Fifteen-year-old Sparky Graves has been plagued by adversity all his life. Orphaned as a baby, he has been raised in a home where his adoptive brother Kal can do no wrong and Sparky is blamed for every misdeed. The reality, however, is that Kal is a cruel and manipulative bully whose escalating torment leaves Sparky with no choice: he has to run away. After hitchhiking cross-country, Sparky finds … Sparky finds a safe haven in the unlikeliest of places. On a dusty roadside in Southern Utah, the young man is taken in by Alfred Briggs, an elderly widower in desperate need of a farmhand. The two soon form an unbreakable bond, and for the first time, Sparky feels hope—until his past catches up with him. There has been a murder in his hometown, and thanks to his brother, Sparky has been named the prime suspect. With his photograph all over the news and a manhunt underway, Sparky must rely on the help of his new friend and a young lady who has also come to help Alfred as he fights to prove his innocence and free himself from the grasp of his malevolent brother once and for all.
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Clair M. Poulson’s latest novel Pitfall is one that I see myself picking up again. I was hooked from the very beginning to the very end. Listening to the audio made it even better. Jason Tatum is an excellent reader and he helped bring the story more alive for me.
As a hopeless romantic I love books that have some element of romance in the story line, but with the main characters being teenagers you don’t get a whole lot of that, but I still really enjoyed the story even with a little hint of a romance.
I highly recommend this book to all mystery/suspense readers. I promise you won’t regret it.
This book is intense! Right from the beginning, a tale is told about two brothers, one is a good boy who gets blamed for things he didn’t do. The other is a manipulative evil boy. The magnitude of hate grows as the book progresses.
I loved two of the private investigators. They really propelled the story even though it was about the relationship between Sparky and Kal. They were both honest and fair and were not only investigating for a paycheck.
If you enjoy suspense, you may want to give this one a try.
This book contains religious elements. It also contains non-graphic violence.
Source: I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
OH MY! This is a story. The twists and turns and pure psychopathy kept me engaged and on edge which is what I am looking for in a good suspense. I found myself with the same level of tension I would have had watching a horror or true crime movie or show. I just knew that something was going to happen that I didn’t want to happen.
This was well written, exciting, with engaging characters. Every time things changed and something twisted, the story got better, and I wasn’t sure that was possible. It had me from the beginning and didn’t really let go. There were times when there wasn’t an immediate danger, but the danger was always in the back of my mind.
Very well written, very exciting, definitely worth a second read.
I have recently started reading books by Clair Poulson and I have to say this is another great suspense novel! I love how he writes the story from many different character’s perspective, it gives insight into the many different aspects of their lives and the story. I found this book easy to read and not very predictable.
He definitely isn’t afraid to kill his characters and it makes me sad and happy at the same time because you never know who you are going to lose.
This story is about a young boy Sparky Graves, his story doesn’t start out the way a young boy’s life should start out, losing his parents in a terrible car accident and eventually adopted by the Graves family.
After several years he can’t stand the hostility and vindictiveness his older brother displays towards him. He thinks if he were to leave then life would get better for not only himself but for his younger siblings. It’s not until after he leaves though, things really fall apart and we discover who really experiences their pitfall.
There are many characters you love in this story and characters you love to hate. To me this book also had a few loose ends or maybe even openings into another novel. I also wonder if there are other books he’s written with two of the detectives in this book. It also has references to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, that I don’t think detract from the story but adds to the character development.
I was given access to a copy of this novel through the publisher all opinions are my own.
Another great suspense/thriller from Clair Poulson. I was so absorbed in the story I finished it in less than two days. Orphaned at a very young age, you’d think Sparky Graves would be considered one of the lucky ones considering he was placed with a foster family that then went on to adopt him. But it wasn’t a wonderful life for Sparky, because the Graves’ older son, Kal, never accepted Sparky and proceeded to make his life miserable. Sparky was blamed and punished for things he hadn’t done, because his adoptive parents never believed him when he tried to explain that it was Kal who’d done them. After standing up to Kal and Kal threatening to kill him, Sparky leaves home and stows away on a big rig headed west. This is not the end of Kal blaming Sparky for everything.
I really enjoyed this fast paced suspense. The reader already knows who the bad guy is, it’s a matter of everyone else figuring it out and waiting to see how the villain gets what’s coming to him. There are a lot of characters in this story, but I as they’re introduced as the story progresses, I really didn’t have a problem keeping up with them.
Sparky is a very likeable character. I was amazed at how easy going he was considering the bullying he’d had to endure from his older brother for so many years. He often thought of others, such as his younger siblings, and Alfred Briggs (the man who takes him in) and tried his best to be helpful. Speaking of Alfred, what a great character he was. Who knows what would’ve happened to Sparky if Alfred wouldn’t have taken him in, and most importantly, believed him when he’s accused of a murder back home.
I was completely surprised when one of the characters dies, as I was hoping things would work out with them and another character. I did appreciate the epilogue to see how things turned out for Sparky and Alfred. There’s not much else I can say without giving anything away. If you enjoy clean suspense/thrillers then you’ll enjoy this captivating story. This author continues to be one of my favorites when I want to read something other than a romance.