Pitfall

by Clair M. Poulson

Fifteen-year-old Sparky Graves has been plagued by adversity all his life. Orphaned as a baby, he has been raised in a home where his adoptive brother Kal can do no wrong and Sparky is blamed for every misdeed. The reality, however, is that Kal is a cruel and manipulative bully whose escalating torment leaves Sparky with no he has to run away. After hitchhiking cross-country, Sparky finds a safe haven in the unlikeliest of places. On a dusty roadside in Southern Utah, the young man is taken in by Alfred Briggs, an elderly widower in desperate need of a farmhand. The two soon form an unbreakable bond, and for the first time, Sparky feels hope—until his past catches up with him. There has been a murder in his hometown, and thanks to his brother, Sparky has been named the prime suspect. With his photograph all over the news and a manhunt underway, Sparky must rely on the help of his new friend and a young lady who has also come to help Alfred as he fights to prove his innocence and free himself from the grasp of his malevolent brother once and for all.

Genres: Fiction, Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Lds Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2020

About the author

Clair M. Poulson was born and raised in Duchesne, Utah. His father was a rancher and farmer, his mother a librarian. Clair has always been an avid reader, having found his love for books as a very young boy.

He has served for forty years in the criminal justice system. Twenty years were spent in law enforcement, ending his police career with eight years as the Duchesne County Sheriff. For the past twenty years Clair has worked as a justice court judge for Duchesne County. Clair is also a veteran of the US Army where he was a military policeman. He has served on various boards and councils during his professional career, including the Justice Court Board of Judges, Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, Utah Judicial Council, Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, an FBI advisory board and others.

In addition to his criminal justice work, Clair has farmed and ranched all of his life. He has raised many kinds of animals, but his greatest interest is horses.

Clair has served in many capacities in the LDS church, including fulltime missionary (California Mission) bishop, counselor to bishop, young men president, high councilor, stake mission president, scoutmaster, High Priest group leader, etc. He currently serves as a Sunday School teacher.

Clair is married to Ruth, and together, they have five children, all of whom are married: Alan (Vicena) Poulson, Kelly Ann (Wade) Hatch, Amanda (Ben) Semadeni, Wade (Brooke) Poulson, and Mary (Tyler) Hicken. Between them they have twenty-three children. Clair and Ruth met while both were students at Snow College and were married in the Manti temple.

Clair has always loved telling his children, and later his grandchildren, make-up stories. His vast experience in life and his love of literature has always contributed to both his telling stories to children and his writing of adventure and suspense novels.

Reviews

[Niki Symkoviak · Rating 2 out of 5]

yes this was indeed the book that put me in the worst book slump ever

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great suspense/thriller from Clair Poulson. I was so absorbed in the story I finished it in less than two days. Orphaned at a very young age, you'd think Sparky Graves would be considered one of the lucky ones considering he was placed with a foster family that then went on to adopt him. But it wasn't a wonderful life for Sparky, because the Graves' older son, Kal, never accepted Sparky and proceeded to make his life miserable. Sparky was blamed and punished for things he hadn't done, because his adoptive parents never believed him when he tried to explain that it was Kal who'd done them. After standing up to Kal and Kal threatening to kill him, Sparky leaves home and stows away on a big rig headed west. This is not the end of Kal blaming Sparky for everything.

I really enjoyed this fast paced suspense. The reader already knows who the bad guy is, it's a matter of everyone else figuring it out and waiting to see how the villain gets what's coming to him. There are a lot of characters in this story, but I as they're introduced as the story progresses, I really didn't have a problem keeping up with them.

Sparky is a very likeable character. I was amazed at how easy going he was considering the bullying he'd had to endure from his older brother for so many years. He often thought of others, such as his younger siblings, and Alfred Briggs (the man who takes him in) and tried his best to be helpful. Speaking of Alfred, what a great character he was. Who knows what would've happened to Sparky if Alfred wouldn't have taken him in, and most importantly, believed him when he's accused of a murder back home.

I was completely surprised when one of the characters dies, as I was hoping things would work out with them and another character. I did appreciate the epilogue to see how things turned out for Sparky and Alfred. There's not much else I can say without giving anything away. If you enjoy clean suspense/thrillers then you'll enjoy this captivating story. This author continues to be one of my favorites when I want to read something other than a romance.

I received a complimentary copy, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is intense! Right from the beginning, a tale is told about two brothers, one is a good boy who gets blamed for things he didn't do. The other is a manipulative evil boy. The magnitude of hate grows as the book progresses.

