The Real Michael Swann

April 2, 2018
In this addictively readable thriller from bestseller Reardon (Finding Jake), Julia Swann—who lives with her husband, Michael, and two young children in a Philadelphia suburb—is talking on the phone to Michael, who’s waiting for a train at New York City’s Penn Station, when the line suddenly goes dead. She soon learns that a bomb has killed hundreds at the station. She has reason to believe Michael is alive if unaccounted for, and vows to find him. At the same time, she must come to grips with the reality that behind the seemingly idyllic façade of their marriage lurk some dark secrets. Reardon keeps the suspense high with alternating points of view and nonstop action as Julia, an intimately portrayed and identifiable main character, seeks her missing husband. The premise may not be that original and many will anticipate the resolution, but readers shouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves staying up to finish this in one sitting. Agent: Stephanie Rostan, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

April 1, 2018
A novel about the consequences of a terrorist attack in New York City.Reardon comes up with an intriguing and original premise here. Michael Swann is at Penn Station and is talking to Julia, his wife, on the phone when a massive explosion goes off, severing the call in midsentence. News reports soon begin to filter out of the confusion and chaos--that the terrorist who set off the bomb is not a foreigner but rather an American with a grudge against corporations. (Although many hundreds died in the attack, seven executives of a large chemical company seem to have been targeted specifically.) Julia is at home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and understandably in a state of panic verging on hysteria. She gets in her car and tries to get into the city, but the Lincoln Tunnel is closed because of mayhem in the streets. And then, in an updated news report, Julia learns the name of the alleged terrorist: Michael Swann. Reardon splits his narrative between a third-person narrative that focuses on how Julia, her family, and her friends deal with the inconceivable events and a first-person account that purports to give us Michael's dazed thoughts as he staggers around with a concussion and amnesia--he seems to have forgotten who Julia is--brought about by the blast. Slowly, she's able to make contact with him and, convinced of his innocence, tries to make surreptitious arrangements to meet up with him, a task that involves evading agents from Homeland Security who are seeking to find the suspect quickly before he can create more destruction. A cat-and-mouse game ensues as Julia tries to find Michael before government agents can get to him.Many twists and turns that keep readers guessing till the end.

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Starred review from May 1, 2018

On a Friday in August, a brushfire is deliberately set along New Jersey railroad tracks, causing Amtrak to stop service in the Northeast Corridor, resulting in a huge backup of passengers at New York's Penn Station. Then a bomb explodes in the station and is responsible for thousands of casualties. Julia Swann fears that her husband, Michael, who was waiting for a train to their suburban Pennsylvania home, is among them. She leaves her two sons with a friend to search for Michael at the same time that a man with a head injury and memory loss who's carrying Michael's briefcase is stumbling to get to her. Intermittent flashbacks detail the couple's meeting and the highs and lows of their marriage. VERDICT Reardon (Finding Jake) delivers another page-turner with frighteningly plausible scenarios, an occasionally wrenching narrative, and a final message that is particularly relevant for our times. A solid bet for best seller lists. [See Prepub Alert, 12/11/17.]--Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2018

Michael Swann disappears when a bomb wrecks New York's Penn Station, and after frantically posting fliers, wife Julia learns that he's been spotted. So why isn't he answering her calls? After the New York Times best-selling Finding Jake.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.