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WORK TITLE: Fatal Option
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.chrisbeakey.com/
CITY: Washington
STATE: DC
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
Lives in Washington, D.C. and Lewes, Delaware. * https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-beakey-1725469/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2007139783
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2007139783
HEADING: Beakey, Chris
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005 20080315072924.0
008 071115n| acannaabn |n aaa c
010 __ |a no2007139783
035 __ |a (OCoLC)oca07582829
040 __ |a TnLvILS |b eng |c TnLvILS |d NjP
053 _0 |a PS3602.E2427
100 1_ |a Beakey, Chris
670 __ |a Double abduction, 2007: |b t.p. (Chris Beakey) jkt. (publicist; lives in Lewes, Delaware; this is his first novel)
PERSONAL
Male.
EDUCATION:Virginia Commonwealth University, B.S.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and communications professional. Council for a Strong America, Washington, DC, communications manager; previously vice president at Ogilvy Public Relations, New York, NY. Also managed media and public engagement campaigns for numerous federal agencies and nonprofit and private sector organizations.
AWARDS:Lambda Literary Award finalist, for Double Abduction.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Chris Beakey began writing fiction when he was ten years old. Spurred on by a high school teacher, Beakey continued to write and eventually had a novel published in serial form in his college newspaper. He also won first prize for a short story in a literary competition. Blakey went on to have a career in communications, writing for nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations. Blakey would often get up early in the morning to write before he went to work but got nothing published for more than two decades.
Double Abduction
Then Beakey’s novel Double Abduction was accepted for publication. However, the publisher declared bankruptcy shortly before the novel could be published. Fortunately, a smaller publisher stepped in to publish Double Abduction. The novel revolves around the kidnapping of five-year-old Justin Bennett, who is at an amusement park with his uncle, Michael Bennett. Michael loves being around his nephew, finding it helps him cope with being a prime suspect in the disappearance and then murder of Justin’s half brother, Benjamin, five years earlier. Then, almost beyond belief, Justin disappears while Michael has him on the outing. Once again, the openly gay Michael becomes the prime suspect.
Michael also has another problem in the form of Zachary Taylor, a man who was sexually abused as a child and now murders gay men. It is Zachary who accuses Michael of having abused Justin just days prior to Justin’s disappearance. As the novel progresses, readers learn that whoever abducted Michael carefully planned the kidnapping and has the intention of giving Justin to Zachary, a hired killer. Although Michael is the prime suspect, black police officer Gloria Towson is the only one convinced that someone else is responsible. As a minority, Gloria identifies with Micahel and the prejudices he faces. Gloria’s husband, Booker Jones, however, is homophobic, which creates problems once the couple begin to investigate the crime on their own.
Meanwhile, there are questions surrounding Louis D’Amecourt, who worked on the early case of Benjamin’s disappearance and now works as a station commander. It appears that Louis, along with Sylvia Barshak, who has since gone to work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), covered up important facts about Benjamin’s death. “Normally withheld information irritates me,” wrote Reviewing the Evidence Web site contributor Drewey Wayne Gunn, who went on to note: “But the present novel is so well paced that I was swept along.”
Fatal Option
Beakey’s next novel, Fatal Option, was inspired by an incident that occurred to Beakey six years prior to the novel’s publication. One late winter night as he was driving home Beakey found himself hydroplaning in his car. The incident led him to ask what would have happened if he had hit someone. “The ‘what if’ scenarios kept coming and, after six years of writing, readers have the end result—Fatal Option,” noted Forsyth Woman Online contributor Vonda Henderson.
The novel begins five months after the mysterious death of Stephen Porter’s wife in a car accident. His teenage daughter Sara has called him at midnight, telling him she is stranded on a nearby mountain top in a blizzard. Terrified and crying, she asks Stephen to come and get her. Even though Stephen is still unsteady after a night of heavy drinking, he gets in the car and heads off to save Sarah. Stephen gets to the mountain but before he can get to Sara he has accident, running into Kieran O’Shea, a high school teacher looking for his autistic brother Aidan, who is also lost in the storm. In addition, Detective John Caruso suspects that Kieran is responsible for the murder of local women.
It turns out that seventeen-year-old Sara had been at Kieran’s house. She had been tutoring Aidan but was spending time there this night specifically to be with Kieran. However, she made a discovery that sent her out to her car and the storm. Another mishap occurs, resulting in a death, and Detective Caruso thinks there may be a connection to the death of a school teacher. Meanwhile, as the novel progresses, Stephen comes closer and closer to finding out the truth about his wife’s death, all the while trying to protect his children from danger.
“It’s all packaged within a taut narrative that constantly reminds readers of the bitter-cold weather that constrains the characters,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor who went on to call Fatal Option “a character-driven tale that maintains its sincerity.” A Page to Turn Web site contributor referred to the thriller as “dark, twisty, and unpredictable.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2017, review of Fatal Option.
Publishers Weekly, December 12, 2016, review of Fatal Option, p. 127.
