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Decisions
Donovan Grant lost his mind, his wife, and his career. Now he may be losing even more. Lately, and with distressing regularity, he's been finding himself standing over dead people while holding the murder weapon. Even worse, he's his own prime suspect. And that new woman in his life? She may be next on his list . . . that's if he's not on hers.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2010
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
R. Doug Wicker
3 books3 followersR. Doug Wicker is a retired Air Traffic Controller of 34 years with both the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Aviation Administration. He is the author of the nonfiction title
The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
, the psychological murder mystery
Decisions
, and the mystery thriller
The Globe
.
Mr. Wicker maintains a blog at R. Doug Wicker — Author . His thrice-weekly blog deals with a diverse range of subjects including travel, photography, firearms, aviation safety, and reviews of books, movies, and television.
Mr. Wicker maintains a blog at R. Doug Wicker — Author . His thrice-weekly blog deals with a diverse range of subjects including travel, photography, firearms, aviation safety, and reviews of books, movies, and television.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 7, 2011
DECISIONS by R. Doug Wicker may have a rather bland title, but the story inside has personality, a unique set-up, and plenty of solid storytelling. A cross between a whodunit and romantic suspense, DECISIONS tells the story of Donovan Grant, a fellow who, after a personal tragedy, finds himself so emotionally handicapped he is incapable of making any decisions at all, or at least those that don't involve preserving his own life.
Relocated to a tropical island and given gainful employment, Grant finds himself thrust suddenly into troubling circumstances: people visiting the Fijian paradise where he works keep turning up dead, and Grant keeps finding himself waking up near dead bodies, often holding the weapon that caused the death of the victim.
With Grant in charge of island security and a tropical storm holding the police at bay, and with himself as his own prime suspect, he must determine who the murderer is ... even if it's himself ... before more people wind up dead.
The author, whose only previous published work was a nonfiction book focused on the bombing of Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, makes a smooth transition into the world of fiction with his debut novel. While some of his situations stretch credibility a bit, such stretches are not beyond the bounds of what is normal for the murder mystery genre, generally speaking.
There is some rough language in the novel, especially in the early going, but nothing extraneous or over-the-top; just enough to project a sense of the characters involved without descending into profanity overkill.
DECISIONS is not for younger readers; it's definitely rated PG-13 at the minimum, but that also is part and parcel of the genre this novel inhabits. The most important aspect of DECISIONS is that it entertains. It features smart characters who at times manage to stay a step ahead of what most readers might intuit, which is a measure more effective than many such genre novels tend to pull off these days.
While not exactly a master prose stylist, Wicker writes in an accessible manner that allows for a quick, fun read. And that covers over a multitude of sins.
Relocated to a tropical island and given gainful employment, Grant finds himself thrust suddenly into troubling circumstances: people visiting the Fijian paradise where he works keep turning up dead, and Grant keeps finding himself waking up near dead bodies, often holding the weapon that caused the death of the victim.
With Grant in charge of island security and a tropical storm holding the police at bay, and with himself as his own prime suspect, he must determine who the murderer is ... even if it's himself ... before more people wind up dead.
The author, whose only previous published work was a nonfiction book focused on the bombing of Pan-Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, makes a smooth transition into the world of fiction with his debut novel. While some of his situations stretch credibility a bit, such stretches are not beyond the bounds of what is normal for the murder mystery genre, generally speaking.
There is some rough language in the novel, especially in the early going, but nothing extraneous or over-the-top; just enough to project a sense of the characters involved without descending into profanity overkill.
DECISIONS is not for younger readers; it's definitely rated PG-13 at the minimum, but that also is part and parcel of the genre this novel inhabits. The most important aspect of DECISIONS is that it entertains. It features smart characters who at times manage to stay a step ahead of what most readers might intuit, which is a measure more effective than many such genre novels tend to pull off these days.
While not exactly a master prose stylist, Wicker writes in an accessible manner that allows for a quick, fun read. And that covers over a multitude of sins.
September 26, 2010
I loved the premise and plot of this book, it was well thought out and planned. While it required a pretty big suspension of belief, I really enjoyed the main character, his back story and predicament. When the writing was good, it was really very good. The author clearly has a talent for dialogue and snappy writing. There were several times I found myself giggling to myself. The dialogue, while really wonderful, may have also been the author's downfall. There's just so much of it that I feel like we didn't get to the meat of the characters and who they truly were. Even for a quick slapstick mystery, it was a little thin on character development.
I was also impressed with the lack of spelling and grammatical errors. Self-published books seem to be rife with them as a whole. However, I think the book could have done with a bit of a content editor. There was a large chunk in the middle that could have easily been cut back or completely done away with. Worse, I felt like the author kept drawing big red arrows to a certain item (don't wanna give spoilers) that was obviously planted for a reason. I was kind of disappointed in that part.
None of this distracts from the fact that it's a well executed book, overall. Other than those few little personal niggles, I thought it was a fun ride and most of it kept me guessing until the very end. I totally missed a lot of it, actually, so good for the author - I've become pretty adept at figuring out the who/what/when/where/why/how these days.
This is recommended for those that like quirky mystery suspense books with an island flair. Would make for a great vacation book - or, frankly, a good escape from all the "extended family fun" with the upcoming holidays.
I was also impressed with the lack of spelling and grammatical errors. Self-published books seem to be rife with them as a whole. However, I think the book could have done with a bit of a content editor. There was a large chunk in the middle that could have easily been cut back or completely done away with. Worse, I felt like the author kept drawing big red arrows to a certain item (don't wanna give spoilers) that was obviously planted for a reason. I was kind of disappointed in that part.
None of this distracts from the fact that it's a well executed book, overall. Other than those few little personal niggles, I thought it was a fun ride and most of it kept me guessing until the very end. I totally missed a lot of it, actually, so good for the author - I've become pretty adept at figuring out the who/what/when/where/why/how these days.
This is recommended for those that like quirky mystery suspense books with an island flair. Would make for a great vacation book - or, frankly, a good escape from all the "extended family fun" with the upcoming holidays.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews