This is a clever thriller - true to it's title, the author sets up a scenario that is 'unthinkable' and then proceeds to try to make it plausible. There are a fair number of twists, along with some narrative sleight-of-hand, and it all adds up to an entertaining story.

Parks is a fine writer: the dialogue is human, the action scenes are tense, the characters are well-drawn, and Parks is good enough to convince you to suspend your disbelief where necessary (but don't spend too much time thinking back over the plot).

Finally, it's not a major point, but I can also say, as a resident in the neighborhood where most of the story is set, that Parks gets the geography of Richmond, VA mainly correct.

Nate is a stay at home Dad and his wife is an attorney at a high powered legal firm. Nate is kidnapped and presented with a scenario where to prevent a catastrophe he has to kill his wife, if he doesn’t these people will arrange an accident that will kill him, his wife and their 2 children. Just when you think you know what’s going to happen there is a huge twist to the story. There is plenty of suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This book was unusually contradictory for me. For starters, the protagonist is weak. Not weak as in not well defined; he's very well drawn by the author, as a weak person. This would normally annoy me enough that I wouldn't finish the book. In this case, however, the pressure cooker in which the protagonist was trapped was so well done that it made the protagonist a sympathetic character despite himself. The book is certainly well titled, as the choices that must be made are indeed unthinkable.

The pacing is excellent. All the characters are skillfully developed. Best of all, the premise of the story is fresh and compelling, and the story is told with strong prose and dialog. The author is obviously talented and skilled. In the end, it's an engaging read that I recommend.

NOTE: In our currently polarized environment, in which absolutely everything seems to be politically framed, I think it's worth mentioning that there are elements in this book that could cause a knee-jerk reaction for some. It's sort of built around a climate change element. It's also lightly peppered with some buzzwords some will find annoying. I would urge against such reflexive reactions. It's obvious to me that the author went to considerable effort to not be preachy and political, an effort I applaud, especially now. This is a well written and engaging story. Enjoy it as such.

Highly recommend if you like a good thriller/suspense novel that is a bit different. At first I wasn't sure about the premise but as the story developed I got more and more involved.
Nate is a stay-at-home dad with a brilliant wife and all of a sudden he is tasked with saving the world by killing his wife.
If that sentence alone doesn't make you excited then nothing will

What a crazy ride this book was! A simple stay-at-home father is tasked with literally saving our world from a mysterious entity that is blackmailing his family. A terrific summer thriller!

Nate is a stay at home dad, having given up his associate position at a large Richmond firm for his now-senior partner wife, as her career has taken off. He's kidnapped from his home and presented with a nightmare scenario: "Kill your wife to stave off the collapse of society as we know it, or your entire family dies instead."

The reader gets immersed in the tense situation, wondering how a loving husband could possibly get to "yep, she's gotta go". The book maintains that palpable feeling, alternating chapters from Nate's perspective to his wife Jenny's, with fair action and swerves.

It was an enjoyable book, but to me, the ending didn't match the rest of story's pacing.

The classic trolley problem on hyper-drive. Nate Lovejoy thinks he’s just a stay at home dad, the every day yin to his high powered wife’s dazzling yang. Until he’s told by a mysterious organization that he can change the course of the earth’s history and save billions of lives by removing a single threat. His wife.

Parks accomplishes something special with Unthinkable. The book is filled with tightly woven storytelling, existential and philosophical questions peppering the text and providing universal themes that everyone can relate to. The dual points of view give an excellent glimpse into the lives of Nate and Jennie, the former open, honest, and willing to sacrifice anything for his family, and the later driven, intelligent, and unflinching in her pursuit of justice. Parks takes a lofty idea, adds a dash of humor, gunpowder, and heart to make the reader wonder, “what if?”

I loved it and can’t wait to read Brad’s next instant classic. Huge thanks the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

I have been a Brad Parks fan since 'Say Nothing.' Every book is a must read that he writes. This book is more of the same.
The characters are never perfect and thats real life. This book was no different. Nate, the main character, will drive you crazy at times with his choices and some plot points strained believability, but small gripes for a well written novel. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisger for this ARC.

In interests of diversity and just for a nice change of pace, I like to mix female authored thrillers with male authored ones. Accusations of sexism and generalizations aside, there really is (usually) a significant difference, in tone, mood, pacing, so many things. And this is the author I’ve been meaning to try and Netgalley accommodated.
So then…imagine if someone came to you and told you that you had to kill your wife or she’ll end up causing a global catastrophe and death of millions. This someone would claim they were a representative of a secret society centered around a man who knows the future, a society dedicated to making precognition based murderous decisions for the greater good. Crazy, right? Moreover, positively unthinkable. Also, makes for a good story.
Now meet Nate and Jenny, a loving couple in a longtime committed relationship, parents to two small children. Both are lawyers by training (the adults, not the kids), but Jenny is the six foot tall breadwinner of the family, while six foot four Nate is a stayathome papa. Just imagine how tall their baby girls are going to grow up to be, pure WNBA material.
Anyway, Nate is the one presented with the unthinkable choice in the beginning of the novel…way to take the trolley hypothetical exercise to the new levels. And Nate is freaking out. Especially after the proof of the future predictor’s abilities is presented. What do you do what all the options are terrible? Well, first research. Then weapons. Then go on an all out ballistic assault like a popcorn action thriller that you’re in.
Which is to say at some juncture the novel abandons a lot of its theoretical and cryptic aspects and just turns into a good old fashioned shoot ‘em up. And that’s actually totally fine. Because this isn’t meant to be some profound morality play, this is meant to be 100% pure fun. Fun with an intriguing premise, sure, but more so just a summer movie type of fun. With likeable leads going up against sinister forces…a sinister secret society (unlike all those other cozy kinds)…with enough gusto and cheese for an Italian restaurant menu and omnia vincit amor message to boot. Cute, wildly entertaining, more than mildly preposterous when seriously contemplated.
Preposterousness has to be mentioned. The entire plot hinged on the fact that people apparently can’t properly communicate to their loved ones. I tested this, I conveyed the plot to my fiancé (and we’ve been together as long as the couple in this book) and asked would you walk away from a work project if our lives depended on it and the answer was yes, of course. There, it was that easy. But then of course there’d be no book.
Plus, to be fair, the author does throw in more plot twists in the end, so that it isn’t just as straight forward as one decision/sh*tton of deadly consequences. But the motif of having secrets from your spouse and not communicating properly remains prominently featured.
Anyway, all that aside, this was a fun read, dynamic, entertaining and it went by quickly. An easily likeable book, good introduction to a new author for me and an exciting energetic camera ready sort of story. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

