Purgatory Road

Starred review from November 28, 2016
In the prologue of Parker’s exceptional first novel, a runaway named Molly, who claims to be 18, heads for trouble near Las Vegas, Nev. Meanwhile, Chicagoans Jack and Laura, a married couple, are enjoying a cheap vacation in Vegas. After a few days, they decide to take a break from the strip and explore the barren countryside outside the city, where their car stops running, despite still having gas, and both of their phones die. Stranded in the desert with a small and rapidly diminishing supply of food and water, the pair are near death before an eccentric recluse, who calls himself Boots, rescues them. Boots’s intervention doesn’t end their peril, and they’re unsettled to learn that he seems to have supernatural abilities. Jack and Laura’s story eventually intersects with Molly’s with violent results, but Parker, unlike lesser suspense writers, succeeds in making the reader feel the tragedy of the victims’ deaths. The strong execution of an original idea makes the prospect of his next book welcome.

Starred review from February 1, 2017

Married couple Jack and Laura decide to see the desert sights outside of Las Vegas, but soon find themselves in their own version of hell when their rental car breaks down. With no cellular service and little water, they are on the brink of death when they are rescued by a desert hermit named Boots. Meanwhile, in Vegas, Colton sets his sights on Molly, clearly a runaway, and abducts her, playing a nasty game of cat and mouse when he chains her up in a cave. Boots and Colton are no strangers to each other, and this turn of events casts an epic battle of good vs. evil. The suspense of this briskly paced, emotionally charged plot becomes almost unbearable as events unfold. VERDICT Written in short, page-turning chapters, Parker's dark debut thriller will grip suspense aficionados from the first page. Fans of Irene Hannon and Dee Henderson who are looking for something a bit grittier will find plenty of it here.

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