“His life is not a vacuum. The things he says and does, decisions he makes, reverberate in ways he can’t begin to fathom.”
In the year since his tenure as Governor of Montana came to an end, Carson Wirth’s life has been little more than a victory lap with time spent back in his hometown of Helena, free to make the perfunctory rounds as something of a minor celebrity. Someone to give the … the occasional guest lecture at the local college or to offer a sound bite on the evening news.
His existence isn’t without its benefits, but when an opportunity presents itself to insert himself into a newly vacated United States Representative seat, Wirth jumps at it, envisioning an entirely new act for his career.
An act that many others aren’t nearly as excited to see come to pass.
Hours after stepping off the stage to receive his endorsement from the outgoing representative, Wirth wakes up alone in an old farm outbuilding. Handcuffed to a steel chair bolted to the floor, he embarks on a night painstakingly put together by his captors, each moment meant to impart the full repercussions of every decision he made overseeing the state.
Some with consequences reaching far beyond anything he ever intended…or even imagined.
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Completely different from other Dustin Books I’ve read in my opinion. A page turner like no other. Instantly draws you in and I found myself fighting to skip to end just to get answer… boy are they worth the wait. Happy reading highly recommended
Another Great one by Dustin Steven’s. I Actually received this as an arc in exchange for my honest review. It was great from the moment I downloaded my copy I couldn’t stop reading just trying to to see what happens next. It was such a roller coaster ride but a great book.
Author Dustin Stevens steps out of his comfort zone of series books with recognizable characters and into a completely different standalone. When a former governor is kidnapped and tortured in ways beyond description, his captor blames it on decisions he made as governor. Gradually the torture escalates, and decisions must be made. Methodically, the author reveals the reason the kidnapper has unleashed his plan. Meanwhile the governor’s former security chief is busy searching for clues as to his boss’s whereabouts. Step by step the story unfolds with excellent character development and plot design
Carson Wirth is on a roller coaster. From the high of being named the next State Legislator from Montana to the low of being kidnapped and tortured. Amber Biles is the cub reporter who just wants to get out of Helena to something bigger. Dalton Perry is retired from the Montana State Police, but retirement doesn’t agree with him. The story titled “ Decisions “ takes place in less than 24 hours, most of it on a cold, windy Montana night. The above described characters are brought together by a diabolical ex-con, bent on revenge. The characters are well developed and believable, the plot pulls you along. The cliche “ I couldn’t put it down” fits. This is another winner from Dustin Stevens.
THIS BOOK!! Whoa…got me at every page turn! Just when you think things can’t get worse for Carson Wirth…they do!! This one will take your mind off the chaos of the world for a bit.
Talk about your past coming back to bite you in a horrific and terrifying way and wow the mind that was behind it all just wow.
Twisted minds lead to terrible circumstances and brothers’ love is a very powerful thing when it’s taken away.
I seriously enjoyed this thrilling mystery it drew me in from page one and kept me gripping my iPad to the very end and oh what an ending it was.
From page one you are drawn in to the different characters, their lives and stories. I will give no spoilers as that would ruin it for you, suffice it to say that the twists and turns build to a satisfying conclusion. I received a complementary copy of this book as an ARC reader, but having read it I bought my wife a copy!, it is that good.
Decisions is a tightly written, full throttle thriller. A Prolog dumps you in the middle of something horrible – an opening adrenaline jolt. Is it real or a cold sweat nightmare?
Decisions unfolds in the small town of Helena, Montana – where the pace is slow and, for all appearances, changes a bit slower.
The reader is introduced to a small cadre of characters that have spent their lives maintaining Helena’s equilibrium. House of Representatives member Willis Reeves, losing to cancer, looks to pass the baton to a steady hand. Carson Wirth, retired former Governor, is the steady hand. Dalton Perry, retired Montana State Police Detective and former head of security for Carson Wirth, is launching a private investigator business. Shea O’Rourke, a former colleague of Perry’s, counts the days to retirement along with his accumulation of unwanted pounds. Amber Biles, local TV station KHLN reporter, longs for a lifeline into a bigger city and career. As a counterpoint to all of the good folks we confront ex-con Greyson Bevel – full of swirling hatred.
