Darren Sugrue

I won't rehash the plot as many have already done. I will simply say that this was one of the most phenomenal books I have ever read. The writing was excellent and the story pulled me right in and wouldn't let go until the end. Speaking of which, just when you think it's all nicely wrapped up and you know where it's going, the story suddenly twists and twists again! It keeps you guessing right up until the last page!

A unique take on an age-old question. Would you want to know the date of your death? Would you do things differently if you did?

We all know that our life is not infinite and yet sometimes in our day-to-day lives, we tend to forget that. Darren Sugrue has written a mystery/thriller based around that concept. While it's certainly an excellently written, suspenseful, engrossing, just-try-to-put-it-down thriller with a completely unpredictable ending, it's even more than that. It touches on the show more heart break of losing a child, the pain of lost loves and lost dreams and the fears of a domestic violence victim. While your heart is racing from the suspense the book generates, it will also be touched by the emotional impact created. It's the type of book that the longer you think about it after you've finished reading it, the more you appreciate it. What a delight this book will be for book clubs to discuss!

Brilliantly constructed debut from an author I hope to read more of.

I won this book from BookLikes. show less

I couldn't put this one down, and regardless of the late hour, and work looming the next day, I had to finish it. So make sure you start this when you have time to read it all. Very intriguing, suspenseful, and fast paced, yet it still had excellent character development. Not too many endings take me by surprise, but this one did. I won't spoil anything, just know this is a great story from an excellent writer. I sincerely hope he continues to offer up additional entertaining reads in the show more near future! I'm sure someone will pick up the movie rights to this one.
A copy was received in exchange for an honest review. show less

Oh my gosh, what a book! I haven't been so captivated in a very long time. I read a lot and this is a wonderfully entertaining book! However.... fair warning.... it is not a "feel good" book. It deals with dark themes (death, addiction, abuse, loss of hope, etc.). And it does so in a very raw, in-your-face kind of way. That didn't bother me at all but it might bother others. And a second fair warning.... don't begin reading this book until you have a good chunk of time to finish it. I show more couldn't stop reading it to do anything useful like go to sleep or get dressed for work. This book was my entire life for the time it took me to finish it. I just wish I had begun it on a weekend morning when I had little to do so that there would have been fewer real life interruptions.

I won't do a recap here. Others have already done so beautifully. What I will say is that I loved this book for several reasons. First, it made me think. I love books that make me think! Several days later, I'm still thinking.... What if someone could accurately predict my date of death? Would I want to know or not want to know? Would it change how I interface with my world or would I stay the same? Would it give me hope or make me hopeless? What if I knew the date my loved one would die? Would I tell them? Would I respond differently to them? And so many other questions. I've had fun pondering them.

Second, this is a well written book. It grabs you from the very beginning and keeps a tight hold on your attention. There are precious few books that don't have at least one slow spot. This is one of those few.

My only negative comment concerns the ending. One thing I judge a book on is its believability. This book did a good job of being believable except for one lapse. I'm concerned about being a spoiler here so I'm trying to dance around what I want to say. I'll just say that responsible people don't fail to take care of their most precious things/people until the very end. And they don't handle it with a hand written note. That whole scene was over the top.

But other than this issue the book is incredible and I highly recommend it to you. Actually, even with this issue, the book is still incredible and recommended! show less