Fast paced, fun read. This book starts off with lots of action and does not let up, some of the stuff is a little far fetched, but it is definitely entertaining. I will definitely read more by this author in the future.

I’m not sure this was quite what I expected. Twisty and turny, kind of a thriller with almost futuristic concept. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

Wow, this book was insane! I spent a very enjoyable afternoon racing my way through to see what Nate would do. I'm not sure what I would have done in his shoes. 4 stars, and definitely pick this up if you like thrillers!

Fast and fun thriller with an unusual premise.

Nate and Jenny are not the typical family -- he stays home with their two pre-school age daughters while his wife, a lawyer, makes the big bucks. Both are fine with this arrangement until the day when their peaceful suburban life is imploded by the intrusion of a powerful and secret consortium. When Nate is kidnapped and given an explanation, he is stunned to find out that he alone has the ability to stop a billionaire's apocalyptic vision from happening and save the lives of millions of people.

I love a book that gets off to a quick start with lots of action and a fun story line. Even though you might have to suspend disbelief a bit to buy in, it is very entertaining and enjoyable. The author creates a lot of tension with the reader wondering if Nate will do what is asked -- or not. All told, a very satisfying novel and a great one to pick up when you are in the mood for a movie in your mind.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

I couldn’t put this book down! So many plot twists and turns. A man is offered the chance to save the world. But to do so he must do the unthinkable.

I curated this list from the faves that I’ve recently read that are all new 2021 releases. A bunch of books on this list have more than one twist so I promise they will keep you guessing until literally the last chapter!

Some of these 2021 page turners also manage to include touching characters and great family dynamics which I really appreciate. Not every thriller or page turner can manage to have truly likeable characters, so when the books offer a combination of both, it’s a real win!

I’d classify everything on this list as part of the “Thriller” category of the Gone Girl or Girl on a Train style. I loved all of these titles below and I’m not sure which was my favorite as they are all so different but at the same time total thrillers and page turners!

Well, I gulped this book down in a day. It had me riveted through three quarters of the plot. Then, things turned a little more predictable, but I’m okay with that since much of the book was novel. Not a deep read, but one in which the reader can lose themselves . Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this novel, it's premise was very intriguing to me and the author did a great job in crafting a taught story. We met Jenny and Nate, a young couple with two beautiful toddlers, who are thrust into danger by the fact that an unknown recluse has predicted that Jenny will be inadvertently responsible for the death of over a billion people. To prevent those deaths and the deaths of his children, Nate is embroiled in a plot to murder his beloved wife. Caught between two options that he cannot come to grips with, he searches for an escape for the people he loves before it's too late. This book is well written and has a good sense of drama, it's not campy or over the top, and the pace is unrelenting. You can feel the pressure Nate is under and your heart will be racing as fast as his is as you come to the climax. I like that Parks doesn't make his characters become superheroes in this situation, these are regular people who are thrown into an extraordinary situation; and they face it like ordinary people would. Too often characters end up in astounding positions that require a normal person to become a world class spy or fighter on part with a Navy SEAL, it is refreshing to see an average Joe figure out how to navigate the hazards Nate finds himself in. Parks has interested me enough to check out some of his other novels, I hope I enjoy them as much as I did this.

SO DISAPPOINTED! I had 10 PERCENT left to read and the license expired so I didn't get to finish it. I was really enjoying the story and how everything was coming together. I'll definately have to find a way to finish this book at some point.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read before publication.

This book was a phenomenal thrill ride! The story is centered on Nate, a stay at home dad who has to make an insane decision - kill his wife to save the lives of 1 billion people or let his whole family get killed by this secretive organization. The book has so many twists and turns…I never knew what would happen next. It’s an interesting question to consider if the life of your spouse or family is worth more than the life of a billion people. I liked the fast pace of the book and the different perspectives of the story from Nate and his wife. I spent an enjoyable afternoon racing through this book. Definitely a 4 star read. Thank you NetGalley and the book publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book and provide a review.

Fast-paced, action-packed, twisty thriller, switching between dual perspectives of husband and wife.

Jenny and Nate are lawyers at the same firm. Jenny's career is more promising so, when they have children, Nate takes on the role of stay-at-home dad. They both have their struggles but they have a good routine going. Until one day Nate finds himself abducted by a stranger who tells him he must kill someone in order to save a billion lives.

A gripping read with plenty of twists and surprises throughout.

#Unthinkable #NetGalley #bookreview #bookrecommendations

Published by Thomas & Mercer on July 27, 2021

Unthinkable is a suspense novel/thriller that employs themes often explored by science fiction writers: the nature of time, whether the future is predetermined (perhaps because there is no meaningful distinction between the future and the past), and whether the exercise of free will makes it possible to change the future. Brad Parks splits the baby in half by positing that it is, in fact, possible to change the future, but only if the change is made by someone who can see the future. The rest of us are powerless and must accept that our futures are already written and whatever we do is what we were always going to do.

