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Head on

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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!

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.

The two survivors of a deadly collision find themselves face to face after 16 years. Beth Ann is a hospice nurse who comes to care for the dying former town patriarch Hiram Jessup, who gave up on life after his wife died soon after his daughter's tragic accident. Mark is the former bad boy who was behind the wheel of the other car and spent time in jail, but has continued to feel the guilt of destroying his family. He has returned to reconnect and care for the dying Hiram, much to his father's unyielding displeasure and has brought his mixed race son to a racist town to get to know his grandfather. When Beth Ann's mother is found viciously murdered, all eyes turn to Mark, despite the fact that he is now a wealthy and successful businessman. Soon Beth Ann and Mark are forced to confront the event that altered their lives forever, while fighting the attraction that continues to bind them as her memory of the fateful night starts returning and someone will do anything to keep her from learning a long buried secret her mother appeared to take to the grave.

Thompson weaves a suspenseful and very heartbreaking story about love, loss, corruption, redemption, and forgiveness. The slang and bubba dialect was a bit distracting in an otherwise pretty good story, but the characters are well drawn, particularly secondary characters like young deputy Damon Stillwater - who wants to prove he can crack the case. I could have lived without the details and introspection of the killer - or as the person is referred to in the story "the appointed one," it got almost as annoying as all the slang. I really liked how Thompson did not wrap this one up in a happy red bow where everyone lives happily ever after - the tragedy that was central to the story set the tone and I thought that the conclusion was fitting for a fractured town that continued to be in mourning.

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.

After reading Thompson two most recent books - the salt maiden and triple exposure - I decide to get caught up on her older books.

Like the other two - I love the book! Just when I think I know who the bad guy is - she throws a curve ball. Then I think I know again... and there goes another curve ball.

I have to stop myself all the time to keep me from reading the ending to know who the bad guy is!

If you enjoy the books written by author Colleen Thompson you'll enjoy this book. Head on, is full of mystery,suspense, I couldn't put the book down for wondering what was going to happen on the next page.

Rarely is an author capable enough to deal with consequences of actions. Usually they can create the actions, but the messy afterwards gets the short shrift. Using deep emotional responses to horrific memories, this novel is all about the clean-up and it's a dandy of an idea--done to a turn! This author has wonderful male and female leads--both smart and emotionally deep--, a serial killer with a direct link to the Almightly and a wonderful cast of secondary characters. Keep your eye on "Elijah"--who was also a most interesting Biblical prophet--as a choice of names for a character. Because my life is so VERY high stress I avoid suspense novels like a bad rash. This one earns every little tingle and NOW I need to go back and check out the author's back catalog. A reader's work is never done....

Imagine being the car on the cover and driving 90. That's what it's like. This book hit me head on. Thrown together with the bad boy who'd injured her years ago, Beth Ann's life becomes very complicated. This book is a dangerous and fun roller-coaster ride. Another one setting read.