Review: Fast paced and thought provoking
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2012
The 7 HOURS series is an interesting and exciting concept involving seven authors presenting seven stand-alone novellas that explore what someone might choose to do with seven additional hours given them at the end of their lives by an enigmatic Thomas Constant. Relive a fond memory? Extend the present? Go back in time to save your wife from being brutally murdered by a serial killer?In TEARDROP, Travis Thrasher weaves a story of love, loss and protection, sending Mike Harden back to the day he was married, not to experience the joy of that day or to see his wife once again, but to kill the man who would eventually murder her.The premise of the story is fast paced and exciting, and knowing the time-frame Mike has to work with adds tension.I don't think I'll ever be able to get through a Travis Thrasher review without commenting specifically on his characters, and once again, Travis hits the mark, bringing out nuances and subtle expressions in these people that make them come alive on the page.My only complaint with this story is that I felt Mike spent too much time processing his anger with the killer. I know it was the driving force behind Mike's choice in where/when to go back so it is understandable, but to me its repetition in a novella began to distract me.But once he switches his worded thoughts of anger to action, the pace quickens to an ending both satisfying and thought provoking and which caught me by surprise.Four stories into the 7 hours series has shown this to be a fantastic tale for me and TEARDROP is an excellent chapter in that story that I definitely recommend.