ONLINE
A Page to Turn, https://www.apagetoturn.net/ (February 20, 2017), review of Fatal Option
Books from Dusk Til Dawn, https://booksfromdusktilldawn.blog/ (March 3, 2017), review of Fatal Option.
Chris Beakey Home Page, http://www.chrisbeakey.com (November 1, 2017).
Clues and Reviews, https://cluesandreviews.wordpress.com/ (March 8, 2017), “Blog Tour: Sitting Down with Chris Beakey—Author of Fatal Option.“
Council for a Strong America Web site, https://www.strongnation.org/ (November 1, 2017), brief author profile.
Forsyth Woman Online, http://www.forsythwoman.com/ (April 1, 2017), Vonda Henderson, “A Novel idea—Chris Beakey: Fatal Option.“
My Trending Stories, https://mytrendingstories.com/ (March 2, 2017), Misti Pyles, review of Fatal Option.
Reviewing the Evidence, http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/ (November 1, 2017), Drewey Wayne Gunn, review of Double Abduction.*
author
About Me
Hello, and thanks again for visiting my site. I spend my days managing communications for Council for a Strong America, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that's creating a more secure nation by promoting smart investments in youth. I spend my early mornings and evenings listening to the voices in my head and shaping them into stories that are usually about good people in bad situations.
I've been at it for years.
Owing more to the power of belief and motivation than talent or intelligence, I began writing as soon as I was able to hold a pencil. Success came in snippets years later - with English compositions singled out by a certain high school teacher who held me after class and told me to keep at it; followed, eventually, by a novella published in serial form in my college newspaper, and a short story that won first prize in a literary competition.
The hard years came next - about 20 to be exact. They're a bit of a blur now - thanks to the 4 a.m. mornings, which gave me a good three hours to write before heading off to my day job, and the emotionally challenging ups and downs and hairpin turns that eventually led me to an agent and my first book. DOUBLE ABDUCTION was published in hardcover in 2007 by a small publisher that rescued it from an only slightly-larger publisher that declared bankruptcy right after the galleys were printed. It earned good reviews and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.
Now, nearly 10 years later, FATAL OPTION has been published by Post Hill Press and Simon & Schuster, thanks to tremendous support from editors and friends and the assurance that it's a story that has to be told. You can read an excerpt at my blog, along with my short stories and brief reviews of other books that I've enjoyed. As always feel free to follow me on Facebook or on Twitter at chrisbeakey@verizon.net.
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Chris Beakey
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As Communications Director, Chris Beakey leads an accomplished team of writers and editors dedicated to promoting policies and practices that prepare young people to be productive citizens. He brings three decades of experience in communications around issues affecting children and teens.
Prior to joining Council for Strong America in 2013, Chris was a Vice President at Ogilvy Public Relations. Over the years, he has managed media and public engagement campaigns for numerous federal agencies and nonprofit and private sector organizations. Chris graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.S. in Mass Communications.
email: cbeakey@councilforastrongamerica.org
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CHRIS BEAKEY
Chris Beakey tells stories of good people caught in bad places. He writes fiction from his homes in Washington, D.C, and Lewes, Delaware, and nonfiction as a ghostwriter for an organization that promotes bipartisan policies that strengthen the nation through smart investments in youth. His first novel, Double Abduction, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.
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Home Lifestyle A Novel Idea A Novel Idea – Chris Beakey: Fatal Option
A Novel Idea – Chris Beakey: Fatal Option
VONDA HENDERSON A NOVEL IDEA LIFESTYLE 01 APR 2017
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About the Author:
Chris Beakey has been writing fiction since the age of 10. His love of reading, literature and English led him to a career in communications. For 30+ years, Chris has been a ghostwriter for non-profit, non-partisan organizations.
As a novelist, Chris describes his style as “…opening a vein and writing. I want readers to feel the situation is real to me as an author.” A disciplined writer, Chris starts his day writing fiction for two hours every morning; reviewing the results at the end of his workday.
Chris’ first novel, Double Abduction, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. The second of three in the “Double” series, titled Double Death, will be based in a fictional North Carolina town and is planned for a 2018 release.
Fatal Option is Chris’ fifth novel.
Inspiration:
Writing about good people who find themselves in a bad situation (emotionally, physically or concurrently) intrigues Chris. He shared that about six years ago, he found himself driving home late on a wintery night through winding country roads. As he rounded a curve, his car hydroplaned. As he relived the incident later, he wondered, “what if I’d hit someone.” The “what if” scenarios kept coming and, after six years of writing, readers have the end result — Fatal Option.
About Fatal Option:
Stephen Porter is facing a moral battle. Ill prepared to venture out in a snowstorm, but desperate to help his daughter, he faces his first “what if” situation. The route he chooses sets him on a course that has implications for him and his children. Fatal Option is filled with multiple storylines woven together to come to a fateful conclusion. Porter, however, has more than one option. How will he handle it? Will he tell the truth; will he tell just enough to justify his actions; how will his kids react; and what about the detective who is fairly certain about what happened? Someone is always watching. Who will be influenced by his decision? What about his son dealing on his own with the class bully? What will Stephen do?
