Cover Image: All He Has Left

All He Has Left

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Member Reviews

Holy Plot Twist!

All He Has Left, put me on a dark and twisted ride of a lifetime.

I cant even begin to describe the way this book was skillfully crafted to come together with an explosive ending that no one will see coming. Talk about twisted! Cue the jaw drop.

This was my second book by Chad Zunker, but there is no way I will stop now, I just want more more more! Zunker, is a true storyteller that will have us all eating out of his hands if he keeps delivering books like this. After concluding All He Has Left, I did my research to find any and all books that might have been published previously and imagine my surprise when I had Twelve books to choose from (I ended up choosing Family Money)

I have become a fan of Zunker, with just having read All He Has Left, and I am sure you will be too! Check out the teaser below :

Power, money, and dark family secrets are a killer combination in a propulsive novel of suspense by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Family Money.

After Jake Slater’s wife dies in a tragic hit-and-run, all he has left is his daughter, Piper—nearly lost, too, in a brutal custody battle with his wealthy in-laws. A year later, Jake reluctantly agrees to a reunion with the estranged family for Piper’s thirteenth birthday. Then a single gunshot rings out, and a new nightmare begins.

Piper is kidnapped, and her cousin Caitlin is murdered. Caitlin’s cryptic dying words: Piper knows the truth. Jake is the only witness to the murder—and the only suspect. For an innocent man trapped in a world conspiring to crush him, the only way to clear his name and find Piper is to do it on the run.

Crucified by the media, pursued by the FBI, and hunted by an assassin, Jake can feel his desperation escalating with every tick of the clock. The closer he gets to the truth, the more he risks uncovering family betrayals so sinister they’re worth killing for.

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This was a quick read for me. I couldn’t put it down. I often find myself able to guess where a story is going and how things are going to end, especially when it comes to suspense/thriller type books but not so much this time. The author did a really good job of keeping the mystery until he was ready to begin revealing the clues and answering questions in my opinion. This was my first time reading a book by this author, and I am definitely interested in reading more.

Thank you Netgalley and Tomas & Mercer for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

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"After Jake Slater’s wife dies in a tragic hit-and-run, all he has left is his daughter, Piper—nearly lost, too, in a brutal custody battle with his wealthy in-laws. A year later, Jake reluctantly agrees to a reunion with the estranged family for Piper’s thirteenth birthday. Then a single gunshot rings out, and a new nightmare begins.
Piper is kidnapped, and her cousin Caitlin is murdered. Caitlin’s cryptic dying words: Piper knows the truth. Jake is the only witness to the murder—and the only suspect. For an innocent man trapped in a world conspiring to crush him, the only way to clear his name and find Piper is to do it on the run.
Crucified by the media, pursued by the FBI, and hunted by an assassin, Jake can feel his desperation escalating with every tick of the clock. The closer he gets to the truth, the more he risks uncovering family betrayals so sinister they’re worth killing for."

This book was heavily suspenseful, thrilling, with so many twist and turns, Their are triggers in the book if squeamish about children and animals (not descripted of them). First time author , would love to read more from them.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, netgalley, and the author in exchange for an honest review.
Published April 1st, 2023.

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Jake's wife was killed when his entire family was in a hit and run accident. A year later his only child, his daughter Piper is kidnapped. His father in-law, a wealthy infuential financier in Austin has never liked Jake and has made it plain that he thinks Piper would be much better with him. Piper is kidnapped and bodies are dropping and Jake is the prime suspect. Enter a high-power hit man into the mix and the action is non-stop. No big surprises or twists but it is a thrill ride!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a copy of #AllHeHasLeft in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Flew through this one! Convinced that short chapters means I read it faster. Tell me I’m wrong.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:
— stories like this is how Jason Bourne/Bryan Mills/Ethan Hunt is born
— I’m sooooo tired of filthy rich old white men trying to throw money at their problems in the hopes they go away
— I’d also like to retire the ‘patriarch’ or ‘matriarch’ of families; there are no ‘heads of the family’, why can’t we just live
— male MC but so happy the FBI agent was a badass female; more Dani please

I just really liked how easy this story flowed and how much I enjoyed it! Thank you Thomas & Mercer for making this title available!

