This was my first Chad Zunker book and I really flew through it. It was a little slow to start, and the writing was a tad amateur which I didn’t expect from a seasoned author. There was a lot of the author speaking to the reader rather than the reader reading the story and being able to intone for themselves what is going on.

The last 30% is when it really got good because the pace picked up. I found it interesting that the author added a lot about himself in the book. His football career in college, product development, and his religion was definitely a key plot point.

I liked the main character Luke, but for someone that used to be dirt poor, he was a tad tone deaf about money and that didn’t sit well with me. His assertion that his wife should get a new car because there were 150k miles on it and they had already replaced (I think) brakes and the alternator was a tad insane to me. Statements like this made me feel like I couldn’t relate to this great character because the author wrote him as entirely too focused on money. While that too does come together, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Also, his referral to his step daughter as “her daughter” when speaking to his wife….. someone that has taken on someone else’s child isn’t going to refer to that as their spouses child. It was just something else that made me feel like the author was a little out of touch.

Now, while those things were an issue for me I gave this book four stars because I felt it really came together at the end. The character development was great and the plot development was equally satisfying. I liked where the author went with this story.

Great for readers that like:
-fast reads
-short chapters
-a little action
-missing spouse
-minor political/international political plot lines

Thank you to netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for this ARC!