Read this page-turner, and see if you figure it out. Fatal Option is ripe with turns and twists and more than one unsavory character.
What would you have done?
Where to find Novels by Chris Beakey:
Fatal Option (published by Post Hill Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster) was released on February 21, 2017, and is available wherever books are sold (Barnes & Nobles, Amazon.com, IndieBound, etc.). Soft copies are also available (via Kindle, Nook and iBooks) as well as an audio book version.
Chris has family ties in North Carolina; his Dad lives in Raleigh, his sister in Charlotte. He is a frequent visitor to the area (loves the south) and is available for speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries and especially with folks who enjoy thrillers. Contact him at chrisbeakey@verizon.net. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter, or visit his website (chrisbeakey.com). Visit Chris’ blog, A Heartbeat Away (blog.chrisbeakey.com), to read his stories. And, be on the lookout for his next book set in North Carolina.
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BLOG TOUR: SITTING DOWN WITH CHRIS BEAKEY- AUTHOR OF FATAL OPTION @SMITHPUBLICITY @BEAKS318
March 8, 2017
Thrilled to be on the blog tour today for Fatal Option by Chris Beakey. Today, I have a Q&A with the author. Keep reading for a synopsis of the book and to find out more about this book!
Screen Shot 2017-03-07 at 7.58.17 PM Screen Shot 2017-03-07 at 8.00.15 PM
Synopsis from Goodreads:
On the coldest night of the year, Stephen Porter is pulled from a restless sleep by a midnight phone call. His 17-year-old daughter Sara is stranded in a blizzard near the top of a mountain beyond their suburban home. She’s terrified and unable to stop crying as she begs him to come to her rescue.
Unfortunately, Stephen went to bed just an hour before after a night of binge drinking. With his blurred vision and unsteady balance he knows it’s dangerously irresponsible to get behind the wheel. But he heads out into the snowstorm to bring Sara home.
High school teacher Kieran O’Shea is also behind the wheel, searching for his autistic younger brother Aidan, who is wandering aimlessly through the storm on that same mountain. Kieran is also terrified—of the voices in his mind, of the possibility that Aidan will be taken from him, and of the certainty that he will soon be arrested for murdering three women.
In a matter of minutes, Stephen will encounter Kieran and drive headlong into a collision that will force him to unlock the secret of his wife’s death, avoid prosecution, and protect his children from violence that hits all too close to home.
Q&A WITH CHRIS BEAKEY
Can you tell us a little bit about Fatal Option?
I describe Fatal Option as a story about a good man who does a very bad thing – for the best of all possible reasons. That’s the first thing I have to say about my main character, Stephen Porter, who gets a midnight phone call from his 17-year-old daughter, Sara. She tells him her car’s broken down. She’s at a house where she isn’t supposed to be. On a nearby mountain. In the middle of a blizzard on the coldest night of the year.
Stephen does what any good dad would do. He goes to her rescue . . . even though he drank himself to sleep to deal with the grief of losing someone he loved. And then the worst possible thing that could happen . . . happens . . .
That’s quite a terrifying premise that’s painted for readers.
Was there a particular event, news article, etc… that led you to write this novel?
I’ve always been intrigued by stories about good people caught in bad situations. Those are the types of stories I enjoy reading and they are mostly the type that I write. I have a very happy life, but often when I consciously acknowledge that I find myself thinking of how it could change in an instant. Just yesterday, in fact, I was standing next to the curb on a busy street in downtown Washington, D.C. at rush hour. I was talking to a friend on the phone, laughing at something he said, and looking at the traffic coming toward me on the one-way street. The instant the cars stopped for a red light I almost stepped into the crosswalk. My right foot was already in the air. But in a fraction of a second a bicycle courier going the wrong way streaked by within inches of my body. I actually felt the whoosh of air as he passed. Yes he was on a bike, but he was racing. He probably would have killed me or hobbled me for life if I hadn’t hesitated for that one fraction of a second.
This was a bad thing that could have happened but didn’t happen. I know I’ll be thinking about other bad things as I head out today. I had one of these moments six years ago when I was driving down a dark, winding country road on a winter night. I hit a patch of ice, and as my Jeep slid sideways toward the trees the most violent moment in Fatal Option sprang to my mind. I spun around and stopped without hitting anything, so the bad thing didn’t happen. But I started writing this book the very next morning. But of course it isn’t just about a car accident. It’s about a dangerous choice that Stephen Porter makes in his worst moment, and a morally questionable choice he makes as a result of what happens.
It sounds like a bit of a cautionary/morality tale.
Did you know from the beginning all the particulars of how the story progresses or did you encounter choices where you had to decide which path to follow?