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Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

I liked the fast paced story. It kept me interested and guessing how the characters were connected; who was the mastermind. Even though it was quick, we got some decent characters with Jake and Dani. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but I guess that comes with a fast paced story. I was also a bit underwhelmed with who Jake finally had to face in the end. Specifically, the motivations of that character.

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This is a lean, propulsive suspense story that plays like the author spliced The Fugitive with a Harlan Coben plotline, the kind where someone goes to great lengths because of family. I really like both of those things, so I quite enjoyed reading this book. And I really liked the part where Auburn lost so I'm going to tack on an extra star for that.

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A thrilling and dangerous read that will leave you wondering what just happened and who did it. Well written crime story .

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Chad Zunker's "All He Has Left" is another great find for me this year. Zunker has published quite a number of books, with most of them boasting a good number of fan following, and it's not hard to see why.

With this book, author Zunker, plunges the reader straight-on into the story, with not much breathing space from start to finish. And the story revolves around Jake Slater and his daughter Piper's life, since the death of his wife, in an accident, the previous year; an accident which had hurt Jake and Piper physically as well. Both of them had been devastated with the loss and are still trying to cope with it.

Things take a much worse turn when Pepper's bigger cousin Caitylin is shot and Pepper is kidnapped, during one of Pepper's visit with her. Strangely, the police suspect Jack might be the culprit due to certain circumstantial evidences and Pepper's grandfather's damaging statement. However, Jack is not interested in wasting time for proving his innocence; he instead wants to do leave no stone unturned in finding his daughter. Does Slater manage to find Pepper? If he is innocent, who is the culprit?

Zunker has managed to create a short, quick and fast-paced thriller which truly hooks the reader's attention and sustains that connection throughout. The story starts-off at a brisk pace which never falters the whole way. Despite the short length, Zunker has also succeeded in creating a great emotional depth within the story. I absolutely loved the story and can't recommend it enough for lovers of quick thrillers.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I apologize for the late review, I release this has been released already.

All He Has Left is a thrilling, fast paced, well written short novel. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and the fact the author hooked me from the very beginning of the story. I disagree with a lot of reviews and feel this book was believable and just the right length, I think if it would have been drawn out any more if would have become boring and repetitive. I enjoyed this and would recommend it as a quick suspense read for those that like a lot of action packed into a short book!

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First of all, apologies in advance for the late feedback.

Fast paced and i like the short chapters!
Though sometimes I’m a little lost and can’t keep up with the names. Overall, this was such an easy read! Thank you for approving me an arc of this.

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All He Has Left by Chad Zunker

Action-packed page-turner that kept my attention from beginning to end – Love reading a new-to-me author that is one I will look for again.

What I liked:
* Jake Slater: high school football coach, husband, father, facing a tough time at home and work just before becoming a widow, loved his wife, loves his daughter, honorable, caring, strategic thinker
* Piper: Jake’s preteen daughter, dealing with the loss of her mother and friends, faces big changes that are not easy for her or Jake
* Dani: FBI Special Agent, in Austin to keep an eye on her ailing father, once dated Jake, strong, focused, might still have a soft spot for Jake
* That it drew me in, made me care, and feel invested in the outcome
* The way Jake dealt with the kidnapping of his daughter, his thought processes, his ability to move forward despite all that was happening around him
* The look at wealth and entitlement and how it impacted more than one in the story
* The plot, pace, and writing
* That there was a mystery that was solved…a mystery I wasn’t apparent early in the story but very evident toward the end
* That the baddies were exposed and dealt with…eventually
* The conclusion
* Everything except…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how evil and self-centered some people can be and how ruthless they can be to achieve what they desire

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

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very enjoyable tale of murder and discovery. Jake Slate, a football coach has married Sarah from a rich and prominent family. Jake has been offered money to divorce his wife from his father-in-law who clearly hates him.
With daughter Piper, they are in an auto accident that kills his wife. Jake's life and his daughter is a mess.
Now someone has kidnapped Piper and killed her cousin. Jake is the prime suspect! As he fights to evade the police and find his daughter, more drama ensues....someone is now trying to kill him. Will he find Piper ? Or will he be murdered too?

