Gun Lake

by Travis Thrasher

Once again, Travis Thrasher takes readers on a thrilling ride, this time through the story of five escaped convicts and the people whose paths they cross. Weaving together twists of fate and fast-paced action, Gun Lake examines the consequences of sin and asks some compelling Where do you turn when there is no hope left? How do you leave past mistakes behind? It's an edgy story with a redemptive message. Kurt Wilson could feel his heart beating. He took in slow breaths, but the blood still raced through his body. Adrenaline pumped and all he could do was sit there, behind the wheel of the Ford Explorer, looking out the open window toward the Harman's sporting goods store and waiting for word. Underneath his legs, next to his boots, rested a brand new .45 handgun that had never been fired. Hopefully after tonight, it would remain that way.

Genres: Christian, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery, Novels, Christian Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Travis Thrasher has written over 75 books, from fiction in a variety of genres to memoirs and children’s books. He has collaborated with filmmakers, musicians, athletes, comedians and pastors. Travis lives with his wife and three daughters in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Reviews

[Nana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Numerous characters and stories within this novel made it difficult for me to become acclimated to the story. I felt a loss of continuity because of the number of characters and story lines until several chapters into the book. Some of the characters were fairly well developed, but others remained strangers throughout. I was hoping to be "wowed" by this novel. I'm familiar with Gun Lake, and that setting was a plus for me, but I couldn't become invested in the book as I had hoped. There are numerous social issues that were broached, crime, abuse, dysfunctional families, etc. Those issues were well thought out. The premise was good, but took far too long to enjoy, and was somewhat predictable.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was well written but introduced a lot of characters in a small amount of time, I had a little trouble keeping who's who in the zoo straight at first.

[Diane Sugars · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I really cannot remember where I got this book. It had been in my to be read pile for quite awhile, but I am happy that I finally picked it up and read it! This was a very complex storyline with many characters and a lot of things going on in this story! I loved the authors style of writing and he reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Billy Coffey. I really cannot wait to read more from Travis Thrasher!

[Tim Penning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this book at a Christian writers conference where the author spoke. Some Christian lit is too forced, overly didactic. This one is more restrained, not break out quality but a good read with multiple plot lines converging at a location and the themes with each are subtle, not all endings predictable or sappy.

[Madison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. The plot was consistent and climbed with new twists and turns when flipping through every page. I felt there were numerous stories of characters, which made it hard to follow. The dots started connecting when everything was met at Gun Lake, maybe a little before hand. I would recommend this book to read.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michigan friends, this story takes place at the actual Gun Lake. It was a good mystery.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The various stories on alternating chapters kept me interested and I knew that they would all come together in the end but, once I got there, it was anti-climatic.

[Patrick Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really struggled through this book.

[Danielle Mercer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could give it 0 stars. What the hell was that, and why did I keep reading it? So disinteresting and I had no idea what was going on most of the time.

[Asha Wynalda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️
not my cup of tea, but kinda cool and different...

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder. Robbery. Alcohol. Gambling. Hiding out. Broken relationships. Parties. Threats.

They've been dubbed The Stagworth Five because the five of them escaped the Stagworth prison. They are suspected of murder and burglary, and are on the lam.

Sean seems obsessed with "The Doors." He tells an acquaintance that the music he's listening to (The Doors) is the soundtrack to his life. Their music is quoted throughout. He's the leader of the pack and he makes sure they all know it. They move from place to place when he says they do. He's unpredictable and will do anything to keep from going back to prison.

Kurt, one of the five, has met a young lady that he's crazy about. She, in turn, likes him. She has secrets of her own. He tells her his name is David.

Wes is big but not very smart.

Craig spends his time talking about movies. Movies are big for him and he often comes up with new lists and says to Kurt things like "Name your ten favorite prison break movies." It's difficult to determine how and why he got involved with the "Stagworth Five." He seems so mild.

Lonnie is dangerous and they all know it. He's a loose cannon. The others don't know where he is. All but he are now at Gun Lake.

Ossie, although not a part of the Five, is, against his wishes, along for the ride. He's a praying man.

Others are involved in the story as well. Michelle takes her son to Gun Lake to spend time with him and to keep him away from the trouble he's been in at home.

Paul quit his job as a bartender and is now at his second home at Gun Lake.

Norah is on the run from her abusive boyfriend and is now living and working at Gun Lake.

