Head on

As a fan of Ms. Thompson's previous work including Fade the Heat, Heat Lightning, and The Deadliest Denial, I believe she really hits her stride in Head On. With all the thrills and fearful stalkings, with chilling peeks inside a criminally insane mind, Head On is also a poignant, layered story about forgiveness and redemption. With richly drawn characters, each with their own cross to bear, and a setting on the lonely high prairies of Texas, Head On delivers.

Head On is a terrific story of suspense that evolves in the aftermath of a tragedy that has left many irrevocably scarred. But what sets it apart is the rich detailed layering that defines each of the characters, in particular how they have been shaped by the trauma they shared and even more by the place in which the horrible calamity occurred. In a story that is much more than murder, Colleen Thompson explores with a delicate hand the painful terrain of forgiveness, the often difficult ties that bind fathers and sons, and then, she moves boldly outside genre lines to touch, very realistically, on the dark thread of racial bias. In short, Head On is a story that will richly reward, illuminate, and satisfy readers on every level.

Beth Ann Decker's life changed with a terrible accident. She was in a car with three other fellow cheerleaders, and they were hit by another car. Her friends were killed, and she was left crippled and scarred. What was really scarred was her whole life. What followed was endless surgeries, endless days of physical therapy and the endless pity of the small Texas town that couldn't seem to let go of the terrible memory. Now years later, Beth Ann works as a hospice nurse, easing the final days of the terminally ill. But tragedy comes to call again, sending Beth Ann to deal with the grief of the present and the past. The driver of the original accident, Mark Jessup, also survived the crash. He's now a rich businessman and a single parent. Mark returns with his son, to the small town of Eudena to care for his failing father. It's not a joyful homecoming. Mark and his father never got along, and after that fateful night when three cheerleaders died, his father washed his hands of Mark. See Mark not only caused the death of three young women, one of them was his sister. Fate comes full circle when Beth Ann is sent to help ease the final days of Mark's father. Beth Ann had once held a crush for Mark, but all the memories¯good and bad¯crash in on her as Mark opens the door. Worse, she is sad that he sees before him a woman who is less than perfect. Only, Marks sees the woman beneath. In a small town were memories are long and grievances are never forgotten, the past arises once more to haunt Mark and Beth Ann. Someone has decided that the time for payment has fallen due for past sins. Thompson gives a realistic portrayals of people whose lives changed on a flip of the coin, of people struggling to build a future from the rubble of their past. She weaves the small town mentality, suspense and romance into a heady mix, which keeps the reader spellbound. Very highly recommended.

Head On has the sort of "ripped from the headlines" feel that one encounters when hearing tragic events played out on the local news. One always wonders, "What ever happened to the survivors? How did they learn to go on?" Head On answers that question in a gripping, suspensful, sexy and emotionally entrancing read. I couldn't put it down. There are so many elements in this mix: grief, tragedy, forgiveness, lust, revenge, gossip, even a peek at racism in a small town, and all of these elements are handled with the skill of a master. Ms. Thompson's ability to create an evocative setting and then people it with characters you won't want to let go of will be the reason readers will find themselves sitting up late at night, turning pages when they should be asleep. Head On is one great book. I'm looking forward to the next one, as Ms. Thompson just keeps getting better with every book.

Beth Ann Decker has worked hard to lose the title of Official Tragic Figure of her small Texas hometown since that long ago night when a terrible accident killed three other teen-aged cheerleaders and left her crippled and scarred. She survived the surgeries and physical therapy, and has proved herself of worth as a hospice nurse, helping the terminally ill and their families deal with death. Now the gruesome murder of a loved one has her using all her knowledge to deal with her own grief, and the entire population is back to calling her "Poor Beth Ann." The other driver in that fateful wreck, Mark Jessup, has grown up. He has built both a financially successful and philanthropic business and is raising his son alone, hopefully in a home with more love and support than he received as a boy. Now Mark has returned to Eudena to care for his dying father, the very man who disowned him sixteen years before when he proved himself worthy of the town's bad boy label of "Hell On Wheels" by causing the accident that killed three girls, including his own sister. Mark did his time for the crime, and has become a better man through the grief of his actions. While he feels he is foolish to hope for his father's forgiveness, he knows he must try, even if it means bringing his mixed race son into the bosom of the conservative Texas Bible Belt. While willing to handle any aspersions the town might throw at him, even the suspicion of a horrible murder, he will not tolerate the least bit of disrespect toward his child. When Beth Ann shows up with her cane at his door to administer care to his father, both must deal with their memories and their grief. And when the underlying attraction of their earlier years collides with the passion that ignites between them now, Beth Ann knows it is not pity that she sees in this man's eyes, but only the heat of desire. But what would someone do to avenge the past or to hide the dangerous secrets that would destroy them? A small town web of deceit and fear threatens to end not only the fragile bonds of Mark and Beth Ann's budding love, but their very lives, including the life of an innocent five-year-old boy. Colleen Thompson has created a spine-chilling story with realistic and frightening plot twists and two powerful characters, each finding their own truths in those of the past. Fast-paced yet sweetly sensitive, this story will have you glued to its pages. Enjoy!