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Title: Choose
Author: Ryan C. Thomas
Narrator: John Cormier
Format: Unabridged
Length: 1 hr and 40 mins
Language: English
Release date: 04-14-17
Publisher: Grand Mal Press
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher's Summary:
Mr. Baker's normal life is turned upside down when he is visited by a mysterious cowboy one day. With a gun to his head, Mr. Baker is given until midnight to make a drastic choice. Either kill his wife, or kill his daughter. If he doesn't choose one, the cowboy will kill them both. Mr. Baker has only a few hours left to figure out what the hell is going on. If he can't solve the mystery, people are going to die.
Members Reviews:
"Intensely Gruesome"
I thoroughly enjoyed this read thus the rating. There was a driving force that kept the pages turning at a rapid pace. Recommend this for fans of this genre.
An Excellent Choice
William Stryon won a National Book Award, and Meryl Streep won an Oscar for "Sophie's Choice," the tragic story of a woman forced to make a horrifying life-or-death decision. Ryan C. Thomas isn't Stryon by any means, but he takes that same premise and turns it into a chilling thriller that involves an equivalent life-or-death situation in his novelette, "Choose."
The narrator of âChooseâ is Peter Baker, the owner of a small computer repair store whose life is turned upside down when his first customer of the day pulls a gun on him and issues a bizarre threat. The gunman tells Baker that he must kill either his wife or his daughter by midnight or the stranger will kill them both. After the man leaves, a naturally disconcerted Baker spends the rest of the story trying to save his family. However, he soon finds, that even though he calls the police, they arenât much help, especially since he never got a good look at his assailant. As midnight approaches, Baker eventually tries to put as much distance as possible between his family and the stranger, winding up in a fairly remote area. However, as anyone who ever saw either version of âCape Fearâ will tell you, thatâs rarely an effective strategy in a story like this.
Author Thomas has written some extremely graphic horror stories, but âChooseâ is more straightforward suspense, albeit with a somewhat surprising twist towards the end. The key to a story like this working is that the main character has to behave in a manner that readers imagine they themselves might in a similar situation. As Baker does so, the stranger appears to outwit him seemingly every step along the way, and, to make matters worse, gives Baker some follow-up phone calls advising him how much time is left. Thomas manages to ratchet up the tension considerably by essentially having the equivalent of a countdown clock to let Baker (and readers) know how much time is left before the stranger will make good on his threat.
But while âChooseâ is an offbeat form of a classic suspense story, it also involves some elements of mystery as well. Baker has no idea who the stranger is, and both he and the readers try to figure this out, as well as how the stranger is able to keep tabs on Baker so effectively. The answer isnât one I would have expected, but the author does drop enough clues for astute readers to have a pretty good idea before the reveal. In addition, that reveal makes the final few pages of the story even more interesting.
The author also tries to explore the choice Baker has to make by revealing bits and pieces of the character of his wife and daughter, as well as the family dynamic. That portion of the story, while an admirable effort on Thomasâ part, is the least effective.