with a brain"... this is going to be *exactly* what you're looking for. Very much recommended.

3.5 rounded down.

Nate Lovejoy and Jenny Welker have a very nice life. Both lawyers but since Jenny is a more high flying lawyer, the lovely Nate is the stay at home parent caring for their two young daughters. All is great until Nate is approached by Lorton Rogers with a preposterous proposition, he represents a secret organisation called the Praesidium and wants Nate to shoot his wife in the head at exactly 9.47 pm on Friday night to ultimately avert an ecological disaster that would result in around a billion deaths worldwide. No big deal - right?

As you would expect, Nate is sceptical and refuses but Rogers explains that their leader, 99 year old Vanslow DeGrange is a person with special skills, he can sense ripples in the space-time continuum and his predictions always come true. Jenny is pursuing a pro bono class action against a power company whose dirty and decrepit coal fired generator is causing lung cancers in nearby residents at unprecedented levels way above what you would expect. DeGrange is claiming that the ultimate upshot of winning the case will be safer power but with much more damaging emissions that will cause worldwide devastation. The scene is set and I won’t go into more of the plot, this all happens in the first few chapters.

Well the title of the book is apt! It really is unthinkable which was one of the problems I had with the story! The pace was great and there were no flat spots so I was eagerly reading away. But when I finished I thought it really was too far-fetched. I understand that some books require you to suspend disbelief but I do have a problem with this sort ‘conspiracy theory’ plot. Nevertheless it still could have been a four star read but the ending…. well, it really was a bit of an eye roll. It took preposterous to a whole new level. I thought the ending, while it may have seemed necessary for the story was over complicated and totally fanciful.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, I really did - but! I also thought the characters could have been fleshed out a bit better, Nate seemed too good to be true and Jenny was overly driven by her job. The other characters were lightly sketched. It is a good story for those who can park their disbelief and is a welcome change to serial killers and destination weddings and I do appreciate the author’s efforts to entertain us - at which task he succeeded! Thanks to Netgalley who provided a free copy of this book which I reviewed voluntarily.

Having enjoyed Brad Parks Say Nothing, I was delighted to pick up his latest thriller set in Richmond, Virginia. However, I confess to being disappointed with it, the premise that drives it just does not work for me, straying into too far out territory. Lawyer Nick Lovejoy is happily married to the far more gifted, high flying lawyer, Jenny Welker, a partner at the most prestigious law firm of Carter, Morgan and Ross. He is the stay at home husband looking after their adorable young daughters, 3 year old Parker and 18 month old Cate, and he loves his role. The novel opens with Nick having been drugged and abducted, awakening in what appears to be a museum with priceless artworks hanging on the walls.

Nick's life veers off track when he meets Lorton Rogers, a man who appears to be normal and stable, but who relays an unthinkable task that he must carry out if he and his children are to survive. Vanslow DeGange is an extremely wealthy man with prescient abilities, he can see into the future, he and the powerful secret cult The Praesidium, act for the greater good, organising to save the lives of countless millions, if not billions, by ensuring the deaths of those who represent a threat to humanity in the future. Jenny has been working her socks off on a pro bono case for 2 years, determined to see justice served. She has put together a mass action tort claim, representing clients from a area where abnormally high rates of terminal cancer and respiratory diseases proliferate, caused by the toxic coal burning fumes emitted by the Commonwealth Power and Lighting Company plant. Rogers tells Nick he must kill Jenny, the only way to stop the class action, so countless others can be saved in the future.

Needless to say, Nick is a sceptic, how can anyone see into the future? However, Rogers provides what looks like cast iron proof, what is Nick to do? Ethical and philosophical debates are had, although Nick really doesn't really have a choice, the ruthless Praesidium cult has no intention of letting his wife live and Nick must protect Parker and Cate. This is a thriller for those more willing to enter fantastical territory and buy into the questionable ideas that underlie this novel, I have no doubt there will be many who will enjoy it. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

UNTHINKABLE is an easy read that makes the preposterous proposal that a man in a committed and loving marriage can be forced to shoot his spouse in the head to save humanity from environmental disaster. Considering the common skepticism surrounding global warming prevalent in the world today, one could easily argue the negative here. This novel also has pretensions to explore the bigger theme of free will versus predestination, yet in the final analysis, it is mainly genre fiction. If one enjoys thrillers, this plot-driven novel should satisfy.

Nate Lovejoy is an underachieving lawyer who serves as the fulltime nanny for his two daughters while his wife, Jenny Welker, goes out to work for a high-powered Richmond, Virginia law firm. She is deeply involved in building a pro bono class-action lawsuit against Commonwealth Power and Light alleging that one of its plants bears responsibility for multiple cancers and respiratory diseases in the community. Enter the villain, Lorton Rodgers, representing the prescient Vanslow DeGange and his underground organization known as Praesidium. Rodgers takes on the task of convincing Lovejoy that if his wife prevails, a devastating climate catastrophe will become inevitable. The only solution seems to be to shoot her as she sleeps. It is unclear why more humane methods for her elimination are never considered or how Rodgers proposes to get Lovejoy off the hook once the deed is done, yet it is what it is. As anyone might be, Lovejoy is initially skeptical, but following multiple lines of evidence that would spoil the novel to reveal here, Lovejoy does come around. Brad Parks then succeeds in taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride with a few jaw-dropping plot twists.

Its success at creating tension and a supremely dark and threatening mood notwithstanding, the narrative has a few glaring weaknesses that are not easy to overlook. The Richmond setting never comes alive. This could have been anywhere. The nature of DeGange’s gift of prescience is never really explored. This is unfortunate since it is THE key premise of the plot and leaving it unexplained makes the whole thing less believable. Praesidium is supposed to be defending the many by executing the few. The ticket to membership is to have killed one unfortunate soul. How Praesidium works at the granular level is never really clarified, however. Parks’ characterization of Nate and Jenny’s loving and committed relationship also is unconvincing. Jenny seems too busy with outside commitments for her family and Nate definitely has inferiority issues that may be influencing his libido. As genre convention dictates, all of the characters are cartoonish notwithstanding Parks’ creative flare for naming them (e.g., Lovejoy, Lorton, and the matchless Vanslow DeGange). Despite its high-tension climax, the final resolution seems a little too pat and unrealistic. If one is willing to ignore such flaws, this book would be great to take to the beach this summer.

We are going to kill you, your wife, your kids, and a billion people will die. Unless, that is, you kill your wife, take your lumps, and stay quiet in which case your kids will be taken care of and those billions will never know the danger they were in. What do you do? That is the dilemma the protagonist faces in Unthinkable. This is a good read with some gotcha twists. You will not be disappointed.
I typically try to follow the Goodreads star ratings—"did not like it" (1 star), "it was OK" (2 stars), "liked it" (3 stars), "really liked it" (4 stars), and "it was amazing" (5 stars)

Unthinkable by Brad Parks is a well-written and engrossing read with well developed characterizations. Well worth the time spent reading.

Wow, what a read! Lots of big twists along the way. I read Brad Parks every chance I get but didn't expect this! I was really impressed with his research and knowledge to have succeeded with this story. What happens when a good man and husband is told that he has to kill his wife? You will be surprised!

this was a good book, a fast read. I liked the beginning/middle the most where the difficult conflict was framed both philosophically as well as a look at the impact of one person on generations. Characters that i cared about and maybe a too easy ending. maybe set up for a second book