The Cold Spot - Tom Piccirilli

My first book for the Thriller and Suspense Challenge was The Cold Spot by Tom Piccirilli. The story is about a man named Chase who was raised to be a getaway driver in a crew run by his grandfather after his mother and father both die in separate incidents. After a witnessing a member of the crew's murder, Chase decides to go his own way and moves to the South to start a new life that doesn't involve criminal activity. While there, he meets and marries a police officer. Eventually they move back to the Northeast where they begin their life anew until tragedy strikes and Chase once again has to decide whether or not to take up a life of crime.

I have to say that this book was a REALLY quick read for me. It was not very long and read really fast. I finished it in a few hours. The story is pretty engrossing although I found the characters to be a little less than compelling for the first 100 pages or so (there are only 303 pages in the book). I don't think I ever truly connected to the characters even though the story had some pretty exciting moments. Still, I am going to pick up The Coldest Mile which is the sequel to The Cold Spot because it was a nice little weekend read. If you are looking for a crime thriller that is not overly complicated and helps you escape from your boring day at the office, this book will give you a few hours of enjoyable entertainment.