Book Blurb:
Ryan Francis has it all–great job, wonderful wife, beautiful child–and he loves posting photos of his perfect life on social media. Until the night his friend Blake asks him to break into a woman’s home to retrieve incriminating items that implicate Blake in an affair. Ryan refuses to help, but when Blake threatens to reveal Ryan’s darkest secret–which could jeopardize everything in Ryan’s life–Ryan has no choice but to honor Blake’s request. When he arrives at the woman’s home, Ryan is shocked to find her dead–and just as shocked to realize he knows her. Then his phone chimes, revealing a Facebook friend request from the woman. With police sirens rapidly approaching, Ryan flees, wondering why his friend was setting him up for murder.
My Review: 3.5 stars
The Request followed Bell’s other thrillers in that it’s fast-paced and a quick read. Sometimes those fast-paced books are just what the doctor ordered because there’s a sense of start and finish in very little time. Part of my issue with all psychological thrillers/mysteries is that I feel like I can guess what’s going to happen, or who did what, about twenty chapters before it happens. I love it when I’m wrong, and I definitely have been, but in this case I wasn’t. I kept reading because I wanted to see how the author wrapped up and brought together all of the mysteries.
Thrillers always sprout by someone doing something he or she shouldn’t have done, or does something downright stupid. This is quite true in this book. Also, I found some of the crazy twists and turns were actually believable. I suppose the entire story line could happen to an everyday Joe, which means you really need to know your friends, some could be wackos in disguise.
Bell has definitely figured out the perfect algorithm for writing fast-paced books. I was initially discouraged by the page count topping four-hundred and the crazy number of chapters. Glad I didn’t let that stop me. He used a unique writing style that took a minute to catch on to, but then I found myself enjoying that way of storytelling.
By the end, there were no huge surprises, yet I liked knowing if I was right or wrong about the outcomes. Fans of this genre will love it!
Shop on Amazon Here!
