Solar Eclipse

by John Farris

Bruised and bleeding stuntwoman Shay Waco and her eleven-year-old daughter have just survived a car crash and a sixty-foot drop through a nest of conifers. They enter a lone house for help and instead find a family sitting around a dinner table--with bullets in their heads.

Sheriff Tobin Bonner, an ex-DEA agent with past he'd like to forget, investigated. His son has a bullet lodged in his brain, a gift from drug dealers when he was two. Tobin delves into the case, only to receive photos of his boy, alone and vulnerable on his daily outings.

Tobin and Shay must now rely on each other to solve the murder in sunny Arizona, and if they slip up, it will be their children who pay the price.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Horror

471 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.

Reviews

[Ben Boulden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant thriller with a cast of oddball characters, a fine Southern Utah setting, and a perfectly designed (and very complicated) plot.

[Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not finished the book yet but so far it is a great read. It really puts the reader into the scenes of the book and at some parts is very intense. Its very interesting to see how the story and characters play out. the author did a great job of showing emotion in the characters. You can really visualize the scenes that he has put into the book. John Farris put his heart and soul into this one and it turned out to be amazing. The book makes you feel sympathy for the characters and hope they turn out to be fine. For anyone who enjoys a suspenseful book this would definitely be perfect for them. This is one of the few books that i have enjoyed reading and spending the time to read it and put this into my collection. Overall I would recommend this to anyone that is deciding on reading this because it's definitely worth your time.

[Kathleen Hubbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good. First book with this author.

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 2001. A sharp thriller with a cast of oddball characters.

[Kelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything except the kitchen sink. This story went every which way. It pulled in the most unlikely threads. I would say that the women were the most likeable. Ros and Shay.

[Betty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A stunt woman with an year old daughter is going to see her estranged father. She gets run off of a back country road. She and the daughter escaped and find a house in which a family has been killed sitting at their dinner table. Land deals, a cult, owners of wild animals that are used in movies and more are involved.

[Barbara Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never heard of this author, but I really enjoyed this mystery. Shay Waco is a stunt woman who escapes a death attempt and is helped by local sheriff (ex-DEA) -- fun, I'm going to try some more of his books

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery/thriller - had intrigue, romance, bizarreness. Not bad for a summer read.

[Dougw · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of whacky folks living in that neighborhood....

[Amoxy Mox · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got 30 pages into the book and I to stop. The book was so poorly written, I was surprised to see it was a NY Times Best Seller. Avoid this book