When you see Brad Parks’s name on the cover, start reading. This book finds Everyman confronted with an unwinnable proposition. Secret societies are common in the genre, but the author uses such tools in a way guaranteed to surprise and entertain.

When Nate, a stay at home dad, is told that the only way he can save the world from disaster is to murder the wife he loves, he's anguished. The future of the world may seem far off, but his small daughters are directly threatened, should he fail, and putting them at risk is even more unthinkable. This may not be the only time this plot ploy has been used, but in Parks' hands it's an excellent ride. Likable and believable characters make all the difference as this thriller twists and turns while marching swiftly and inevitably to an unpredictable conclusion. I've been reading Parks' mysteries and thrillers since the beginning and can always count on him for a terrific read!

This was a really enjoyable, fast-paced read. It had an excellent twist that I didn't see coming, and it not only entertained me but also made me think about morality in general and how I would react in a similar situation to the one the characters find themselves in. I'll definitely recommend it at the bookstore where I work.

Oh my gosh! This book!!! I honestly don't know how Mr. Parks comes up with his ideas. BIG thanks to Brad Parks, Thomas & Mercer Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of Unthinkable!

Nate Lovejoy is a stay-at-home dad who doesn’t believe he’s particularly important to anyone other than his wife and their two daughters. So, it’s a shock when members of a powerful secret society drug and kidnap Nate, where he awakens in a mansion with his hand smelling of soap! There, he is informed that the leader of Praesidium claims to know the future and he’s foreseen that a billion people could die—unless Nate does the unthinkable.

I was grabbed from the very beginning! This book is full of intrigue and suspense, with wee bits of the Brad Parks humor thrown in here and there. It's really hard for me to write any more than that because I don't want to post any spoilers at all. Suffice it to say that after I finished the book I found myself wondering what the heck I would do if I were in Nate's shoes. I would love to see this book as being the first of a series!

It's entertaining even to read the author's notes at the end of the book! What a sense of humor!

Any book by Parks is a safe bet. This one works due to its pacing, twists, and engaging plot. Most thriller fans will enjoy this one. Recommended.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Fast paced thriller you won't want to put down.

Stay at home Dad Nate Lovejoy is approached by a man with an unbelievable tale, telling Nate he must do the unthinkable in order to save humanity. Nate takes some convincing and then grapples with the moral dilemma.

About 2/3 of the way in, you feel the story is concluding and not sure where the tale can go .... but then a great turn of events to surprise and then the pace quickens !

Through Net Galley, I was afforded the opportunity to read an advance copy of Unthinkable by Brad Parks. Would you kill someone to save a billion lives? What if the person you needed to kill was the mother of your children and love of your life?

Nate is a stay at home dad and all around good guy. Jenny is a high powered attorney leading a class action suit against a local power company. What if the result of a successful suit would be the escalation of global warming and end of the world as know it? This is the decision facing Nate after he awakens after being drugged and kidnapped.

A compelling mystery, likable main characters and philosophical question worth pondering are at the center of this enjoyable thriller. A well written, quick read, this one gets 5 Stars.

My thanks to Mr. Parks, Thomas & Mercer and Net Galley for the opportunity to review Unthinkable.

I had a little trouble suspending my disbelief in some parts of the book, but for the most part, it did exactly what it set out to: breakneck pace, unpredictable twists and turns, and a larger-than-life premise that should see this story spin out into a series. Quite enjoyable, and back in the old pre-pandemic days, this would’ve been the perfect book for a flight.

This turned out to be totally different than I anticipated, but not necessarily in a bad way. I thought the story would be about the aftermath of Jenny's successful lawsuit and the climate implications, and it wasn't about that at all. It was, however, fast-paced and very readable, and I found myself staying up later than usual in order to read another chapter. All in all, I enjoyed this story very much.

A big thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for the advanced copy.

NOT what I expected.

First, I want to thank the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review. When i read the synopsis, I thought it sounded a little confusing, and maybe not my type of book. But I really liked #BradParks so I thought I would give it a try.

I was hooked from page 1. Ok, maybe page 5 or 6. But it was easy to follow, and full of intrigue, and suspense. I could actually feel the tension in my body as I read it, and I HAD to know what happened next.

Now, not only did I get caught up in the story, I kept thinking "what would I do?". What if you new your spouse, or your parent, or your child would try to do good, but end up causing thousands of millions of deaths? What would you do? It was truly disturbing to think about.

I really enjoyed this book, and am glad to know that this author hasn't let me down yet....

An exciting and dramatic read! I was drawn in from the very start, and there was just enough confusion to make me not want to put the book down and take a break. I enjoyed seeing how all of the threads were unraveled and hope it all made sense in the end. Recommended!