SCOTT FREE by John Gilstrap
John Gilstrap is the author of one of my favorite books, NATHAN'S RUN. In it he showed he was a truly gifted writer of suspenseful stories, Now he has another book out, SCOTT FREE, and it has even more hair-raising adventures than the other book.
Scott O'Toole is a teenager caught up in the divorce of his parents. Though his father Brandon has custody, his mother Sherry is always trying to win points with him by offering exotic vacations. The latest is a trip to Sky Top Village Resort. While there he manages to sneak off with a new friend to fly to Salt Lake City for a Metallica concert.
The friend, Cody Jamieson, is older than Scott but is still immature in his actions to fly a plane to Salt Lake City when there is a storm brewing. Soon the plane is forced down and Scott finds himself on his own in terrible winter conditions.
This is more than a survival adventure. It is also the story of two adults who use their son as a pawn in their vicious games against each other. When Scott goes missing both Brandon and Sherry relive every bad judgment action they have taken, and every negligent act they have committed. They soon learn that they need to bond together if they are ever going to find and rescue Scott.
There are numerous adventures in this book but to list them would destroy some of the suspense the author creates. Suffice it to say that complications in the plot involve the witness protection program, hired assassins, and a visit to Sky Top by the President of the United States.
The impact of the book is lessened by the volume of the "narrow escapes" that occur with regularity as the story unfolds. The first few "lucky breaks" are acceptable. The next set of occurrences are not. It is okay to skim the edges of believability, but to leave them completely is courting the danger of your plot becoming a joke.
John Gilstrap is certainly a talented writer and he manages to make his books page turners, still in this story he just goes overboard in his convenient escapes. The reader is relieved but he/she just can't believe it could happen like that.
If you can suspend your belief that there is only so much luck one person can use up, then you might enjoy SCOTT FREE. The more logical readers will find themselves scoffing at the way Scott strays free.
SCOTT FREE is published by Atria Books. It contains 360 pages and sells for $25.00.