The new thriller in the Nick Thomas Mystery series.
What would happen if you unlocked the door to your fantasies?
Paul Allen was an all-around good guy. He was retired, living the good lifeāa beautiful new bride, a house near the beach on a golf course, and just about everything a man could ask for. He was also a recovering alcoholic who had rebuilt his life from a dark place.
Then one rainy night, his life came crashing down when his wife, Susan, was hit broadside by a carload of drunken teenagers, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Life for both changed forever.
It all started so innocently, or so he thought. He browsed the internet sites out of curiosity and boredom. One lonely night he stumbled upon a dating site that showcased beautiful Russian women, and he became obsessed with a stunning blond temptress. He didnāt mean for things to become real. He was never going to go through with anything. He loved Susan, but she had shut down after the accident and that had been two years ago.
In a blink of an eye, he was reeled headlong into a dark world of seduction, extortion, and murder.
The new thriller in the Nick Thomas Mystery series.
What would happen if you unlocked the door to your fantasies?
Paul Allen was an all-around good guy. He was retired, living the good lifeāa beautiful new bride, a house near the beach on a golf course, and just about everything a man could ask for. He was also a recovering alcoholic who had rebuilt his life from a dark place.
Then one rainy night, his life came crashing down when his wife, Susan, was hit broadside by a carload of drunken teenagers, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Life for both changed forever.
It all started so innocently, or so he thought. He browsed the internet sites out of curiosity and boredom. One lonely night he stumbled upon a dating site that showcased beautiful Russian women, and he became obsessed with a stunning blond temptress. He didnāt mean for things to become real. He was never going to go through with anything. He loved Susan, but she had shut down after the accident and that had been two years ago.
In a blink of an eye, he was reeled headlong into a dark world of seduction, extortion, and murder.
Our minds can take us to some very dark places when we think no one is looking. It is those illicit pleasures and fantasies lurking in the depths of our souls, that are barely held at bay by fear of reprisal. The forbidden fruit men and women alike secretly covet sparks new life in our bellies when awakened. Itās usually of the fleshāthe touch of a new passion that ignites the sleeping ogres buried deep within our respectable facades. We feel alive again and soar with secret excitement that must remain ours alone. We feel that churning in our gut the moment we awake and carry that secret with us while we try to maintain our daily lives and then embrace our pillows at night with heart-pounding fantasy, pretending it is something else.
Some possess a mightier sword and more resolve than others, and Ā able to lop off the heads of those persistent goblins who pop into our thoughts. Many of us do notā¦
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Chapter 1
Sunset Beach, NC
Paul Allen locked the door to his study, careful not to make any sound, and sat back down at his laptop. His heart raced as he stared at the incredibly beautiful woman on the screen in front of him. Her long, luxurious hair framed her face in a careless cascadeāwisps of white, blond feathering her cheek and forehead. Her bright blue eyes bored into his as she smiled her perfect seductive smile.
āPaul? Paul, are you okay?ā Her voice was huskyāthick with accent.
āIā¦Iām here.ā He licked his lips, taking a long drink of his water. His hand trembled as he set it back down on the desk.
She moved closer to her screen and spoke in an urgent whisper, āWell, what do you think about us finally meeting? I want to see you. I want to feel your arms around me. I want so bad, Paul. Do you want same?ā
His chest was tight. āOf course, I want to see you. Iām just nervous, is all.ā
āButā¦but why are you so nervous? Do you not like me?ā He heard the hurt in her voice and saw doubt flicker in her eyes. āPaul, what is wrong? I am not liking your look.ā
āNothing. I want you so bad. Itāsā¦itās justā¦ā He was torn by so many things.
She leaned closer. āYes, my handsome man. Tatyana wants you, too. Now, we shouldā¦ā
Paulās heart almost stopped as a buzzer sounded on his desk next to the computer screen.
āWhat is? What makes sound?ā she demanded.
He swallowed, looking toward the door. āI have to go. Can I talk with you later? Please?ā
She shook her head and frowned at him with a sad expression. āNo, not tonight, my darling, I have to go out. Maybe tomorrow.ā
āNo,ā he stammered in frustration as the buzzer sounded again. Damn it! āI want to talk later. Please. I need toā¦ā The damn buzzer sounded again with insistence.
āGoodbye, Darling,ā she said and was gone. He stared at the empty screen and swore.
The buzzer sounded again, and he slammed the laptop shut with a curse. āIām coming, Susan, Iām coming.
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Backfire by Tom Rieber is another Nick Thomas novel. As such, it features the mystery writer, Nick Thomas, as a helping hand to his friend, Paul Allen. As a married man, Paul has done the unthinkable: he has found himself an exotic taste of love on a Russian dating site and has set to meet this woman, leaving his paraplegic wife at home. Upon meeting this intoxicatingly beautiful woman who has aroused his enthusiasm for life again, things go awry very quickly. Before I knew it, what started as a simple story about a man possibly cheating on his wife turned into a thrilling twist of events that I never would have foreseen!
The constant plot twists and short chapters made this book a quick read. Always wanting to know what was going to happen next kept me reading and each chapter only drew me deeper into the web woven on the bookās pages. The characters were also amazing! It was fun to start out seeing a particular character in a certain light only to find that there is a lot more to them than initially perceived. The plot developed with the necessary speed for the kind of story being told and that added to the good experience I had reading the book. But, unfortunately, there were some aspects of the book that were not that great.
As much as this was a quick read because of the plot, the structure of the book slowed down my reading and diminished my enjoyment of the story. The format of the book is a two-page display that made for a laborious means of navigating the pages. Other than that, there were also many writing errors in the book. None of them were so major that they made it totally impossible to understand what I was reading, but they did warrant a reread of sentences to ensure I grasped what was being said so that I do not miss details that would matter later. Even though the book had its faults, I still enjoyed the story and found it to be a worthwhile read.