Customer Reviews

Fatal Illusions: A Novel

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
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I highly recommend this book! The plot is exciting and well developed, the characters are also well-developed and believable, the writing style is good.I'm eager to read this new author's next work.

Haydon Owens, a wanna-be-Houdini, had made four young teenage girls, each with blonde hair, blue eyes, and wire-rimmed glasses, disappear. Wanting to change his life around and avoid police capture, he spirits himself off to a small cabin in Newberry, Michigan, where no one knows anything about him. Little did he know that he'd find another blonde, blue-eyed girl with wire-rim glasses that would enrage him.

Pastor Marc Thayer has been shot by a woman, Stacey James, who is obsessed with unrealistic romantic interludes with him, who screams that he tried to rape her. To put the media to rest and salvage the church's ministry over an alleged sex scandal, he, along with his wife, Gillian, and daughter, Crystal, is put on sabbatical up in Newberry, Michigan. Little does the Thayer family know who is out there ... watching them.

Adam Blumer starts his book, Fatal Illusions, with the murder of a young teenage girl, who feels like someone is always watching her, but she can't see anyone is the wings.

He fast forwards us four years into the midst of media frenzy over an alleged rape/possible affair that involves Pastor Marc Thayer and Stacey James. The dialogue between Pastor Marc and his church staff, as well as his wife's questioning conversations are real and relevant for the circumstances. You can feel the anguish of Gillian's mistrust of her husband's possible infidelity. The reality of a mandated sabbatical leaves all three family members in consternation, yet they are forced to move on.

From the moment that the Thayer family strikes out on their way to Newberry, the author ups the ante with fast-paced twists and turns amongst a serial killer, a rejected woman, and an unsuspecting family. Of course, most of the intense activity is set in the evening, which inflates your level of fear, as nighttime always makes the suspense more eerie and frightful, something the author plays on throughout the story line.

Tucked in between the suspense and danger, Adam throws in some romance to lower the intensity of the scenes, while keeping your mind on the killings at the edges of your mind. It's a fine-line approach that intertwines superbly.

The character that I loved the most is Crystal. Her innocence and love of music endears her to my heart. She doesn't like the upheavals in her life, but she doesn't make a scene about it.

The constant prayers of newly-involved retired FBI agent Chuck Riley, as well as the Thayers and their friends, is interspersed throughout the episodes naturally. They are constantly giving thanks and glory to the Lord in every circumstance. Yes, they definitely have doubts and anger, but they encourage one another to trust that the Lord is in control of everything that happens.

This book was provided by the author, Adam Blumer, through Susan Sleeman of The Suspense Zone, in exchange for my honest review. No monetary compensation was exchanged.

If you're the kind of person who likes to go to sleep on time--don't start this book. Fatal Illusions kept me awake long past bedtime as I followed the Thayer family throughout their unexpected ordeal in Michigan's upper peninsula. But if enjoy a tale that will whisk you away to another place, a place where you'll be holding your breath to see what happens next, then this is the book for you. Two thumbs up!

If you're looking for suspense this book is for you!! Quite a few twists and turns--a great read! The Biblical truths woven throughout definitely spoke to me as well--touched me where I'm at!!

I you like mystery then this is the book for you. When young girls in Cincinnati stated to be killed with a rope around their necks and found in out of the way places, the police did not know what to do. There were all teenagers, with blond hair, blue eyes and all wore wire rimed glasses. There had already been four found but it was a puzzle that just could not be solved.



Pastor Marc Thayer, counseled people we well as some of the other pastors in his church but when one woman started to want him to go out with her he had to let a woman counselor take her. But she would just not let him be, then she charges him with rape but there was not enough evidence for charge him, but the church asked him and his family to go away for awhile to upper Michigan to work at a lighthouse, never knowing what this woman was capable of.

Then there is Haydon Owens is a want to be Houdini and could do most of the magic that Houdini could do, he also was a computer expert. He grew up with a drunk dad but was close to him mom. His mom had always told him that he could do anything and to never let anything left unfinished. He was obsessed with anything to do with Houdini.

