When an SUV crashes into the school where Samantha’s teaching, everything that can go wrong, does. The accident begins a journey where Samantha has to determine what is truth while fighting to stay alive.
It was an interesting premise but I struggled to connect with the characters and though there was a lot going on, I didn’t care what happened to them. Some of the details seemed inconsistent. For example, Sam is portrayed as a deep introvert except with her students. She refuses to sleep unless the doors are secured. Yet, she goes off with a strange woman she met at the scene of an accident, gets into a car with strange men and her objections were minimal at best.
It was also very convenient that whenever Sam needed help, there was always a kind soul who had no agenda to help.
Some threads were not resolved because while we know who the men that were chasing Sam were and why, their involvement was wrapped up in an almost dismissive manner. It was like, these evil men were stalking you but since they weren’t the ones trying to kill you there will be no penalties.
While there was a romantic plot line in the final scenes, there wasn’t much of a lead-in as the main focus was on solving the mystery.
In some ways, Fallout felt like a cozy mystery where the amateur sleuth (Samantha) goes around trying to solve the crime that baffled the authority.
Readers will be reminded that God is always with us. Sometimes He uses angels to take care of His people.
Readers will also be reminded that our faith gives us peace, the kind of peace that doesn’t make sense.
If you enjoy the woman in peril, revenge, or amateur detective tropes, you may enjoy Fallout.
I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.
About Fallout
Her carefully crafted life was about to be demolished.
After a tough childhood, Samantha Williams craves simplicity: jigsaw puzzles, lectures at the library, and the students she adores in her role as an elementary school art teacher in the dusty farming community of LaCrosse, Washington.
But when an SUV crashes into the building where she teaches, her entire world is upended. Samantha manages to keep the children safe, but her car isn’t so lucky. Oddly, her purse—with her driver’s license, credit cards, and other identification—is missing from the wreckage.
After authorities discover that someone shot the driver in the accident seconds before the crash, Samantha quickly becomes entangled in increasingly strange events that have her constantly looking over her shoulder.
Samantha has long tried to forget the tragedy of her past, but the twisting connections she discovers between the murdered driver, a deadly secret government project, and an abandoned town can’t be ignored. Those involved are determined to keep these secrets buried, and they’ll use any means necessary to stop Samantha’s search for truth.
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About Carrie Stuart Parks
Carrie Stuart Parks is an award-winning artist, writer, speaker, and law enforcement instructor. A Certified Forensic Artist, she met her husband, Rick, in the romantic hallways of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Together, they formed a dynamic and successful team in their fine and forensic art, working on major national and international cases and creating exquisite watercolors and stone carvings. They travel internationally, teaching forensic art to a variety of participants: from the Secret Service to the FBI, from large law enforcement agencies to the smallest two-man departments in their one-week classes. They are the largest instructors of forensic art in the world. Carrie has won numerous awards for her innovative teaching methods and general career excellence and is a signature member of the Idaho Watercolor Society.
Carrie’s Gwen Marcey series chronicles a forensic artist from Montana and is loosely based on Carrie’s forensic cases. She began her fiction writing career while battling breast cancer. Mentored by NY Times bestselling author, Frank Peretti, Carrie’s debut novel, along with her subsequent novels, has been met with critical acclaim.