Review: powerfully written thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2014
O’Connor isn’t the sociable type, but he cares deeply for his mother, his twin sister, and her child, two-year-old Annie.  When his sister and her husband are attacked and their child stolen, O’Connor rushes to their aid.  He learns that once a child is snatched by traffickers, if it is not rescued within the first 48 hours, it is gone, never to be recovered.  O’Connor is counting the hours.  If the experts can’t find her, who can?  He will risk his reputation and his life for her.Despite a number of errors, here is a powerfully written thriller that captures us from page one and takes us on a wild ride.  Pacing is excellent.  Stevens knows when to put us inside O’Connor’s thoughts and when to plunge us into the action--and then increase it.  We are with O’Connor in each detailed setting and conflict, whether it is in a hospital or the guts of a criminal organization.Most thrillers will set the time and location at the beginning of each chapter, as a way to build tension.  Often the reader will overlook it.  However, Steven’s way is masterful.  The reader can’t miss the time of day, its hour or the hours remaining in the hunt for the kidnappers because he mentions it either in the description, the action, or the dialogue.  It keeps us riveted.Here is a thriller that does not disappoint.