Ken Jaworowski writes about the lives of three unlucky protagonists living in Locksburg, a small town in Pennsylvania.
โโAs avid readers who love being entangled in the world of crimes and mysteries, we often expect the type of endings where our protagonist is free from the antagonist and they live “happily ever after.” Or, having read so many thrillers, most people don’t expect the happy-ever-after but at least that feeling of satisfaction that the “war is over.”
โโBut I’m afraid that’s not what’s written in the fate of our protagonists, and their happy ever after is quite deadly.
โโAt first, we meet Carla, a single mother. Her son Olly, an MIT student, just confessed something she certainly doesn’t want the whole world to know, and she must protect him, even if it means getting her hands dirty. The single mother who worked as a waitress almost her whole life finally bought a restaurant, and just when she thought their lives were changing for the better, her son brings this news home. This revelation causes a huge transformation in Carla’s life.
โโSecondly, Reed enters the picture. A fifteen-year-old autistic boy whose mum just died. His only protector is gone, and now he has to face ten times more bullying than he ever got. His older brother Gregg wants him to move to a different city. But Reed seemed to have promised his mum something. So what’s the need of going to another city when he hasn’t made her proud? He begins his mission to rectify something that happened when his mum was still alive. As he delves further, he starts meeting people of questionable character.
โโOur third protagonist is Liz. She’s a songwriter and musician who just lost her job as a bar singer. Fortunately for her, she gets a life-changing offer in Nashville. But her car is stopping her from achieving her dreams. Her boyfriend introduces her to a mechanic who is an ex-convict. Now, he claims she owes him, and he wonโt let her leave town until she repays him.
โโThe narrative continually flips between the three characters while still maintaining its first-person point of view.
โโThe author creates a world where justice isnโt always served and luck plays a huge role in peopleโs lives. He thrives in crafting characters by developing different people to breathe life into his stories, getting into their heads, making you feel their pain, their desperation, and their fading hope.
โโYou will find yourself rooting for the characters as they try to make it till the next day. Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger that makes you want to read the book in one sitting. The tension, the complex plot, and most especially the short chapters keep you going while you ride this roller coaster of depression.
โโTheir stories are separate, although their paths cross during a key moment in their lives, but it wasnโt the shocking moment you would expect.
โโIf you love small-town dramas, not-so-happy endings, and a book that leaves you depressed for days, this is exactly the book for you.
Stephanie is a writer, avid reader and movie lover with great love and passion for thrilling, suspenseful and mystery stories. When sheโs not writing a traumatic character or reading through a gripping thriller sheโs definitely watching a dark psychological thriller movie.
