Tuesday, January 19, 2016

14 Days to Die - A.B. Whelan

What would you do if you received a call from a stranger, a call that details your impending death and gives you a chance to turn it around? What would you do if you found out the person who wants you dead is your husband? A.B. Whelan's first thriller novel, 14 Days to Die, will leave you questioning everything. You'll be on the edge of your seat looking for the answers and trust me, you won't be able to guess what is going to happen next.

Rating: 3 Stars
Published: January 2016
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amazon Goodreads
Sarah's life looks perfect from the outside; just returning to the states from living in Italy, her handsome husband and her have 2 children, a beautiful home, and live in a nice neighborhood. The inside isn't as pretty as everyone thinks, while Sarah's husband is driving around in a Porsche, he's tearing her to shreds for spending any money and not having a job. The one day she gets a phone call, her husband is planning to have her killed, but the killer is willing to let her kill him off at an even higher price. In just 14 days Sarah must find the money and in the process, evaluate her past life, figure out her husband's side life, and find a way out of this nightmare.

Sarah is likable, except for every time she says she isn't a killer while she's watching CSI to get ideas. She's like the women you see who have given up on themselves, even though she's probably a freaking tiger underneath all the slop. She doesn't know how to handle people feeling for her, as her husband has zero skills with emotions and ignores her most of the time. There were definitely some twists that I was not expecting whatsoever, especially as Sarah started to find herself again. 14 days is just not enough time! I really could have enjoyed several more days with Sarah once she got some willpower to do something about her life. Her interactions, or lack thereof, with the secondary characters really brings to life how separated she was from the outside world. In general, I liked the plot line, I liked the mystery of this man on the phone and how much he knows about Sarah, and I definitely enjoyed watching her find this scary side of herself as she realizes her life really is in danger and the clock is ticking.

The author did a really awesome thing by inserting witness conversations between chapters. We don't get to see the detective's questions, but we get to read the responses and I really loved that. They give you a clue that something had happened, but not what and that left me on the edge of my seat for the majority of the book. I think it was a really creative way to involve the readers in the mystery, but only give you just enough to keep you turning the pages.

There are some parts of 14 Days to Die that are just slow, the pace drags on and some random scenes are kind of tossed in there. I loved, yes loved, the relationship Sarah found herself having with Bruce, but it felt so random at times. Then there's this great plot line of Sarah's husband with a women from Italy, but we get nothing from it. Both of these characters and their tie in to the couple just felt rushed and didn't give or take from the story for me, they just kind of happen. None of the characters have really solid histories, who the hell were these people in the past? Then there's the ending... I HATED THE ENDING. HATED! I know that's a really strong word and I had a good idea that it was going to happen that way from about halfway, but it doesn't mean I liked it. Yes, it made for a great thriller novel ending, but it just isn't my own personal cup of tea. It would have been 4 stars without the ending, so don't let my personal dislike keep you from giving this book a fair shot.

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