Unthinkable by Brad Parks

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Unthinkable

by Brad Parks

Published by Thomas & Mercer on July 27, 2021
Genres: Psychological Thrillers
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
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From international bestselling author Brad Parks comes a new thriller about an ordinary man who may be able to save the world as we know it—but to do so, he must make an impossible choice.

Nate Lovejoy is a self-proclaimed nobody, a stay-at-home dad who doesn’t believe he’s important to anyone but his wife and their two daughters. So it’s a shock when members of a powerful secret society kidnap and spirit Nate away to a mansion at the behest of their leader, Vanslow DeGange, who claims to know the future. He’s foreseen that a billion people could die—unless Nate acts.

It seems improbable, especially given what DeGange says will set this mass casualty incident in motion: a lawsuit against the biggest power company in Virginia, being brought by Nate’s wife, Jenny.

Nate quickly smells a scam being perpetrated by the power company. But at every turn, it becomes apparent there’s more to DeGange’s gift than Nate wants to acknowledge. A billion people really could die, and Nate might be the only one who can save them.

All he has to do is the unthinkable.

Unthinkable by Brad Parks really made me think about the whole trolley dilemma.

Will Nate kill Jenny to save thousands of lives and the future of humanity?

Nate

Nate is our first point of view. He has decided to be the stay-at-home dad raising his two young daughters while his wife Jenny is the breadwinner. Nate was an attorney, but he isn’t practicing at this moment. Nate is very much in love with his wife and likes being home with their children. Yet, when a man comes to his house saying that Nate must kill Jenny for the greater good, he becomes unnerved. Nate tries to spin the narrative anyway so that he doesn’t have to kill his wife. He pushes back, trying to disprove the man’s predictions.

I really like Nate. He is a good dad, husband and seems to be a very nice guy. However, this outside man pushes Nate’s belief and need to save his family to the extreme.

Jenny

Jenny is our second point of view. She is Nate’s wife and the mother of his two daughters. Jenny is also a partner at a large law firm, and she has a huge case going against a local energy company. She keeps many secrets regarding her work, and a few of those are also kept from Nate. However, even with the secrets, Jenny truly loves her husband and knows that he loves her too. I think their relationship is stable and loving.

I like Jenny. She is a great attorney and obviously cares a great deal about her daughters. I like the part that she plays in the story. Jenny surprises me in more ways than one. Oh, and her parents are rockstars too.

The Greater Good and Free Will

They discuss the trolley dilemma a lot in the book, going over the differences and such. This brought up many discussions with our family on the topic. I still don’t know what I would do. Perhaps, it is a decision that you make at that moment and not before.

The greater good is one of those things that have always annoyed me. Would you sacrifice yourself or your family to save humanity? This is a question that plays out a lot in television series. It is also one of those questions that I think would need to be made at the moment because if you had time to think about it….you would go crazy.

Five Stars

My rating for Unthinkable by Brad Parks is five stars. I haven’t honestly discussed a book with so many people in a long time. Mr. Parks really had me thinking and guessing. I truly enjoyed the ending. It was the perfect way to wrap it up.

If you are looking for a book that will challenge you, I highly recommend this one.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Unthinkable by Brad Parks.

Until the next time,

 

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