The nature of space-time and the question of free will are fascinating topics that Parks dances around with just enough dance steps to set up his thriller plot. Don’t expect the novel to be informed by a deep (or even coherent) theory of time. This isn’t a science fiction novel. If it were, it wouldn’t be a good one. This is instead a thriller that makes use of a science fiction theme. Just as it isn’t a good science fiction novel, it’s a mediocre thriller.

An accomplished lawyer named Jenny Welker is pursuing her career while the less accomplished lawyer to whom she is married stays home and raises their two kids. Jenny is bringing a massive lawsuit against a power company based on statistical evidence that the company’s air pollution is responsible for a pocket of cancer victims. Since lawsuits of that nature are expensive and difficult to win, her firm (which doesn’t seem like the kind of firm that cares about injury victims) is uncertain that she should continue to pursue it.

Jenny’s husband, Nate Lovejoy, begins the novel by being kidnapped. His kidnapper tells him that a wealthy man named Vanslow DeGange has the power to see the future. DeGrange formed a shadowy organization to carry out his various plans to change history. Thriller writers love shadowy organizations. This one is called the Praesidium. Nothing good can come of a shadowy group with a name like that. Nor is anything good likely to come from a novel that imagines the existence of yet another conspiratorial group with a pretentious name.

Nate is told that DeGrange has foreseen that Jenny will conjure up some brilliant new legal theory to win the case against the power company, creating a precedent that will allow every power company to be sued, a dire result that improbably makes global warming worse and leads to countless deaths. Naturally, the only way to save all those lives is to kill Jenny. And since DeGrange has seen the future, he knows that the world can only be saved if Nate kills Jenny. Why Nate? Because that’s how DeGrange saw it coming down. About half the novel is spent convincing Nate that DeGrange really can see the future and Nate really will kill Jenny. To give him an extra incentive, the Praesidium promises to kill his kids if he doesn’t kill his wife.

That tortured setup is supposed to explain why Nate doesn’t instantly go to the FBI and to Jenny to report this nonsensical threat. Instead, Nate tries to get to the bottom of the Praesidium because of course he does. That’s what thriller protagonists do. Eventually, Nate does get to the bottom of a conspiracy that proves to be easily unraveled and a little silly. But before that happens, we’re treated to the inevitable “will he or won’t he kill his wife?” moment. I won’t spoil it, but you know the answer already.

Brad Parks has written some decent books but he’s also written novels that, like this one, are just so contrived that they never create the sense of realism that is needed to generate suspense. I get the sense that he pitched this novel as “a man has no choice but to kill the wife he loves,” hears “that’s great, go for it” in response, and then writes himself into a corner to make it work. It doesn’t work. I have no problem with Parks’ writing style, but I have a huge problem with a concept that leads to a predictably climactic moment before fizzling out entirely over the last hundred pages.

NOT RECOMMENDED

I've enjoyed previous books from Brad Parks. His latest is Unthinkable.

Parks has used a premise that I really like in previous books and reprises it in this latest. Everyday guy put in an untenable situation.

Stay at home Dad Nate Lovejoy is kidnapped by a secret society that tells him he must kill his wife to save a billion people. What?! The leader of the society, Vanslow DeGange can see the future. Nate's wife Jenny is a lawyer with a case against a large power company. The society says one life sacrificed to save many is what needs to be done. And it has to be Nate who kills her. Nate doesn't believe a word of it.....and then he does. He can't honestly be thinking of killing the love of his life - can he?

Okay, so secret societies have driven many plotlines in many books in the past, so this isn't anything new. And I don't mind taking a few grains of salt to buy into a plot. But, in Unthinkable, I was holding on to the whole shaker. Parks throws in some twists that changed things. I appreciated those. Even with changes to the direction things were going, I still found the plotline to be just too much to buy into. And the actions of Nate and Jenny were Unbelievable. I did keep reading as I really did want to see where Parks took things in the end. Which fell flat for me.

Often, an author will raise funds for charity by including a donor's name in the book. Parks has done this for Unthinkable and the names are listed in the notes at the end. One distinctive name, Marcus Sakey, is not listed there. This is the name of another suspense writer. His name appears more than once and it felt like a cheap inside joke as the name is attributed to a homeless man.

I'm disappointed with this latest, but hey, you can't love them all.

Nate Lovejoy is an ordinary stay-at-home dad and former lawyer. While he cares for their two daughters, his wife, Jenny also an attorney, enjoys a successful career. The arrangement works well for both of them. Then Nate is approached by a mysterious secret society that claims to foresee future events and he is asked to do the unthinkable. They want Nate to kill his wife before the lawsuit she is about to bring against a power company wreaks havoc on the world and kills millions of people. Nate is sure this is some sort of scam but how can he prove it and what are his options?

