The Real Michael Swann: A Novel

4.5 stars.

em>The Real Michael Swann by Bryan Reardon is a tautly plotted, fast-paced and suspenseful novel.

Julia Swann is not overly concerned about the fact that her husband Michael's train from New York's Penn Station has been delayed. She is, however, mildly worried when their phone call abruptly ends and she cannot get through to him. Panic sets in with the tragic announcement that a bomb has gone off in Penn Station. Unable to wait at home for news about Michael's fate, Julia sets off in search of her husband.

The investigation into the bombing moves at a rapid pace and the stunning announcemnt that Michael is Homeland Security's chief suspect in the bombing sends shock waves through Julia's family and their neighbors. Her show more certainty in his innocence slightly wavers as her recollections of her husband's behavior throughout their courtship and marriage are tested by recent memories of his drastically altered behavior and opinions. Could Michael's desperation have driven him to such an uncharacteristic act of domestic terrorism?

As Julia frantically tries to locate Michael, a survivor of the blast whose memories are lost due to a head wound feels disconnected from the seemingly irrefutable evidence of his identity. Driven by an inexplicable instinct to immediately leave Penn Station, he wanders around the city in a daze. He is desperate to return to the address found on the driver's license he finds inside his briefcase and he soon sets off on his journey home. Despite his lack of memories, intuition leads him to avoid public scrutiny once he becomes aware Michael Swann is wanted in connection with the bombing.

Despite Homeland Security's best efforts to convince Julia of Michael's guilt, she remains steadfast in her belief in his innocence. With the help of her mother, Julia anxiously escapes from the agents trying to use her to lure Michael to them. Thanks to the extensive media coverage, she has a general idea of his whereabouts and she recklessly tries to reach him before Homeland Security captures him. Will Julia find Michael before the authorities take him into custody?

The Real Michael Swann is an electrifying novel that could easily have been ripped from today's headlines. Julia is a complex, well-developed lead protagonist whose faith in her husband's innocence is nearly unshakable. Although savvy readers will most likely have a good idea what awaits Julia as she hurdles toward finding Michael before Homeland Security, Bryan Reardon brings the novel to a pulse-pounding, tension-filled conclusion that is full of clever plot twists. show less

Mostly I enjoyed THE REAL MICHAEL SWANN. That is in spite of a few instances that are a little bit ridiculous and hard to swallow. I see other reviewers give it a bad rating for that, but I see it differently.

Julia and her husband, Michael, are talking on the phone when they're suddenly cut off. There begins Julia's search for Michael. And she's not the only one; the rest of the world is looking for him, too, because they're convinced he's the terrorist who set off the explosion that interrupted Julia's and Michael's conversation and killed and hurt hundreds of people.

One of the reasons I give this book a high rating is the clever way Bryan Reardon sets it up. About half the chapters are written in third person from Julia's point of show more view while the other chapters are the first-person account by an unnamed man. They're trying to find each other.

Although I suspected early on the twist that Reardon obviously intended to surprise the reader in the end, I still found myself fighting sleep at night just so I could read another page. That's the kind of book that deserves a high rating. show less

This is my first book by Bryan Reardon but it certainly won't be my last. I spent most of the day yesterday reading The Real Michael Swann - once I started it, I couldn't put it down. It's a tense drama and a story about love within a family and friends. This is one that you don't want to miss!

Julia is on the phone with her husband Michael who wanted to let her know that trains out of Penn Station were being delayed. When the call gets dropped, she is concerned but her panic soon sets in when there is a TV bulletin that a bomb had gone off in Penn Station and many were dead and injured. She leaves her two sons with a friend and tries to drive to NYC to see if she can find her husband only to be turned away because no traffic was being show more allowed into the city. The entire situation gets even worse and her house is surrounded by the media because her husband is being accused of being the bomber. Interspersed with chapters on Julia's quest to find her husband are flashback chapters to when they met and fell in love. The race for Julia to find her husband and clear his name makes this a real page turner.

I loved this book. I thought that Julia was a well written character and her life with her husband and family were very real - flaws and all. The plot of the novel was very believable in today's world and the book was fantastic.

Thanks to First to Read for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less

Wow!! This was a thrill ride from start to finish. Michael Swann is away on a business interview in NYC, and calls his wife, Julia, from Penn Station. Suddenly, the line goes dead and chaos erupts.
Julia is frantic to reach Michael. She doesn't know what to tell their 2 sons, Thomas and Evan.
As she struggles with what to do, Julia reflects on their life together and has to examine things closely. She has to remember the man she married.
Told at a lightning fast speed, this is a thriller that examines the political divisiveness and racial tensions of this country, and people's attitudes in this vitriolic environment. The ending is great!
I loved it!! I can't wait read the author's other novel, Finding Jake.

#TheRealMichaelSwann #BryanReardon

My first five star book in a long time. A story of our day, the madness, the rush-to-judgment of our 24/7, get the story first, news-cycle driven world. Events unfold here that hearken back to 9/11 but that wouldn't be fair to this book or the author. I won't give the plot away just in case you might read it but know you're in for a dizzying, dazzling roller coaster of a story that will frustrate you, inspire you and ultimately please you in it's conclusion. Enough from me, now head to your local library or bookstore and pick up this book. You won't regret it.

Michael Swann, who is in New York City, is talking to his wife Julia on his cell phone. The phone call goes dead and Julia learns that a bomb has gone off. Julia rushes out to the car and tries desperately to get into the city to find Michael but is stopped by police barricades. She keeps trying to text and call Robert but there’s no response. Then developments are revealed by the news media that prove devastating to Julia.

I thought this was a particularly interesting premise. As always, I don’t like to give away too much of the plot and leave it to the author to tell his story so I can’t explain why the premise is an unusual one since the publisher isn’t mentioning it in their blurb about the book. Leave it to say there is more show more involved than a wife trying to find her husband during a possible terrorist attack. While I did figure out quite early what was happening, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book at all. At the heart of the book is the love story of Michael and Julia. As Julia tries to find Michael or at least get some news about him, she relives their life together. It’s a beautifully and realistically told story. There’s a point more than half way into the book where it becomes very suspenseful. I wouldn’t consider this one a thriller overall but more of a character study. I liked the author’s book, “Finding Jake”, and his newest effort didn’t disappoint. The story pulled me in and I became invested in the characters’ plight.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review. show less

Although this is a fast moving story, and did a good job describing the terror a wife feels when after a terrorist attack, her husband is missing, this book missed the mark for me . To much running here and there, implausible circumstances and unbelievable scenarios kept me from fully commiting to the story. It does have an interesting twist, but it was one I guessed relatively early.

This was a sisters read, and for this one we fell into three different coulees, with most liking it much more. Myself with four of my fellow readers ended up in the weedy coulee, where I was assured there were no snakes nor bugs present. Good company there. My point being others found it more to their liking, so always wise to read it for yourself.

ARC from show more Netgalley. show less