Fifteen Minutes to Live by Phoef Sutton

186 Pages
Publisher: Brash Books
Release Date: May 5, 2015

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Drama, Memory Issues

Carol was notified his mother had a stroke but by the time he got to the hospital, it was too late. In the middle of the night, he hears rocks hitting the bedroom window. It was Jessie, his high school girlfriend. She seems to have no memory and forgets this that she asked about a few minutes ago. Carl and his writing partner, Kit, find out that Jessie is married and was declared dead three months ago. Carl and Kit take her back to her husband, but something is wrong with the situation. Carl believes her husband tried to kill her while sailing.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. I could not imagine trying to care for someone with this condition. If you like dramatic books with a mystery, you may enjoy this book.

WOW!! Highly recommended!!! This book will have you on edge! A page turner to say the least! And hard to put down!

This was a very fast paced interesting read. There is adventure around every corner with many twists. There are some quirky characters which just makes the storytelling all the better.
Many thanks to Brash Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

FIFTEEN MINUTES TO LIVE - Phoef Sutton

MYSTERY WITH A TWIST - 3 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Carl is bored with his life, not really going anywhere. But one night his old high-school girlfriend shows up at his house, even though he hasn't seen her for years. Even more surprising, she thinks it's still the 1970's when they were dating in high school. And then he finds out that she died. He still has feelings for her and needs to understand how all of this comes together.

Writing - 3 stars - This is a new-to-me author, and I found his writing to be very intriguing. An interesting idea, and I was drawn into the story right from the first page. However, I think Sutton tried to get a little too clever, making the story a little too complicated. There were plenty of twists, but things got a little bogged down from time to time, and I had to stop and let it settle so I could figure out what was happening.

Characters - 3 stars - Carl is a bored middle-aged man who doesn't have a lot of impetus to move on from living in the home he grew up in, although he does have a successful career. When Jessica shows up at his door, he's shocked, but it all feels familiar. When he discovers her true story, though, he gets very involved. Jessica is a puzzle. She has a degenerative disease that takes away her memory little by little. So she's basically living only in the present--the right now. Which, of course, puts her into awkward positions, especially when she encounters a difficult situation with a teacher at her old high school. Jesse made me feel frustrated, of course, just as though I were having to deal with her condition too. She's totally unpredictable and causes all sorts of problems, though no real fault of her own so it's hard to dislike her. Carl, for his part, is not particularly appealing. You have to wonder why he's trying so hard to help her.

Title - 4 stars - Excellent title. It implies that the main character will only live for a few more minutes, leading the reader to feel the tension and excitement. But it really refers to Jesse's illness and the fact that she only lives in 15-minute increments, then she'll forget what just happened and start all over again.

Cover - 3 stars - Kind of boring colors, although the diagonal title and the oversized numbers do tend to catch the eye.

Overview - 3 stars - The concept was intriguing, but I felt it got somewhat convoluted as the author tried to fit all the pieces together. Carl is a somewhat lackluster main character, although his dogged loyalty does him credit. Jesse is unpredictable but kind of sad and pathetic because of her illness. Frank and Martin are main characters, although they almost feel as though they are on the periphery. I was initially fascinated, but I didn't particularly like the characters. Because of this, I didn't really want to take the time to try to figure it all out, so I'd put the book down and not pick it up again for a few days. Not bad really, but just fairly put-downable.

This book sounded great by the description, but what a disappointment. The story line jumps all over the place & I felt like I was in a nightmare where I couldn't wake up. Not worth reading to the end. Phoef Sutton should stick with writing sitcoms!