I loved two of the private investigators. They really propelled the story even though it was about the relationship between Sparky and Kal. They were both honest and fair and were not only investigating for a paycheck.

If you enjoy suspense, you may want to give this one a try.

This book contains religious elements. It also contains non-graphic violence.

Source: I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

[Ann Topham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Left an orphan at a very young age, Sparky is adopted by the Graves family. His older adoptive brother is a bully and learns to be extremely manipulative and lies to make Sparky look like the bully. His father always sides with his natural son and comes to believe that Sparky is a rotten kid.
As the bullying and lies get worse, at age almost 16, Sparky decides the best plan is to run away. He packs a duffle bag with food and a few clothes and hides it in the park. After school he goes to the park, gets his stuff, and heads out. At a truck stop, he finds a truck hauling large pipes and stows away in the pipes. He slips out of the pipes at rest stops and truck stops, and watches for the driver to return to the truck, returning to his hideaway. As time passes, he approaches the driver, to ask where he is going. He is headed west, from Kansas to Nevada.
Along 1-70, he has decided that southern Nevada will be too hot for him, and leaves the safety of his hideaway in Salina, Utah. He is picked up along the road by an elderly farmer, who is kind and cordial. He hires Sparky to work for him on his farm. As he and Albert are watching the news one night, his picture flashes on the TV as a wanted murderer. His adoptive mother has been killed and he has been blamed. He instantly knows that his brother is the culprit and is blaming him for the murder.
The story goes on with him trying to prove his innocence and how to make sure that his father and the authorities know about his brother and his innocence.

[LaRee Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two Brothers in Opposition

Sparky is orphaned at age 2. The family who fostered him eventually adopted him. He had an older brother, Kal, who bullied Sparky his whole life, but the story always was manipulated to make Sparky the bad guy. Dad always took Kal's side so believed Sparky was the bad child. Sparky ran away when Kal threaten to kill him. Kal continued to torture the younger children so they ran away. The events and twists make this story a hard-to-put down, fast-paced mystery to love.

[Emily Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY! This is a story. The twists and turns and pure psychopathy kept me engaged and on edge which is what I am looking for in a good suspense. I found myself with the same level of tension I would have had watching a horror or true crime movie or show. I just knew that something was going to happen that I didn't want to happen.

This was well written, exciting, with engaging characters. Every time things changed and something twisted, the story got better, and I wasn't sure that was possible. It had me from the beginning and didn't really let go. There were times when there wasn't an immediate danger, but the danger was always in the back of my mind.

Very well written, very exciting, definitely worth a second read.

[Kristin Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently started reading books by Clair Poulson and I have to say this is another great suspense novel! I love how he writes the story from many different character's perspective, it gives insight into the many different aspects of their lives and the story. I found this book easy to read and not very predictable.

He definitely isn't afraid to kill his characters and it makes me sad and happy at the same time because you never know who you are going to lose.

This story is about a young boy Sparky Graves, his story doesn't start out the way a young boy's life should start out, losing his parents in a terrible car accident and eventually adopted by the Graves family.

After several years he can't stand the hostility and vindictiveness his older  brother displays towards him. He thinks if he were to leave then life would get better for not only himself but for his younger siblings. It's not until after he leaves though, things really fall apart and we discover who really experiences their pitfall.

There are many characters you love in this story and characters you love to hate.  To me this book also had a few loose ends or maybe even openings into another novel. I also wonder if there are other books he's written with two of the detectives in this book. It also has references to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, that I don't think detract from the story but adds to the character development.

I was given access to a copy of this novel through the publisher all opinions are my own.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read from one of my favorite authors.

[Karen Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good clean, suspense novel.

The story travels back and forth across the mountains from Kansas to Utah. The jealousy of one brother toward another causes loss after loss for his family, but Sparky, the younger brother, shows courage and resilience in dealing with the frightening and dangerous situation. He runs away and finds love and acceptance in the company of an old farmer and some of his neighbors. Detectives from both states work tirelessly to solve the mystery, which first places the blame on Sparky and then exonerates him. A few loose ends that could be a lead-in to another book.

*Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Tonya Woodbury]

This was the first “Mormon” fiction book that I’ve read in a long time, and it was a bit weird to read characters talking about ministering and young women’s activities in the context of a murder mystery. The author was a career detective, who has since written several dozen mystery novels. The thing that I found most unbelievable though was the motivations and intelligence of the bad guy. In the book, sixteen year-old Sparky Graves is the adopted second brother in a family of four. His older brother is literally a psychopath, who always manages to blame his wrong-doing on Sparky. Fed up with the abuse, Sparky runs away. His older brother, Kal, kills their mother when she begins to suspect that Sparky wasn’t responsible for everything his older brother had blamed on him. That’s right. Sparky kills his mother. This seemed really dark considering the audience and general tone of the book otherwise. The book tells the story of Sparky’s escape and how he eventually finds a safe haven at a ranch in southern Utah. I was surprised to find though that after this, the story was mostly told from the perspective of two detectives who are trying to piece together what really happened to the boys mother and find Sparky. It’s billed as a “suspense” novel, but it wasn’t the suspense that kept me reading, but the disbelief at the stupidity of the murderous older brother. His absolute hatred of the protagonist was mystifying, and the author’s only explanation is “he’s a psychopath.” Maybe there are criminals like that in the world, but it wasn’t very believable to me.

[Shilo Goodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. The plot was interesting, and it was definitely exciting. While there aren't a lot of surprises, you still get nervous for the characters. While I was pretty sure I knew how this book was going to end, I wasn't sure what was going to happen along the way.

My biggest issue with this book was that I felt like there were a lot of plotholes. If you don't want even mild spoilers, skip ahead to the next paragraph. Toward the beginning of the book, Sparky and his birth parents are involved in a fatal car crash. Both of his parents die. The crash is under mysterious circumstances. I felt like the author hinted that there was a huge story behind the crash. I thought we'd find out more about it, such as that his parents were in the Witness Protection Program or that they were FBI agents. The author hints at this huge secret or conspiracy involving their deaths. Let's just say that the whole story gave off "Harry Potter" vibes. Yet, when the book ends, we still don't know why his parents were in Kansas or why they crashed. There were a few other places where I felt like they hinted that the reader was going to learn about something, but then the book ended without a clear explanation.

This is a clean book. There's no swearing or sexual content. The violence is mostly behind the scenes, although there is some mild violent description. While it's not graphic or overly descriptive, just knowing what's happened to the characters might get some readers a bit squeamish. There are people killed and seriously injured in this book. There is also a golden child sort of scenario, where the one brother can do no wrong.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book with a lot of suspense. It is about a 15 year old adopted boy from Kanasa who runs away from home and stows away in a pipe truck and gets out in Utah. An old farmer/rancher picks him up and he begins to work for this widowed man. Although Sparky originally lied to the farmer, while watching a news report on himself, he comes clean. His brother, Kal, kills their mom by pushing her off of the deck of their home and he blames Sparky. There younger brother and sister run away from home becasue Kal is threatening them (they saw him push their mom). Kal also blames Sparky for taking their siblings. A private detective is hired in Utah to help prove Sparky's innocense and she drives to Kansas looking for eye witnesses that Sparky was not in Kansas at the time of his mom's death. At the same time another private detective is hired in Kansas and heads to Utah to try and find Sparky. Kal follows the PI from Kansas and kills several people on his way to Utah. When he arrives at the ranch, he accidentally steps into the boars pen which is the death of him. Such a fitting ending for the evil brother.

[Richelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Language - None
Violence - Non-graphic mild/moderate
Recommendation - High

Clair Poulson is one of those authors that I will read simply because it is his work. I've lost count of the number of books by him that I have read, and I have enjoyed each one.

This was an intense story of a boy who is orphaned and adopted at a young age, then spends his childhood with a psychopath for an older brother who bullies him and his younger siblings. Left with what he saw as his only hope of survival, Sparky runs away from the only home he's ever known. However, that begins a chain of events that puts not only his, but other's lives in danger as well.

This book was well written, the suspense builds well. There are characters that you love, and others that you hate. It is written from several character's perspectives, which only enriches the story. I won't give spoilers, but I wanted to reach through and shake some sense into a couple of the characters.

There are some religious elements intertwined, as with all of Clair Poulson's books.

I've always enjoyed Clair Poulson's books. They are good, they are clean, and they always keep you guessing a little.

***I received an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.****

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best stories from Clair Poulson - some real heart rending issues to listen to and know that things like that are happening today - an adopted boy with a sweet heart and desire to have all well and safe for his family that is not believed over the "natural born" older child and blamed for everything, a child that is and does evil to the other children in the family and yet has his parents fooled as to his real personality, a father who will not listen to reason from anyone, including his wife regarding reality - there were some twists and turns that you didn't expect and some issues regarding those sworn to help and protect that weren't doing their job...really good story that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering how it would end. But the ending was great - a love story and someone who finds the Church and ends up with a life that he didn't imagine he could have.

