07/01/2021
In this latest stand-alone from Parks (Interference), Nate Lovejoy is happy to stay home with his two young daughters in Richmond, VA, while his wife Jenny tries to make partner at Richmond's largest law firm. On just another ordinary day, Nate is kidnapped by members of a secret society called the Praesidium and briefly held captive at the mansion of their leader, Vanslow DeGange. Praesidium claims that DeGange can see the future, and he's predicted that if Nate doesn't commit an unthinkable act in four days, a billion people will die. The mass casualty will be a direct result of Jenny's currently lawsuit against Virginia's biggest power company. Nate and Jenny manage to escape attempts on their lives, then realize that they must locate DeGange's compound in the remote Virginia countryside before they run out of time to change the future. VERDICT This fast-paced novel, narrated in alternating chapters by Nate and Jenny, has twists and turns that'll keep readers guessing. Recommended for readers who enjoyed Parks's other stand-alone works, as well as fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay.—Jean King, West Hempstead P.L., NY
★ 2021-05-05
Would you kill your spouse if that were the only way to prevent a billion other deaths?
For lawyer-turned-househusband Nate Lovejoy, this suddenly is no idle question. According to Lorton Rogers, the man who’s kidnapped him, Vanslow DeGange, founder of the shadowy Praesidium, can see the future, and he can see that the lawsuit Jenny Welker’s filing on behalf of 280 clients of Virginia’s Commonwealth Power and Light alleging that its coal-fired Shockoe Generation Plant produced record amounts of lung cancer and COPD will have unintended consequences: Other energy companies that get sued will bring their plants into compliance by using technology that will unintentionally but catastrophically accelerate global warming. Nate won’t be able to talk Jenny out of pressing the suit; she’ll have to die to save all those other lives. Although Nate’s nowhere near ready to pull the trigger once he’s released from captivity, Parks stands ready to unleash a furious barrage of complications that will force his hand. Nate will hear Rogers threaten the couple’s two small children. His attempts to gather more information about the Praesidium will backfire spectacularly. He’ll realize that Rogers is tracking his every move. He’ll press DeGange to make other predictions that come startlingly true. He’ll learn that he’s been reported to the police for domestic violence. He’ll get evidence that Jenny is having an affair. All the while, the cabal responsible for killing John Kennedy and Martin Luther King for the greater good of the greater number will tighten its grip on him until…but that would be telling.
A textbook one-sitting read whose fiendishly inventive details only intensify its remorseless momentum.
[Readers] will be rewarded with turns of fate and twists of plot more shocking than even the clairvoyant DeGange may have foreseen.” —The Wall Street Journal
“A textbook one-sitting read whose fiendishly inventive details only intensify its remorseless momentum.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Parks makes suspension of disbelief to his premise accessible via solid prose and characterizations. Readers who enjoy jaw-dropping but credible plot twists will be enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly
“This fast-paced novel, narrated in alternating chapters by Nate and Jenny, has twists and turns that’ll keep readers guessing.” —Library Journal
“Inventive, well written, fast-paced, and filled with twists.” —The Associated Press
“The ongoing battle between the concept of free will and predestination makes Unthinkable so intriguing, along with the mystery behind this strange organization and the nature of their true intentions. Parks has created a dynamic, vivid and incredibly interesting world with Unthinkable.” —Culturess
“Charm doesn’t usually figure in mystery-thrillers, yet Parks’s story is loaded with it. It’s the kind of charm that could only be found in a plot about a stay-at-home dad written by, well, a stay-at-home dad.” —Jersey’s Best
“Parks’s skill at creating realistic, strong characters makes the twists in Unthinkable believable as they confront evils they didn’t even know existed while proving their inner strength. Nate and Jenny’s unconditional love and respect for each other further buoy the gripping plot. And, yes, Parks makes you believe in predicting the future.” —South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“My, oh, my! Brad Parks has done it again! He’s crafted a world-class thriller…This is a story worth reading, hard to put down and a real page turner.” —Virginia Gazette
“Unthinkable is an effective and memorable work that will force readers to think hard about the circumstances in which these characters are involved, while wondering what they would do if they were faced with the same challenges.” —Bookreporter
“Unthinkable is a driving, single-sitting narrative with twists and turns credibly woven into an engrossing plot.” —Mountain Times
“Addictive, thought-provoking, and disturbing, it’s a thumping good read.” —The Free Lance-Star
“The strong, taut suspense and the dramatic conclusion make this hard to put down.” —Booklist
“The premise demands a big leap of faith, but the payoff is a fun and hard-to-put-down thriller.” —Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
“Unthinkable is a fast, furious, fun and deliciously twisty tale told with the deft and accomplished hand of a veteran storyteller. Nate and Jenny are truly a duo to root for, and there’s a substantive issue at the core of the story about which we should all be better informed. Parks has belted another one out of the park with a focused swing of the bat.” —David Baldacci
“A mind bending thriller with a gripping, twisted plot you will second guess until you reach the stunning end. Unthinkable is addictive.” —Melinda Leigh, #1 Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestselling author