Unthinkable is a well-paced thriller with an interesting premise, good characters, and plenty of surprises. While the reader might have to suspend his or her disbelief at times, this well-written book presents a number of interesting situations. All in all, Unthinkable is an enjoyable book written by the immensely talented Brad Parks. Long may he write!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

What seemed like a totally unique and thought provoking thriller based on its original premise launched into exciting plot twists and developments that will surprise most readers.

If you’re familiar with the trolley problem, this book is a great expansion on that. Nate is told by some mysterious men that if he doesn’t kill his wife, the world will essentially end. What a horrible position to be in! He forces the man who has told him all this to prove the ability of the secret society’s leader to see the future several times, until he sees very few options for himself and his family.

While the problem seems ludicrous, the characters are still believable and likable. The pacing of the story felt just right—as soon as one scenario or choice felt resolvable, another loomed in its place. The twists in the story were also completely unexpected from this reader’s perspective.

Overall, I’d give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was definitely a thought-provoking mystery as it progressed. I’d recommend it to those who enjoy contemporary stories with intricate plots

‘Unthinkable’ by Brad Parks (Thomas & Mercer, $24.95, 351 pages)

Every day we drape shrouds over the decisions that we, and only we, will ever know. Left or right? Go or stay? Tell or not. … In Brad Parks’ new novel, those daily decisions are elevated by orders of magnitude, and once you get past the suspension of disbelief, “Unthinkable” is a driving, single-sitting narrative with twists and turns credibly woven into an engrossing plot.

Lawyer turned stay-at-home dad Nate Lovejoy opens the novel by awakening in an ornate bedroom — much is made of the original Rembrandt on the wall — after being drugged and kidnapped. Introduced to a secret society, the Praesidium, he is made aware that the organization’s leader, Vanslow DeGrange, has a gift for catching occasional glimpses of the future. It’s a singular talent which he and the Praesidium use to prevent epic disasters.

DeGrange’s most recent revelation involves a quixotic lawyer whose ambition to tackle the coal-fired plant industry and the cancer it causes would, should she win, launch an environmental greenhouse-gas disaster that could kill as many as a billion people.

Jenny Welker, that lawyer, is Nate’s wife. And so sets up the ethical question: Would you kill one person, even if that person is your spouse, to save tens, thousands or hundreds of millions of people?

It’s this unthinkable proposition that becomes very much the center of Nate’s thinking after he is coerced and family-threatened with the task. The Praesidium, never more than an arm’s length away, has chosen him for both his accessibility and to distance its members from the crime.

Parks takes a gamble with this narrative supposition. Through clever plotting and character building he works hard to convince Nate, and by default the reader, that not only such a man as DeGrange is believable, but so is the premise that the needs of the many outweigh the needs, and deaths, of the few.

If you can get there — and Nate does through empirical examples and debatable rationales — the wager works. Readers so inclined are entreated with a fast-paced, series-starter story.

Overall I was blown away with this read. Especially having grown up I'm the Virginia area, the depth of the authors background, discussion and build up of characters and plot twists is extremely well done.

The author directs the audience well in one direction, then shocks you and suck you in more I applaud the author's ingenuity with the storyline, as it truly send, to unlike any other story I've read. I highly recommend all considering. I will look at more books by Brad Parks, the author, not as I was not familiar with him until reading this.

Thank you NetGalley for my free book. The comments above are mine without influence

The chapters are each titled either “Nate” or “Jenny”, as the book switches back and forth between the perspectives of Nate, the protagonist, and Jenny, his wife. Nate's chapters are written in the first person, while Jenny's are in the third person. Nate is a former lawyer and now a stay at home dad to two little girls, while Jenny is a determined hotshot lawyer, apparently very good at her job.

The premise is revealed in the first few pages: An organization, founded by a man that has a limited ability to see the future, abducts Nate and gives him an ultimatum. Nate must kill his wife Jenny, in order to save the lives of billions of people. There are events that will happen in the future as a result of the case that Jenny is working on, that will cause billions of people to die; but if Jenny dies instead, then none of it will happen. The organization also tells Nate that they will have to hire someone to kill his entire family if Nate refuses to kill Jenny. So for Nate it is either kill his wife and save billions, or have his entire family killed, including himself.

The story moves along at a good pace, as Nate tries to figure out more about this organization, and what he should ultimately do. The story is easy to read, and engaging enough that I finished it in one sitting. The ending is a bit of a surprise, but I personally wasn't the biggest fan of the way the story wrapped up. I'm not sure what I expected exactly, but it felt a little rushed and hand-wavy.

