The Crisis by T.O. Paine is a gritty, action packed novel that takes readers deep into an international conspiracy.

What was supposed to be a routine shift at a convenience store in Florida quickly spirals out of control when Mattie sees a young girl with a strange numbered tattoo on her leg. She is with a big, scary looking man and something just doesn't seem right. Then she sees a piece of paper on the floor soon after the couple leaves . It says something about a blue van going to Salt Springs. Right away Mattie knows that this young woman has been kidnapped to be trafficked or something worse. Taking off on her own to save the young woman seems to be the only option. Did Mattie just make a fatal mistake?

This novel definitely does have some triggers, namely kidnapping and trafficking but Paine is sensitive in writing about these heavy topics. The action is intense and the suspense just keeps ramping up until the explosive ending. This is the first book by Paine that I have read but I am definitely interested in checking out more!!

Thank you to NetGalley, T.O. Paine, and Dark Swallow Books for this ARC. Expected publication date is March 4th 2025.

This story started off with a bang. It was more of a gritty thriller than I had expected. The characters were a lit of fun. The suspense was intense.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

I found The Crisis by T. O. Paine to be a well written clever and engaging thriller including themes such as government toppling, trafficking, and familial loyalty (or lack thereof). Suspense is almost immediately established in this story when a convenience store clerk is covertly passed a message (asking for the clerk's help) by a girl with a visible tattoo (a series of numbers) on her leg. Heads-up, that tattoo is PIVOTAL to the plot of this novel. A fever pitch of suspense is quickly established and maintained throughout this book.

I found it refreshing to read a book that did not have a "love story" subplot, a huge plus for this reviewer as I HATE "romance" novels, however 99.99% of mystery / suspense (actually of all fiction, regardless of genre) novels toss an almost mandatory "romantic subplot" in the mix (which I HATE,).

If you are a fan of the Jack Reacher series, or if you enjoy international intrigue with a hometown feel, you might find this book to be a great fit; it is an exciting and engaging read.

This was an insanely suspenseful, keep you on the edge of your seat, clenched buttcheeks, what just happened, kind of thriller. So many stories come together to create a genius story you MUST read!! T.O. Paine, how the heck do you do it??

“The Crisis” by T. O. Paine, is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller that masterfully builds suspense from start to finish. The plot twists are relentless, keeping you constantly guessing and second-guessing what's coming next. Paine’s writing style pulls you into the heart of the action, making it impossible to put the book down. Every chapter brings a new layer of tension, making it an intense and unpredictable ride that will have you hooked until the very end.

This was a strong thriller novel, it had that elmeent that I wanted in this type of book. The characters were everything that I was looking for and how they worked with the storyline. T.O. Paine was able to write a strong writing story and was glad I was able to read this. It was tense and had that element that I wanted overall.

Definitely not my style.
Mattie works in a convenience store after bring fired from her Marine biologist work. When a young girl
appears one day at the store with a rough looking guy and leaves a message for Mattie I dictating that she was ding taken against her will, Mattie sets off to follow the mini van and try to rescue her.
What follows is an uninteresting and real mix up of back and forth story telling from Mattie, the kidnapped girl, the PI hired by her father to find her, her abductor
Suspense and intrigue are far and few between.
Just a dark story that I found totally unpalatable.

Page turning action thriller that has pretty much everything going on, robbery, kidnapping, trafficking, and maybe the end of the world, you know, simple things. No spoilers, lots of action and intertwined characters and agendas - hang on, it's a fast ride!