Fatal Option is a multi-layered story that taps into the lives of Stephen’s two teenaged children, who are dealing with high school bullies . . . and the life of an autistic teenaged boy . . . and the twisted mind of a serial killer. But I knew from the very moment my own Jeep spun out of control that it was ultimately about Stephen Porter’s quest to keep his family together – which probably won’t happen if he goes to prison.
Chris this is your second published novel but your website says you spend eight hours a day ghostwriting. Are you allowed to tell us what you ghostwrite?
Sure – I’m honored to talk about my day job. I manage communications for Council for a Strong America. We’re a non-partisan organization of 8,500 men and women who advocate for education and health policies that prepare kids from poor families to live productive lives. Our members come from five sectors of society – law enforcement, the military, business, the faith community and athletes and coaches. They all love kids – most are parents and grandparents – but they advocate for these policies based on the simple truth that our nation succeeds when people are prepared for the workforce, not involved in crime, and eligible to serve in the military if that’s the path they choose. I’m the ghostwriter who shapes their conversations with lawmakers, their voices in op-ed pieces, and their interactions with the many media outlets who share their stories. Our members work by my side at every step, to make sure I’m channeling their thoughts in the most compelling way. They are an inspiring group of people.
Chris, good luck with your new novel.
Will you be attending any author/signing events for the release?
Thank you!!! I split my time between Washington, D.C. and Lewes, Delaware. I’ll be doing a book party at Peninsula Gallery in Lewes on Saturday, March 11th from 6 to 8 p.m. It’s an opportunity for me to sign copies of Fatal Option and connect with readers, surrounded by artwork selected by Tony and Carol Boyd-Heron. Peninsula Gallery is one of my favorite places, and I know a lot of people who attend will leave with a book and a painting as well.
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#ontheblog Sunday mornings well spent bring a week of content apparently so I am trying my best to get organized and ready for the upcoming week; however, I'm avoiding all my wedding plans by reading some Karin Slaughter 😂
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After binging my first two Karin Slaughter books (The Good Daughter and Pretty Girls) I decided to start the Grant County series and am reading Blindsighted 😍 ...
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What's everyone else reading this weekend? 🙋
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#bookstagram #blogger #bookworm #instabook #bookgram #booknerd #booklover #instabooks #fiction #tbrpile #booktography #book #bibliophile #bookphotography #blog #amreading #books #bookaddict #bookblog #bookblogger #read #reading #canadianblogger #igbooks #2017 #igreads A storm is approaching and I should be at home...but I figured a little trip to the bookstore never hurt anybody 😂
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#bookstagram #blogger #bookworm #instabook #bookgram #booknerd #booklover #instabooks #fiction #tbrpile #booktography #book #bibliophile #bookphotography #blog #amreading #books #bookaddict #bookblog #bookblogger #read #reading #canadianblogger #igbooks #2017 #igreads #bookstore Cozy talk sweaters, mums and a new September release has me feeling serious fall vibes. Anyone else spend their year waiting for this season? 🍂🍁
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I finished up Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land and, although I ended up enjoying the book, it was VERY different from what I was expecting. No fast paced thrills here. It was more of an intense character study. I think maybe it was a but hyped for me from the UK release. Has anyone else read this one? Am I alone? 🙋
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Fatal Option
Publishers Weekly.
263.51 (Dec. 12, 2016): p127.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Fatal Option
Chris Beakey. Post Hill, $25 (288p) ISBN 9781-68261-154-8
In the prologue of this uneven psychological thriller from Beakey (Double Abduction), a drunken Stephen Porter, who
lives in suburban Frederick County, Md., receives a phone call late one night from his 17-year-old daughter, Sara,
who's stranded on a mountain in a blizzard while secretly visiting a favorite high school teacher, Kieran O'Shea,
whose autistic younger brother, Aidan, she tutors. Stephen, whose wife, Lori, recently died in a mysterious road
accident, gets into his car and heads into the storm. During his drive, he has a collision with fateful consequences for
him and his children. Meanwhile, Det. John Caruso is investigating a series of murders of women in Frederick County
and suspects Kieran may have a connection with the victims. Various subplots undercut the tension of this nightmarish
scenario. One involves Kieran and Aidan's abusive late mother, Nurlene. Another focuses on Det. Joseph Niles and
his son, Marco, who's bullying Stephen's son, Kenneth. Some interesting narrative developments compensate only in
part for the weak whodunit aspect. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Fatal Option." Publishers Weekly, 12 Dec. 2016, p. 127. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA475225055&it=r&asid=044695e7a9cdcca2f7cd39d0fc7dcecb.
Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A475225055
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Beakey, Chris: FATAL OPTION
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Beakey, Chris FATAL OPTION Post Hill Press (Indie Fiction) $25.00 2, 21 ISBN: 978-1-68261-154-8
In Beakey's (Double Abduction, 2007) thriller, an investigation into a tragic accident during a blizzard reveals a string
of secrets--including a murder. When Stephen Porter's 17-year-old daughter, Sara, calls to tell him that she's stranded,
he willingly braves a relentless blizzard to rescue her. He tracks down the address that she gives him, and he's worried
that she's not at a girlfriend's house, as she'd earlier claimed, but at the home of a man in his late 20s. That man is
Kieran O'Shea, who's 10 years Sara's senior and a teacher at her school. Sara is tutoring his younger, autistic brother,
Aidan, but tonight she and Kieran were spending some time alone. Sara, however, learns more about Kieran than she
wanted to know, particularly after she happens upon a box of medication. She decides to go home soon after he hops
in his truck to find Aidan, who ran out of the house; she calls Stephen when her own car fails to start. A subsequent
mishap results in a death, and the person responsible is suddenly at the mercy of a witness. Investigating detective
John Caruso believes that the incident may also tie in with the recent murder of a local teacher--and the resulting
coverups only lead to more violence. The tension starts high in this novel, with a description of the sounds of a winter
storm ("The blizzard winds hit the bedroom windows with brute-force, the wump sounds registering in the recesses of
Stephen Porter's mind"). Beakey parallels his thriller plot with an engaging family drama; for example, it's revealed
that Stephen's wife, Lori, died when her car struck a guardrail--a collision that the insurance company is now claiming
was suicide. Kieran, meanwhile, is haunted by his late, abusive mother, while Stephen's son, Kenneth, is the target of
a bully. Beakey maintains the suspense by continually hinting at what characters may or may not have done, and Sara
and Stephen are both in dire straits by the final act. It's all packaged within a taut narrative that constantly reminds
readers of the bitter-cold weather that constrains the characters, as when Stephen, without a car, breaks "into an
unsteady near-run, heedless of the hard-packed ice underneath his feet." A character-driven tale that maintains its
sincerity even in its most nerve-wracking moments.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Beakey, Chris: FATAL OPTION." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA482911654&it=r&asid=c0bfea474825af10ae96e3c6f483f727.
Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A482911654
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BOOKS FROM DUSK TILL DAWN
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WANT ME TO READ AND REVIEW YOUR BOOK, THIS IS HOW TO CONTACT ME
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FATAL OPTION by CHRIS BEAKEY #Thriller #New Release @SmithPublicity
FATAL OPTION by CHRIS BEAKEY #Thriller #New Release @SmithPublicity
MARCH 3, 2017
BOOKSFROMDUSKTILLDAWN
HI FIRSTLY I WISH TO THANK ANDREA KILIANY THATCHER, OF SMITH PUBLICITY, FOR INVITING ME TO TAKE PART ON THIS BLOG TOUR STOP FOR,
FATAL OPTION by CHRIS BEAKEY.
THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
30753471
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Fatal Option By Chris Beakey
The Hotly Anticipated New Novel From Lambda Literary Award Finalist… NAIL-BITING THRILLER EXPLORES THE DEVASTATING MORAL CONSEQUENCES OF A DANGEROUS CHOICE
“A sharp, intelligent thriller. Really top-notch.” – Neely Tucker, Washington Post staff writer & author of Only The Hunted Run
“A wintery tale of violence and redemption, artfully balanced by a touching portrayal of a family in crisis.” – Peter Swanson, author of The Kind Worth Killing
“Fatal Option grabs you from the first page. Plan to stay up.” – Kathleen Antrim, former Co-President of International Thriller Writers & author of Capital Offense
Would you break the law to save your child? Stephen Porter finds himself facing this very question – with life or death consequences – in Fatal Option, the hotly anticipated new thriller from Lambda Literary Award finalist Chris Beakey, to be published in hardcover by Post Hill Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster on February 21, 2017. Fatal Option opens on the coldest night of the year, with Stephen pulled from a restless sleep by a midnight phone call. His 17-year-old daughter, Sara, is stranded in the blizzard, crying in terror and begging for his help. Going to her rescue would be a no-brainer if he hadn’t gone to bed just an hour before after a night of binge drinking alone. With blurred vision and unsteady balance, Stephen knows it’s dangerously irresponsible to get behind the wheel. But he hits the winding, icy roads of Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains to bring his daughter home. High school teacher Kieran O’Shea is also behind the wheel on that fateful night, searching for his autistic younger brother, Aidan. Kieran is also terrified – of the voices in his mind, of the probability that Aidan will be taken from him, and of the certainty that he will soon be arrested for murdering three women.
In a matter of minutes, Stephen will encounter Kieran and drive headlong into a collision that will force him to question everything he thought he knew about his family – and to protect his children from violence that hits all too close to home. A murder mystery wrapped around a heartbreaking moral dilemma, Fatal Option is already being lauded by the who’s-who of the American thriller community, with bestselling author Jordan Dane calling it, “emotionally visceral,” and Norb Vonnegut praising the “relentlessly suspenseful” pacing and intrigue of Beakey’s sophomore release. “Fatal Option is very much about an option,” says Beakey, “a choice that a good man makes in a desperate situation. Of course, the worst possible thing that could happen… happens. But sometimes bad decisions seem like the only decisions. What I really want readers of Fatal Option to ask themselves is: what would you do?”
HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW
You know those times in your life, where you think, ‘Well things just can’t get any worse’ and then God damn it they do! Well that is at about that point that Stephen Porter is up to on the night of the blizzard.
The insurance company won’t release any monies from his wife’s life policy, as it is inconclusive as it whether she committed suicide or not.
The ins and outs of monthly commitments are a disaster.
His son has been badly beaten up at school.
And his has just been woken up with a phone call from his 17 year old daughter begging him to pick her up from the middle of nowhere. She is crying and begging for help.
Now more problems, his daughter lied about where she was going, the blizzard is worse, he is so tired and others could get drunk off his breath he has drunk that much. So here is the Fatal Option. His wife has already died up on those roads in very mysterious circumstances so he can’t just leave his daughter there but he really isn’t safe to drive, he knows that.
How I loved this story! I just haven’t a clue how Chris Beakey could fit so much into a book this size, oh just a minute I do. Each page is packed with gripping stomach churning moments. The ones that every parent just hope and pray they will never have to face. I really took to Stephen Porter straight away, his character was never one that was written to get sympathy, he was just a typical parent stumbling through being a parent the best he could without ‘the handbook’ that non of us get. I had read the blurb but it didn’t prepare me for what was inside the cover. Because wow it is packed with layer after layer of broken peoples stories that all come together piece by piece. My mind was reassessing the situation all the time as it went on, and what I had taken as first impressions of characters were constantly changing.
This is certainly a book that I will remember for a very long time as for all the layers it contained it was never complicated, it had such a very natural flow of all the elements melting into one that gave me The Fatal Conclusion.
HERE IS A LITTLE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About the Author:
Chris Beakey tells stories of good people caught in bad places. He writes fiction from his homes in Washington, D.C. and Lewes, Delaware, as well as nonfiction as a ghostwriter for an organization that promotes bipartisan policies that strengthen the nation through smart investments in youth. His first, novel, Double Abduction, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.
Connect with Chris Beakey on Facebook, Goodreads and at http://www.chrisbeakey.com.
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4 thoughts on “FATAL OPTION by CHRIS BEAKEY #Thriller #New Release @SmithPublicity”
Renee
MARCH 3, 2017 AT 3:26 PM
Great review Susan! Sounds like a good thriller for sure
Liked by 1 person
Reply
booksfromdusktilldawn
MARCH 3, 2017 AT 3:32 PM
This is a little beauty. Brilliantly written and totally entertaining
Liked by 1 person
Reply
Adele Topham
MARCH 3, 2017 AT 4:06 PM
Yes, definitely a page turner. I started the book, Fatal Option, thinking I was a good friend and neighbor supporting Chris in his endeavor. Wow, what a great read! I couldn’t put it down .
Fortunately, I didn’t have many responsibilities the next day. I definitely recommend Chris’s new novel.
Like
Reply
booksfromdusktilldawn
MARCH 3, 2017 AT 4:52 PM
Hi Adele
You were a good friend and neighbour to support Chris and what a bonus in return for you, He is a very talented writer isn’t he
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Review | Fatal Option | Chris Beakey
02.20.2017
|
Megan
On the coldest night of the year, Stephen Porter is pulled from a restless sleep by a midnight phone call. His 17-year-old daughter Sara is stranded in a blizzard near the top of a mountain beyond their suburban home. She's terrified and unable to stop crying as she begs him to come to her rescue.
Unfortunately Stephen went to bed just an hour before after a night of binge drinking. With his blurred vision and unsteady balance he knows it’s dangerously irresponsible to get behind the wheel. But he heads out into the snowstorm to bring Sara home.
High school teacher Kieran O’Shea is also behind the wheel, searching for his autistic younger brother Aidan, who is wandering aimlessly through the storm on that same mountain. Kieran is also terrified—of the voices in his mind, of the possibility that Aidan will be taken from him, and of the certainty that he will soon be arrested for murdering three women.
In a matter of minutes Stephen will encounter Kieran and drive headlong into a collision that will force him to unlock the secret of his wife’s death, avoid prosecution, and protect his children from violence that hits all too close to home.
My rating: 4.5
Just, Wow. This book - dark, twisty, and unpredictable!
I'm a HUGE thriller fan, so when I started this one, I was expecting a great story and Beakey didn't disappoint! I'm a greatly impressed!
On what is most likely the worst winter storm night of the year, Stephen is startled awake by a worried call from his teenage daughter. She's not where she was supposed to be, and she's stranded up on a mountain in bad weather... and Stephen is less than an hour from his last drink.... things get chaotic quick as life throws a wrench in things and Stephen has to breaks laws to save his daughter...
I really liked the characterization, as well as the tension created by these characters and the things they have managed to get themselves involved in. The scary part for me was that this book was real enough that it could actually happen!
Excellent story telling and an author to follow for sure! I look forward to more stories from Beakey!
