Collision of Lies

Reviewed by:

G. Connor Salter, Professional Writing alumnus from Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Title:

Collision of Lies

Author:

Tom Threadgill

Publisher:

Revell (an imprint of Baker Publishing Group)

Publication Date:

February 2020

Format:

Paperback

Length:

400 pages

OVERVIEW

The last thing Amara Alvarez wants to believe is that a child declared dead three years ago is still alive. Every authority involved agreed that Benjamin Reyes died, along with a school bus full of other children, in a terrible train collision three years ago. But when Benjamin’s mother shows a text message she believes Benjamin recently sent to her, and a similar message gets sent to another person connected to the case, Amara’s not so sure. Finding out the truth – and convincing anyone else to reopen the case – will take more than she’s ever given before.

Cold cases and scant clues leading to big conspiracies are frequent territory for thriller novels, but they’re difficult to pull off. Too often the steps villains apparently took to hide the terrible truth seem improbable (“could anyone really have enough money to bribe or kill that many people?”) In other cases, it’s just hard to believe that a tiny clue could really start an investigation big enough to blow a case wide open (“they got here all because of a broken pencil?”). Threadgill manages to overcome both problems. He makes Alvarez skeptical but curious enough to keep following rabbit trails that eventually lead to the truth. When she gets there, he grounds the big reveal in enough facts that it feels creepily plausible. A terrific crime thriller and hopefully the start of a great new thriller series.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5 stars)

5 stars

Suggested Audience

Readers who like crime thrillers

Christian Impact

The readers make occasional references to God, but the story’s real spiritual impact comes from its emphasis on hope and justice and its refusal to be cynical about human nature (even when it comes to characters that are usually corrupt by default in crime thrillers).

NOTE:

Readers who enjoyed this book may want to check out Threadgill’s connected Jeremy Winter series.