Reeves let’s Wirth know that he wants him to assume his role and a press conference is scheduled for the following day. There are good feelings that things will continue without drama or speed bumps. Wirth and his wife celebrate the transition back to public life. Amber feels an opportunity and pulls in favors to get a meeting with Wirth for a possible story or ticket out of town. She gets lucky and Wirth commits to come to the TV station for an interview after the press conference. Dalton Perry is catching heat from his wife about his PI gig that has him out all night following a philandering husband.
The press briefing plays to an overflow crowd wishing well to the retiring Representative and a warm welcome for the popular former governor. Reeves introduces Wirth using the governor’s signature campaign slogan: the man who makes tough decisions. The crowd cheers but Greyson Bevel is seething. The cobra in the garden.
The briefing ends and Wirth hangs back to savor the moment before he heads to the back parking lot where the unreserved spaces are located. Wirth calls his wife and they make quick dinner plans and he promises to be home shortly. And then he disappears without a trace. Everything changes.
When Wirth is a ‘no show’ Amber Biles thinks he stiffed her interview. She waits, fuming, for over two hours. Wirth’s wife panics when she can’t get him on the phone. He is always responsible. The local police are dismissive because it’s ‘only a couple of hours’. She calls Dalton Perry, who kept the family safe for 10 years as head of security. Perry responds immediately as he grew close to the family during their years together. He agrees – this is not good. Amber arrives complaining about the brush off – confirming their worst fears. Perry corrals his former colleague Shea O’Rourke and they decide immediate action is needed. Amber, sensing a career making story, follows them.
A shift to Wirth finds him as the Prolog described – but far worse. Ex-con Bevel, with two former inmates, rages about Wirth’s “tough decisions”. Bevel says he will be tested. Two kidnapped innocents are shown on closed circuit TV and Wirth is told that he must “decide” which one lives and which one will die. If he does not they will both be killed. Wirth does not believe Bevel and tries to reason. Both are killed. Wirth’s fear is overwhelmed by guilt and then by horror as two more innocents are put in front of the camera and Bevel demands his “decision”. Struck dumb by terror he can only scream, “NO!”. They both die. After a few hours Wirth is forced awake to confront two potential victims. This time the two people on camera, subject to his decision, are his own children.
Outside in a race against time, and unaware of how high the stakes have become, Perry and O’Rourke (shadowed by Amber) get people out of bed at 2:00am, pull in favors, do detective work and catch a break through a groggy prison warden and Bevel’s parole officer. Knowing who sets off the scramble to find the where. Driven by friendship and duty Perry and O’Rourke push fatigue aside, intent on rescue. Arriving at the site simultaneously with Amber they make a valiant effort – hoping friendship, loyalty, duty, and ambition will overcome all odds.
Dustin Stevens has written a masterful book of anger, hatred and revenge.
Set in the great state of Montana, we find a Congressman dying of cancer
selecting the former governor of Montana to be his choice to fill that soon
to be empty Congressional seat.
What should be a night to celebrate, we instead find the former governor
kidnapped and set to spend a night of fear, terror and the most horrific
evil man can imagine.
Terrific characters woven into a story that will keep you riveted page after
page.
Mr. Stevens has written a library of wonderful books but this just might
be his most powerful yet.
Carson Wirth, former governor, had a campaign slogan, I will make the tough decisions.When he was governor, he had seen many requests from prisoners to ask for a pardon. Someone took offense to the fact his brother was not pardoned, even though he killed a police officer. The governor gets kidnapped by Greyson Bevel, brother of the prisoner, and two others. The plan is to make him pay. This is a page turning thriller.
I did discover Dustin Stevens relatively recently (some 5-6 months ago) and already have read quite some books by this author, one of my favorites at the moment. Well this was quite an intense thriller. Descriptions of places, feelings, smells really make you immerse in the story. I do think author has very well succeeded in making emotions real. Story is quite a roller coaster, it builds up rather slowly, providing good description of characters and the setting and then it begins..well without adding any spoilers can only say it left me guessing all the way to the end, however I did really enjoy the suspense, great read.