THE BREATHTAKER by Alice Blanchard
THE BREATHTAKER is a novel that succeeds not so much on the author's skills as a writer, but on the content of the story. Alice Blanchard has brilliantly combined the ferocity of tornadoes with the rage of a serial killer. When these two deadly entities meet, there is havoc in the land.
Charlie Grover is the police chief in Promise, Oklahoma. He is a widower trying to do his best by his fifteen-year-old daughter Sophie. This is difficult because his job requires him to be away from home a lot and the stress of his work environment does not make him the most understanding parent.
The section of Oklahoma where Charlie and Sophie live is in tornado alley. This area is ravaged by deadly storms throughout the spring and summer months. After one bad storm Charlie discovers some murders have occurred in one of the houses hit by the twister. It seems there is a killer who seeks the storms to hide his hideous acts.
As more murders are uncovered after storms have passed, Charlie becomes desperate to solve the crimes. His main suspects are storm chasers. They alone seem to be people with the knowledge to predict where the storms will hit. Charlie knows a little bit about the nature of the people who seek the storms as his own father is one of the best.
With more storms predicted for his area, Charlie begins to think that maybe his own family is involved with the murders or at least is a target of the killer. That makes for a desperate situation in either event.
Those who have seen the movie "Twister" will be able to visualize the storms and the chase of the storms. This will add to the intensity of the story and the effect it will have on your nerves. It is a tense situation when a killer is playing hide and seek with the law while tornadoes storm through the air.
Alice Blanchard is to be commended for coming up with such a novel concept for her book. It grabs the reader from the first page and holds interest until the final frantic race against time and against death occurs.
There is no time to idle through the pages of this book. It strikes with force and whisks you away to another world. You will only return to your comfortable place on earth once its story is finished.
THE BREATHTAKER is published by Warner Books. It contains 391 pages and sells for $24.95.