Hello there - thanks for visiting my Amazon author and Goodreads pages. My second thriller, FATAL OPTION, is on its way to publication by Post Hill Press and distribution by Simon & Schuster in February of 2017. I think the best way to describe it is by sharing what my publisher wrote in the letter that’s accompanying the Advance Reading Copies:
Dear Readers and Reviewers:
On the coldest night of the year, Stephen Porter is pulled from a restless sleep by a midnight phone call. His 17-year-old daughter Sara is stranded in a blizzard near the top of a mountain beyond their suburban home. She's terrified and unable to stop crying as she begs him to come to her rescue.
Unfortunately, Stephen went to bed after a night of binge drinking prompted by a recent death in the family just an hour before. With his blurred vision and unsteady balance he knows it’s dangerously irresponsible to get behind the wheel. But he heads out into the snowstorm to bring Sara home.
High school teacher Kieran O’Shea is also behind the wheel, searching for his autistic younger brother Aidan, who is wandering aimlessly through the storm on that same mountain. Kieran is also terrified—of the voices in his mind, of the possibility that Aidan will be taken from him, and the likelihood he will be arrested for murdering three women.
In a matter of minutes Stephen will encounter Kieran and drive headlong into a collision that will force him to question everything he knows about his family and protect his children from a violence that hits all too close to home.
I’ve come across a lot of thrillers during the nearly three decades I’ve spent at Simon & Schuster, Random House and now Post Hill Press. From the very first pages Chris Beakey’s Fatal Option captivated me like no other book in recent memory. It’s a striking portrayal of a good man who does a very bad thing for the best of all possible reasons.
My enthusiasm for this book is shared by a growing number of thriller writers at the top of their game, along with everyone here at Post Hill Press. We’re producing more Advance Reading Copies than we’ve offered for any other title, and are going to great lengths to support Chris’ efforts to connect with readers and reviewers.
Anthony Ziccardi
Publisher
Of course I’m thrilled with Anthony’s praise of this book. It’s not really a jumping up and down kind of thrilled though . . . more of a calm appreciation for the reward from decades of hard work. Owing more to the power of belief and motivation than talent, I started writing stories as soon as I was able to hold a pencil. Success came in snippets years later – with English compositions singled out by a certain high school teacher who held me after class and told me to keep at it; followed by a novella published in serial form in my college newspaper and a short story that won first prize in a literary competition.
The hard years came news – about 20 to be exact. They’re a bit of a blur now – thanks to 4 a.m. wake up calls that gave me three hours to write before heading off to my day job, and the emotionally challenging ups and downs and hairpin turns that eventually led me to an agent and my first book. DOUBLE ABDUCTION was published in 2007 by a small publisher who rescued it from an only slightly-larger publisher that declared bankruptcy the day after the Advance Reading Copies were printed. It earned good reviews and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.
I started FATAL OPTION a couple of years after that, and rewrote it three times before Anthony and his team gave me their enthusiastic thumbs up. I’d be very pleased to know what my fellow readers in the GoodReads community think of the opening chapters (which are posted on my page).
I also look forward to sharing reviews of other books. I write them on my blog at www.blog.chrisbeakey.com, and also for the New York Journal of Books. Feel free to connect with me on Facebook and by email at chrisbeakey@verizon.net.
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DOUBLE ABDUCTION
by Chris Beakey
iBooks, November 2007
320 pages
$22.95
ISBN: 1596873795
Buy from Amazon.com
Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada
Five-year-old Justin Bennett is kidnapped from an amusement park while his uncle is vomiting in a public toilet. The crime eerily mirrors the abduction (and subsequent murder) of Justin’s half-brother Benjamin Bennett five years before. In both cases a prime suspect is the uncle, openly gay Michael Bennett. The reader knows Michael is innocent. But who is "the abductor" who meticulously plots the abduction and arranges to turn the child over to hired killer Zachary Taylor?
Meanwhile, Harland Till, sexually abused as a child by a revivalist, methodically executes gay men who have come to his attention. He sets his sights on Michael, accusing him of molesting Justin just days before the kidnapping. Is he somehow connected to the abduction? And was he responsible for an earlier murder that Michael was somehow connected to? What was the nature of that connection? And why did the police officers Louis D’Amecourt, now the station commander, and Sylvia Barshak, now with the FBI, cover up the killing?
The questions that this set of interconnected puzzles raises are not finished. Exactly what is Michael’s relationship to D’Amecourt? And what is he concealing in the box in the attic? What part did Justin’s father Scott Brown play in Benjamin’s abduction? Is he a pederast, as the files found on his computer would indicate? Would he kidnap and kill his own son? Why is he so interested now in Michael’s movements? In short, now that he has been released from prison (where he landed on a drugs charge), exactly what is he up to?
The only prominent characters in the novel who are exactly what they seem are the black police officers detective Gloria Towson and her husband Booker Jones. Gloria is convinced that Michael is innocent; she relates to him as a minority: "I know what it’s like to be judged," she says. Booker, however, lets his homophobia interfere with the investigation on which the two of them embark on their own when they become wary of the role D’Amecourt is playing.