Overall, I'd say that this is still a pretty decent suspense novel, if you are able to suspend disbelief a bit. The pacing is good, there wasn't much boring filler, and it kept my interest throughout.

The whole concept of killing one destructive person to save the future of the world is bogus. Same as free will—an accident of human senses. Which makes the institution of the Praesidium very suspect. Their goal is to save humanity from catastrophes by pinpointing the one person that will cause the domino effect. Then order the person to be killed.

In this novel, that one person is Nate's wife, Jenny. He is approached by a mysterious man with an unthinkable command: kill your wife because she is the most destructive person on the earth. Why Nate? He is a stay-at-home dad, a self-proclaimed nobody. The day is like every other until he is kidnapped by a secret society led by a man who claims to know the future. He foresees a billion people will die unless Nate stops Jenny—thus killing his own wife.

Whew, this is deep! It is a matter of morals, manipulation, beliefs and loyalty. It truly makes you think WWID? Would I kill the person I love to save strangers? Would I believe a man who claims to know what the future brings? Hmmm...

The beginning of Unthinkable was a bit iffy. But I quickly thought, why did I ever question a novel written by Brad Parks? He hasn't failed me yet. While I am not a fan of science fiction/paranormal genre, Parks tends to teeter the line. This new release was no different. It pushed the limit of realism in a very unpredictable way. A thriller at its best! Bookhearts, trust me on this: READ IT!

~LiteraryMarie

“Unthinkable” explores the concept of cause and effect. Can a butterfly flapping its wings in California start a whirlwind that becomes a tornado in Kansas? Is there a correlation between separate events? One can use statistics to associate events in the past, but how accurately do statistics predict the future? This book presents a series of life-shaping experiences. Is this a game? A scam? A prank of the worst kind? The ravings of a madman, or a frightening reality? Characters stand at a fork in the road, and readers watch the drama unfold not knowing which path the characters will take. (No spoilers in this review.)
Nate Lovejoy is a “retired” lawyer, now stay-at-home dad with two preschool-age daughters, Parker and Cate. His wife Jenny Welker is a “rock star” lawyer, a gifted problem solver; perhaps she is too successful. The drama unfolds in chapters that alternate between Nate and Jenny. They are confronted with a problem, a big problem that will change their lives forever. Is this “thing” just the delusion of a resident of a mental hospital? Is it a deep fake and if so, how could they even tell? Is it akin to little green men dissecting cows? What is next, wearing tinfoil hats? Should they just leave? Run away? Live completely off the grid?
Parks creates a scenario where the unthinkable becomes possible, the abnormal becomes ordinary, and every choice has unintended and tragic consequences. The tension builds exponentially on every page, and readers expect a landslide to come barreling down the hill at any moment, burying everyone and everything. It is impossible to stop turning the pages.
“Unthinkable” is compelling and terrifying with a surprise on every page. Just when I thought things could not get any stranger – they did. I received a review copy of “Unthinkable” from Brad Parks and Thomas & Mercer. In a “nice shout out” to the Carter Ross books, where things started, Jenny works for the law firm of Carter, Morgan & Ross.
#Unthinkable #BradParks #DeepFake
Elaborate hoax or frightening reality

A fantastic thriller that I absolutely couldn’t put down! Fast, fun, thrilling, and so much more to entertain readers with the unthinkable!

Nate Lovejoy is a stay-at-home dad while his wife, Jenny, works as a partner in the law firm they both used to be at. When she made partner before he did, it was decided he would stay home and raise the kids. His life revolves around the kids and housework making him feel important to very few. When he is kidnapped by a secret society, their futuristic billionaire leader, Vanslow DeGange, tells him that if he doesn’t kill his wife she could be responsible for the death of billions. It is unthinkable to Nate that anyone could ask him to kill someone, let alone his wife. Jenny is working on a lawsuit against a power company in Virginia, which is the reason he is asked to kill her. It doesn’t take long for all he is being asked to not line up, as there is more to DeGange than Nate is told, and it is hard for Nate to know what to believe.

This was the first novel I have read by Brad Parks and I have to say it did not disappoint. I found myself flying through the pages unable to put it down. The story was original with a very unique plot that kept me intrigued all the way through. Just when I thought I knew how it was going to play out, a nice little twist was added that gave me a smile. It is always satisfying when an author can sneak a good twist in there that I didn’t see coming. This is the kind of book that had those twists, and it was so nice to find a new author that was able to surprise me like that. Both Nate and his wife Jenny had a great storyline, and I enjoyed the back and forth between them to see how each of their storylines played out.

This is the kind of story that can suck you in and keep you from accomplishing much of anything else, it transports you to a different place and takes you away from the stress of the world. I recommend this book to readers that love a great psychological thriller with all the right twists in all the right places.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.