Guest Review: Stolen by Daniel Palmer

Stolen by Daniel Palmer

From the website (http://www.danielpalmerbooks.com/):

“The future has never looked brighter for Boston couple John Bodine and Ruby Dawes. John’s online gaming business is growing, Ruby is pursuing her dream career, and they’re talking about starting a family.

Then Ruby receives a life-changing diagnosis, and their cut-rate insurance won’t cover the treatment she desperately needs. Faced with a ticking clock, John makes a risky move: he steals a customer’s identity and files a false claim for Ruby’s medication.

The plan works perfectly–until the customer in question contacts John with a startling proposition. If John and Ruby agree to play a little game he’s devised, he won’t report their fraud. The rules of ‘Criminal’ are simple: commit real crimes. Fail in their assigned tasks, and there will be deadly consequences.”

Michelle's Note:

Once again, I give you the best book pal a gal could ask for, Cheryl and her review for Stolen by Daniel Palmer.

Cheryl's Review:

Two years ago, Michelle asked me to review Daniel Palmer’s Delirious and last year I also reviewed Helpless. A couple months ago, Palmer asked his Facebook followers (of which I am one) what they would do to help promote his new book, Stolen, and he’d send advanced copies to the best ideas. Wonderfully, the publisher (Kensington Books) gave more than 70 copies to all those who commented, including me. My way of promoting his book was to write a review for Michelle’s blog.

After reading Delirious, I knew that Palmer was an author I’d follow. Although I was hooked from his first book, his third book solidified him as an author for which I will anxiously await his new book every year. In Stolen, I see not just how Palmer has grown as a writer, but how much he enjoys writing and not just for himself but for his readers. Stolen is an example of the desperate choices people will make for love. Palmer’s characters are relatable and you hope the best for them but also continually wonder what you would do in their situation. How would you choose between being the pawn in someone’s game to commit crimes or letting people die?

The book is a race to finish the “game.” Palmer’s thriller incorporates the consequences of how people misuse technology in their daily lives. John’s intentions behind stealing someone’s identity, which he planned to do for only a short time, spiralled out of control in ways neither he nor Ruby could imagine. Their manipulator used technology in a “Big Brother” way that made me feel like he was watching me too. It was hard to put Palmer’s book down and it only took me a few days to read. What I like about thrillers, and Palmer excels at this, is not knowing how the situation will be resolved or how people will survive the situations thrown at them. The suspense grows and as I neared the end, it was hard for me to not skip ahead to see what happens but I also enjoy the suspense and don’t always want it to end. Alas, it ended, I could relax agan, and now have to wait another year to find out again how my cell phone or laptop can be used in ways I never imagined.

Thanks Cheryl!!

Author's Website:

Daniel Palmer

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child