How the pastor and his family and Haydon meet is a complete story of its own, since they didn't live anywhere near each other.

When I first started to read this book I though that it would be something that I could not get really interested in but the more I read the more I got pulled into the plot. Since Adam Blumer went to college at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC which is only about 35 miles from where I live, that made me want to read the book even more.

Thanks to Kregel Publishing for the copy of this book for my own review.

It's always a joy to discover a new author. Fatal Illusions is Blumer's first novel. I sincerely hope it will not be his last. He tells the suspense-filled story of a serial killer of young women and weaves the connection to the killer in and out of the lives of the characters he creates. Along the way, Blumer draws you into the struggles of a pastor and his family who must face false accusations of his faithfulness along with having to face the grieving process from the loss of stillborn twins. It doesn't get much easier for his other characters as they move in and out of this gripping story. Each time you think you can relax, Blumer twists his plot and makes his characters collide which just keeps you turning the pages.

Blumer's insertion of a Christian theme is at times a little contrived and perhaps forced but the story is so good, it makes up for it. If you are looking for a good edge of the seat read, here it is.

Something interesting happened at Christmas time. I forgot something. And I knew I'd forgotten that I'd put a certain book on my Christmas list when I opened the present. Because there it was, "Fatal Illusions" was staring me right in the face. I'd asked my wife to consider getting it for me, and until I opened it, I didn't remember asking for it. And I was thrilled! But with all the reading I do, it took at least 3 months for me to get to it. I'm glad it didn't take me too long, because this was a great read. Especially for a debut. And Christian authors are giving approval as well. Thomas Phillips, Mike Dellosso, Mark Mynheir and Rick Acker, all giving this a smiling seal of approval.

What threw me at first was what this was all about. I thought it was about a famous future magician...nope. But the killer, Haydon Owens, is an amatuer, but is good at what he does. And with magician's rope, he does his deed, and he has yet to be caught. The Thayer family is now in his sights, especially the daughter, Crystal. And a hatred sparks the demented Haydon, and he's on a quest to take this young lady out, with Houdini-like precision.

The Thayer family is looking for a break as they enter Michigan. Pastor Marc is hoping for things to boil over at the church he works at in Chicago, and his family joins him on this sabbatical. Is the world crashing down on this family, or is God still in control?

So, now that I've finished this in what I consider record time, I'm here to tell you to please take a chance on newcomer Adam Blumer! He did a good job in setting things up, and making sure the story flowed, with a hint of a twist here and there. Hey, I think this guy is good. That's no illusion! And I'm looking forward to his next book. Send it my way!

In FATAL ILLUSIONS Blumer has written a story that is in some ways eerie, in other ways suspenseful, unpredictable, gripping, yet tenderhearted. The plot is fast-paced, intriguing, and edge-of-your-seat stuff, but the characters steal the show. These are people you cheer for, hurt for, and care about. Each has his or her own flaws to deal with while being forced to live with each other's.

This is not only a well-written and plotted thriller, it's a study in human character and behavior.

This book is based on good, solid biblical principles & yet is definitely a thriller. The suspense starts in the "prelude" & doesn't stop until the last page. So many lives are so intertwined, and God gets the glory through it all. Thank you, Mr. Blumer, for a great book!

Over the past 30 years, my favorite mystery author has been Robin Cook, with his medical mysteries. Well, move over, Robin --- I've just read an Adam Blumer mystery! WOW!!

I couldn't stop reading "Fatal Illusions" once I started... well, actually, I fell asleep reading it. Then, turned out the light, and slept for a few hours, and woke up 2 hours ahead of the alarm, just so I could finish it.

I loved the twists and turns in the plot. I also liked how the author wove in the spiritual threads, being subtle and yet concrete.

I'm looking forward to more novels by this author! Don't make us wait too long for the next one! I'm recommending this one to all of my mystery-loving friends!

I'm glad that I have this on my Kindle, so that I can go back and re-read it at any time.