This novel is well written. The nascent romance is better written than most romance novels. There is no sappy happy-ever-after ending. The conversion that takes place is believable. All these positive characteristics and yet this wasn't a book that drew me in and had me wanting more.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Amazon.com:

Thrasher's Gun Lake is the story of five escaped criminals who leave dead bodies in their wake. One man, Kurt, is plagued with guilt for his crimes and longs to make amends to his grown son. Another, Sean, wants revenge on his father and guides the group to a hideout in the resort town of Gun Lake, Michigan, where the old man lives. There the sins of the group are resolved, but not before the reader meets a hapless alcoholic deputy, a brokenhearted waitress, and an ex-con trying to live honorably. Events pile up into an overheated conclusion, but Thrasher's feel for characterization makes this his best effort yet. John Mort

Okay so I read Isolation a while back and then received Ghostwriter as an arc and I must say I am officially addicted to Travis Thrasher. So I was thrilled when I found Gun Lake at my local library.

This was an really good book - a little confusing with the cast of characters at times, but I really like reading books where a whole bunch of different people's lives that don't know each other end up intersecting and how that affects everyone.

The suspense and pacing of this book is great. The characters believable, from the convicts to the abused girlfriend, to the alcoholic deputy, to the mother and son with problems, I liked learning about all of them. They all had their story to tell and Mr. Thrasher did a wonderful job getting their story out.

It all meshed together well and kept the plot moving along so that I was never bored and I was always wondering what would happen next. Some moments would have me holding my breath and some with a sigh of relief. If you like suspense and enjoy good characters then you will like this book and all of his other books!

Remember Ghostwriter comes out tomorrow and it's wonderful - review will go up then, but you must must must read Ghostwriter!

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Gun Lake" is an introspective suspense novel. The characters spent a lot of time thinking about their past mistakes and feeling like there was no real hope. The suspense came from knowing that some of these characters were loose cannons and that all of these characters were bound to meet up. I wondered if any of them were going to survive. Though the suspense--or dread--was high, the introspection slowed the pacing some compared to most suspense novels.

The characters had depth and were complex and realistic, but they were also very depressed and had messed up lives. This wasn't a "happy" novel to read. The world-building was very good, weaving in details of the setting as well as prison life and abusive homes.

There were seven or eight point-of-view characters, so it took a few rotations to remember who everyone was. The author wrote the first paragraph of each viewpoint change using pronouns instead of the character's name so you didn't know who it was. That was annoying and confusing.

One character did believe in Christ and reluctantly tried to tell the others about Him despite being ignored. The other characters didn't believe in God, didn't believe God wanted anything to do with them, or questioned His existence since He hadn't saved them from their horrible lives (mostly caused by their own bad decisions). The main theme was how God can forgive even the worst sins and work in the bad of our lives to bring about good. In some, faith was restored. In others, it wasn't. One hit rock bottom and found his hope in Christ.

There was no sex. There was a fair amount of "he cursed" style bad language and a very minor amount of explicit bad language. Overall, if this is the type of book you're in the mood for, I'd recommend it as suspenseful, clean reading.

[Stefan Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not every day that a writer attempts to throw seven different story lines into a single novel, but Travis Thrasher does just that. Each one of them is equally broken and has a past that person is trying to escape from.

The title represents the physical location where all of these characters will converge on and thus where the tale is concluded.

Any reader who attempts to start this book should pay careful attention, as it requires some keeping up on the reader's behalf to remeber all the names and backstories.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, although it was really hard to get into at the beginning (hence the three star rating). The author switches back and forth between many characters, and it was hard to keep them all straight at first. This is a very different type of Christian novel; edgy in a way, and suspense filled. I'd like to read something else by this author!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice easy read. Nothing serious to think about. They had a lot of differente characters coming from all different directions. At first it was difficult to keep track if I had read about this person before. They all came together and it was a fun read.

[Sarah Pacetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun. It's a thriller written from multiple points of view, and I couldn't put it down.

[Moriah Leech · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got over half way through and still wasn't into it enough to want to finish it. Not badly written, just personally not my type of story. Still a big Thrasher fan! :D

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, I would have liked a different ending but it was still good. I found the changing point of view hard to follow, but eventually got used to it.

[Elizabeth Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really good...until I made it to the end. I felt as though it was very anticlimactic.

[Sherrie Fee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good. Lot of characters to keep track of but they all come together in the end.