[Charity Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clair M. Poulson’s latest novel Pitfall is one that I see myself picking up again. I was hooked from the very beginning to the very end. Listening to the audio made it even better. Jason Tatum is an excellent reader and he helped bring the story more alive for me.

As a hopeless romantic I love books that have some element of romance in the story line, but with the main characters being teenagers you don’t get a whole lot of that, but I still really enjoyed the story even with a little hint of a romance.

I highly recommend this book to all mystery/suspense readers. I promise you won’t regret it.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pitfall was such an edge of your seat suspense novel and probably one of my favorites by Clair Poulson. I loved how different this novel was having it be juveniles that made up the main characters and the different family dynamics! I honestly did not expect some of the twists and turns this story took and genuinely could not wait to finish it as I anxiously waited to know how everything would be revealed.
The book content is clean with a dash of potential romance. There are multiple murders that take place and some intense moments, but nothing gory or graphic.
I definitely will recommend this book to fans of suspense.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So much going on, jumping back & forth in the story & always on the edge of your seat!
My heart felt so bad for Sparky, even when his brother expressed his hated for him & he stuck by his side at the end of his life.
Alfred has that wonderful grandpa character about him as well. He was probably my favorite in this book.
When the Lys detective was headed for her wreck, I caught myself reading faster & faster!
The poor little kids, going through so much manipulation! Ugh so sad!
All in all, I really loved this book! Also I LOVED the ending after 6 years!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ What a page turner! I was hooked on this book pretty much from start to finish. The suspense is consistent throughout the whole story, and I was constantly wondering what was about to happen next. I really felt empathy for the main character, and wanted his situation to resolve.

My only critique is that I wished the real accuser/murderer got more justice served in the end - however his end was unexpected and therefor satisfying enough.

The surrogate grandfather-grandson relationship that developed between Alfred and Sparky was so wholesome and warmed my heart. Definitely a great component of the story.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much of this book is a cliche - the bad person is 100% bad, the good person is 100% good. The writing is predictable. Many of the events could not really happen (SPOILER ALERT - how could 2 children, both the size of 10 yr olds, hide in the back seat of a car and not be noticed? And-- an old man is totally comfortable with taking in a teenager he has never met, and they are always happy with each other? A teen who has never worked on a farm understands it all in a few days?) And the weird dorky names bug me.

[Bonnie Chisholm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This won't be the popular review. Yes there was suspense, but the outcome was pretty predictable. I wasn't very far into this book and I started to think.. was this written for a young teenager or something? This writer seems to think every little thought and feeling needs to be described over and over again. This book was clean with religious undertones which is fine. But almost everyone was either cookie-cutter good or cookie-cutter bad. It was truly unbelievable. It was a good story, but everything was over the top. It could have been written so much better, in my opinion.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was intense. There were so many characters and more kept coming into play but the author did a good job developing the characters and relationships. This was a hard one to put down so be prepared going into it. Good suspense. There were some parts that the foreshadowing was a little too obvious but it was still an exciting read.

[Becky H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sparky has runaway from home and finds a safe haven on a farm in Utah. Sparky feels safe there until there's a murder in his hometown and all fingers are pointing at him as the prime suspect. Sparky must rely on the help of his new friends to prove his innocence before he is found and becomes the next victim.

[Madison Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. There was no extra “fluff” added in which was nice but some parts felt rushed and lacking detail. Overall I thought this book was good and kept me interested until the very end.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the usual Clair Poulson book, but very good. A story about a 15 year old adopted into a family with a very mean brother. Survival in a tense family situation, and eventual freedom from a rocky situation.

[Talia Bushnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the suspense in this novel. It had a great plot but I felt like the ending was a little anticlimactic. Also, it was way longer than it needed to be, lots of repeat and unnecessary sentences. But other than that I really enjoyed it!

RN

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about jealousy, anger, bitterness and friendship.

[Jolene Elison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a pretty good but predictable mystery where everything is wrapped up in the end. No surprises

[Channing · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly corny and rather dark and violent for a church book.

[Jacquelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great plot. Moved at a good pace! Wonderful personable characters! Alfred and sparky completed each other at the right time.