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Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Trope: Multiple murders, police chase
Pub Day: April 1, 2023

Jake Slater has lost everything, his wife died in a hit and run then he lost his football coach job. The only thing that matters anymore is his daughter Piper. But Piper is kidnapped the night of thirteenth her birthday and Piper's cousin is shot dead. Jake having found at the crime scene is now the prime suspect. He decides to take matters in his own hands and find Piper.

All He Has Left is definitely action packed but at times a little hard to believe. The writing could be much better. The character context is spread unevenly in the book so the reader doesn't truly get the entire history at the get go and hence it feels like extra detail is added only just now to make the plot or someone's action seem credible. The narrative seemed a little repetitive towards the 50% mark. Everyone seemed to flirt with Dani or every man in the book has a goatee. I think there was lack of descriptive variety. I thought that the most simplest things were being explained, for instance, we know that wearing gloves will leave no fingerprints.

Having said that, the plot is interesting and something I have not dabbled that much into, so I truly enjoyed it. It was a quick read with smaller digestible chapters. Read if you like fast paced thrillers with multiple POVs.

Thank you Netgalley and Tomas & Mercer for the arc in exchange for my honest review

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I was able able to read this book in a few hours. I thought the storyline and plot could have been stronger but I still thought that this was an enjoyable read. I thought the characters and writing were good. I as reader got attached to the main character, Jake. This book was a page turner and at a certain point I could no longer stop or put the book down. If you enjoy reading thrillers, I recommend reading this book! Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

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I enjoyed this fast paced thriller. Jake is trying to figure out who kidnapped his daughter and killed his niece. Lots of running from the cops and amature sleuthing later... and the story ends exactly how you expect it to end.

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At 209 pages, this book is only a handful of pages longer than a novella, and the book truly suffers for it. Actually, the book just suffers from poor research, clumsy writing, inelegant plotting, a truly predictable plot, and cookie cutter characters with no nuance to them whatsoever. I almost DNF’d it because I knew I could be spending my time reading the many other ARCs calling my name for April 4th’s release date.

Sure, I wax often and eloquently about the virtues of the novella and its ability to pack so much into so few pages, but that virtuosity depends on the economy of words and brilliant sentence structure. This book has neither. It’s clunky and runs like a carriage on cobblestones: rough and wobbly, starting and stopping, letting too many characters talk and get their voices in. There are too many players on the board for this to be anything but a tangle of threads that’s too conveniently cleaned up.

I wish Chad Zunker better luck in the future with his writing, because this read amateur, and I can see he’s no amateur.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, ideas, views, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. Due to personal policy, this review will not be posted on any social media or bookseller websites due to a rating of three stars or under.

File Under: Crime Thriller/Not For Me/Kindle Unlimited/KU/Short Story/Thriller/What Did I Just Read That Was Bad

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It was fine, just a little bit too convenient sometimes for my liking. And while the story was very short, the story in itself wasn't outstanding enough to grab my attention.

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Chad Zunker throws us into the action/ nightmare from the first page and never slows down. The characters are believable, their reactions would be ours were we to face the world changing events they do. This is one of those books that you really don't want to put down. This is a stand alone story but let's hope Zunker's already working on the next thriller.

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3.5 ⭐️’s
A year ago, Jake’s wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident, his daughter, Piper is all he has left. Jake’s wealthy in-laws have never liked him and even went so far as to try to win custody of Piper. It’s Piper’s thirteenth birthday and her grandparents want to give her a party, Jake reluctantly agrees but draws the line at attending himself. When Piper is abducted at the party and her cousin is shot, Jake is suddenly a person of interest, but no one will listen and Piper is in danger. Jake breaks free and it’s a merry chase from there. People around him keep dying and he’s a wanted man, but will he find Piper before it’s too late? Family secrets abound in this suspense novel, but the believability factor is at times stretched. Nevertheless, this was a fast paced good read! Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

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