The novel relies a tad too often on coincidence, nick of the moment discoveries, and somewhat implausible artful disguises. In the end the various questions are satisfactorily answered, and the different parts of the puzzle fall neatly into place (though I confess I did not understand some aspects until I began to put order into the cases to write this review). To get to the conclusions, however, the reader must be willing to go along with moment after moment of "During the drive, he had told her everything" and "...the truth hit her.... I know exactly how those little boys were kidnapped, and why" while we as readers are offered not the slightest clue what is said or thought.
Normally withheld information irritates me; for this reason I have never fathomed the appeal of Sherlock Holmes. But the present novel is so well paced that I was swept along. It captures the reader by showing in some detail what the various investigators are doing (and ultimately there are several, both officers and the boy’s relatives) even as it refuses to reveal why. It also offers food for thought about racism, homophobia, various kinds of abuse, inter-spouse dynamics, family loyalties, and the growing role of computers and cell phones in our lives. In spite of flaws, the novel is an auspicious debut.
Reviewed by Drewey Wayne Gunn, August 2007
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FATAL OPTION, BY CHRIS BEAKEY
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MISTI PYLES
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March 2, 2017, 11:41 a.m. in ENTERTAINMENT
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Chris Beakey’s newest novel is Fatal Option.
Five Months ago, Stephen Porter’s wife died mysteriously in a car crash on the side of a mountain. Tonight, his 17-year-old daughter, Sara, calls in the middle of the night, crying hysterically, stranded on that same mountain in a blinding snowstorm. Stephen just went to sleep after binge drinking his wife’s death from his mind, and he knows he’s in no shape to drive. But he has no choice, so he sets off to bring Sara home.
Kieran O’Shea is also out in the snowstorm: to bring his autistic brother, Aidan, home. Kieran is all Aidan has, but Kieran is afraid that he’ll lose Aidan if anyone ever finds out about the voices in his head. Then there’s the three murdered women… Soon Stephen and Kieran are on a collision course with disaster, one that will bring dark secrets to life, and reveal the truth of Stephen’s wife’s death. Sometimes, there are no easy choices.
This was a hard book to read. It isn’t easy. There are no clear-cut “good” guys or “bad” guys. You’ll feel sympathy for every single character…but disgust and probably anger as well. In the end, Fatal Option is about choices, and how they change us.
(Galley provided by Post Hill Press.)
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LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
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March 2, 2017, 11:36 a.m. in LIFE AND STYLES
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Sometimes we have a difficult time realizing that our encounters or experiences are outwards manifestations of our inner self-talk. However, if we realize that we are actually co-creators shaping our reality with our constant thoughts and feelings, we can begin to take back our perspective and live happier productive lives.
Each day brings its own gifts even those unpleasant interactions. How can this be? How can the most terrible circumstances be actually good? The good in the act or experience may be lacking but the bigger picture of its presence can be end up being good for us. This is because challenges can bring better clarity about ourselves and about others. Even endings can bring its own benefits even though we often resist them and at the time of its sting can't see that a newer more beneficial beginning awaits us once we let go.
At the end of each day, we have a choice to make then. We can wallow in self-pity re-enacting on repeat those vile unpleasant scenes of our day or past or we can choose to re-create our story. Bottom line we don't have to live in a state of perpetual despair that is unless we want to. We can reflect purpose and productivity in a healthy positive way by confronting our unpleasant feelings and not denying or suppressing them. We can feel those unpleasant stings, pain, anger etc.
At the end of our day or in private meditation we can aspire to our creative power. This power shapes our reality.So, then now we develop into productive creators rather than a misguided, destroyer of our true desires.
In our moment of now, we can feel those unpleasant stings, pain, anger etc. Envision those interactions that brought you those feelings Embrace and confront every unpleasant feeling as you calmly reflect on your day or past. Then, now this is key, allow yourself to release those feelings out and away from your being. This is an intrinsic emotional release of those unpleasant stings that can block out what our heart really wants so by feeling and then releasing these unpleasant emotions is key to moving forward.
Now, take a deep breath and as you breathe out you can envision your painful emotion lifting and hopefully, it'll lift from you as quickly as it came in. A sudden release may not happen although it most certainly can and will for some but with constant, repetition of this process you can overcome your painful emotions and begin to attract back to yourself what you desire to experience for yourself.
Removing or lifting away these feeling it's wonderful you can now refocus your heart campus and now you can send out a heart frequency using our own wonderful human imagination and focus on our desires. So instead of imagining the drama of our unpleasant experience or interactions we are going to shift that focus onto what we want to see happen and feel it happening to us now. This is not about just watching a play in our minds either. With all our senses we will become the producer, director, and, actor or actress of our new story.
With our new story, we can begin to envelop that state of mind and feeling in which we truly prefer and not solely in the state in which we dread or that can lead us to perpetual misery. We don't have to victims we can be creators and in turn live out our dreams. The choice is ours.©
Namaste.
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