Customer Reviews

Every Trace

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The plot may be predictable but the characters are not, which may, to a great degree, be what carries screenwriter Gregg Main's debut thriller Every Trace. A petty thief and convicted murderer seems a poor choice for an affecting protagonist, but in the deft hands of Mr. Main it works. Gruff, grizzly, enigmatic Franklin Walker intrigues and even elicits sympathy as beneath his crusty carapace one finds some drops of human kindness.

When Ellen Donelly has a pack-your-bag-and-leave fight with her husband, Pete, she says she needs some time and is going to visit her sister. Several days later, Pete discovers that Ellen has not gone to see her sister nor was her sister expecting her. Ellen has disappeared.

What Pete does not know is that Ellen has been haunted for years by her father's murder - a slaying she witnessed when she was only four-years-old. Two men had broken into her father's office. They shot him and then set fire to the building. One of the men, Franklin Walker, was captured and spent 30 years in prison for his crime. He never revealed the name of the second man, the one who fired the fatal bullets.

Determined to find the man who actually killed her father, Ellen, disguised and with a false I.D., has gone to California to find the 63-year-old Walker and force him to tell her the murderer's name. But stalker becomes captive when Walker wrestles a gun from Ellen and takes her prisoner.

Alan Barton, Walker's accomplice in crime, orders the parolee to kill Ellen but Walker cannot bring himself to do it. A devotee of self-help books, he searches vainly for a positive solution, knowing that Barton will surely kill him if he does not obey.

A showdown with Barton seems the only solution, so he and Ellen head for Barton's cabin in the remote mountains of New Mexico.

Meanwhile, Pete has done some investigating of his own and discovered that Ellen has long planned to exact revenge. With the help of a computer whiz friend who is able to retrieve information from Ellen's computer and a curmudgeonly L.A. detective, Pete traces Ellen and he, too, heads for New Mexico.

With a succession of wrong turns and near misses the author skillfully zings his narrative along to a bloody, bullet-riddled, flaming crescendo.

While readers may well guess on page 3 who has masterminded these nefarious doings. The key is we didn't know Franklin Walker, and he's well worth the read.

Oh my gosh! This book was sooo good!!! Everyone told me not to start reading this book on a work night(we are all thriller addicts), but no, I wouldn't listen. It was two a.m. and I kept looking at the clock, thinking I have got to get some sleep, but I couldn't put Every Trace down. This is a great book with one of the best bad guys since Hannibal... Take this book with you on vacation; do not start it on Sunday night.

Exhausted, Terrified, and Wrung Out in Texas

Every Trace cost me several hours of sleep. I kept thinking, "I'll just read one more chapter," but then I would find myself hooked and read well past the place I had decided to stop. Written sparely, this is a fast-paced thriller that doesn't dwell on gore.

In Dallas, the affair is over, but the lingering damage may cost history professor Pete Donelly his marriage. His spouse Ellen informs him that she needs a few days away from him. She goes to the home of her sister, Susan. However, when Pete calls Susan's number, he learns she never arrived nor was she expected. Pete begins to search for his missing spouse.

Over three decades ago, Ellen witnessed two assailants murder her father. The police arrested and the court convicted Franklin Walker only. Franklin has just been released from prison. Ellen, abetted by her mother, seeks vengeance and has gone to Los Angeles to destroy her life long nightmare-Franklin. Unbeknownst to the triangle of players is the individual in the center who actually killed Ellen's father. He realizes that he is suddenly being pursued and refuses to be the prey. Instead the predator arranges for a final confrontation in Santa Fe where he plans to be the only one to walk away.

Though a strictly by the book tale, EVERY TRACE is an excellent debut thriller that should garner new author Gregg Main a mainstream audience. The story line is filled with action and relentlessly increasing tension. The characters are intriguing, especially Franklin, the nightmare killer. The climax has several twists that add to the plot. Mr. Main demonstrates he has the ability to be one of the top writers of relationship thrillers.

Harriet Klausner

I was really on the edge of my seat with this book. It was such a great story with amazing characters. The antagonist, Walker, is truly superb. Original, funny (without trying to be), confused yet brutal. Really the most fascinating character I've read in a novel in years. I also liked that the protagonist is a regular woman on a mission. She's not a detective or superhero but a college professor's wife who, however misguided, decides to avenge the death of her father that occurred when she was a small child. I look forward to reading Gregg Main's next book.

Main does a very good job as a first time novelist Although the true villain becomes apparent about half way through this book, there are some very interesting twists, and I must say the turnabout of the apparent villain is a refreshing change from the usual book of the genre. Unfortunately, in Main's world there are some very unrealistic situations that defy common sense. Imagine a private eye calling up a bunch of rental car companies and having them read off over the phone, a the list of their renters during the recent past.Are you serious? Also, if you will, imagine a airline flight attendent pulling out a list, on request of someone she has never seen before, and reading off the list of passengers on a recent flight and identifying them as single women or not. Also (and this requires some basic knowledge of bank rules) opening a safe deposit box of a recent decedent, without a state tax examiner present, and finding a pile of cash inside(the first thing that happens when someone dies is their safe deposit box is sealed until a tax examiner is present). Okay, okay, this is picky, but the first two examples above are common sense. Anyway, Main writes an interesting book, a real page turner, as they say, and I look forward to his next one. With a little experience and the elimination of some plot flaws, he should be a writer to watch--and read!!

Gregg Main has made an impressive debut with his first novel, "Every Trace."

Ellen Donnelly leaves her husband, Pete, perhaps, after a marital dispute. She calls and tells him she's at her sister's house. When Pete returned the call, in order to apologize, he learns that Ellen had not gone to her sister's home.

We learn that Ellen is looking for Franklin Walker, who had been paroled after serving thirty years in prison for the murder of Ellen's father.

In this plot driven novel, we learn of Ellen's plan and Pete's actions to locate his wife.

Things go wrong for Ellen and the story takes a dramatic turn as her life becomes endangered. During this time, Pete learns some of the details surrounding her father's murder.

There is good drama as we try to learn who was the man who pulled the trigger and what was the true reason for the murder.

The action moves swiftly and visually. It has the making of a good movie and the suspense kept my attention throughout.

Ellen's motivation for revenge is better understood when the reader learns that she witnessed the crime when she was five-years-old. The development of Franklin Walker as the parolee, is creative and very well done as we see his compassion and desire to do what is right.

This first try by Gregg Main was thrilling from beginning to end; I couldn't put it down A well-written thriller that puts all the puzzle pieces together for a stunning finale! In the midst of reading it, I was already wishing this wasn't his only book. Bravo, Mr. Main, when can we expect more?!

This is murder and mayhem at its best. A plain and simple narrative is so clean it made me feel like I'd climbed higher into some rare storytelling air. The plot is compelling, the characters engaging, the flow is flawless and the ending heartwarming. Wow. I recommend it highly to every suspense lover who enjoys escaping her own life by entering someone else's in a book.

I truly enjoyed this book. I agree with one of the other reviewers regardng the flaws, but it did not really detract from the story. Look forward to his next novel.