The Reluctant by C.S. Splitter

Kiki's Rating:  5 Stars

Ladies and Gentlemen buckle up, put your seat backs in their upright positions, and prepare to take flight!  C.S. Splitter's debut novel, The Reluctant, is going to take you on one thrilling ride.  A ride with twists and turns on every page.  One that, when you're finished, you'll beg to ride again.

First person narrative is tricky to say the least.  The main character has to be one that every reader can relate to. The descriptions given by the character have to be vivid, as if the reader is seeing them with their own eyes.  The most important aspect, I feel, is that the story has to be believable.  You have to feel like if roles were reversed you could see yourself in their shoes.  Splitter has accomplished all this and more. He's created this story that has a realistic quality, but still has that little bit of fantasy and mystery we all desire in our lives.

Tom Crayder is the main character of the story.  He's a guy we can all relate with these days.  He is a pilot that charters his own plane, nothing fancy, but it gets you where you need to go.  This job may be his dream, but right now it's not paying the bills.  With the current economy his charters are less and less, and he's stretched out his and his wife's incomes to cover a mortgage that would make the best of us a little cranky.  This puts a lot more than stress on his life and his marriage.  Crayder, like many of us, starts thinking that maybe the grass is greener on the other side. So, resorts to odd and end jobs, some would say aren't exactly legal, from Jake, the head of the local biker "gang".  These jobs seem to add the income, but more they add that sense of adventure that Crayder feels is missing from his "cool, sexy pilot" image. Then enters the enticing Lorena, who is more than a little easy on the eyes "if you liked that over thirty and well preserved look."  In Lorena, Crayder finds not only a hell of a shot, but a willing flirt.  There are a series of other strong characters that round out Splitter's cast and add even more depth to the many twists and turns in the story so that it hooks you from page one, and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end.

So what do we have readers?  A well written book that has believable characters and a story line that keeps you on the edge until the end.  What more could I ask for?  Except for it to continue!  I really enjoyed this book.  I felt like I was watching a new television pilot and now I can't wait for the series.

~Kiki