ONE FATAL MISTAKE

3 stars out of 5

If it's true that stupid is as stupid does, I must say the characters in this book pretty much have the concept down pat. But if you can overlook the dumb things they say and do, what's left really is a well-written page-turner that will hold your attention from beginning to end. 

The most important fatal mistake (I would argue that there are several others to follow) happens right at the beginning, as Joshua, a senior in high school, is involved in what begins as an auto accident and ends in a man's death. Near panic (and no doubt seeing his future dissolve right in front of his eyes), he does what he can to cover his tracks instead of owning up. But his mother Karen sees right through his concocted story of what happened to damage his car - and then proceeds to make the whole thing worse by concocting a cover-up of her own in an effort to keep her precious son out of serious legal trouble.

As this is happening, three other ne'er do well grown-ups - Ross, his wife Amber and his brother Shane - pull off a bank robbery that doesn't end well for one of them. The getaway puts the other two baddies at the scene of Joshua's accident just as he and his mother drive up so she can check it out. The four wrongs come together with a bang - literally - leading to yet another huge mistake (and another, and another....) Providing more details would only serve to spoil things for others, but everything happens nonstop from this point on - including the lies. Still, no matter what I thought of the characters or their decisions, I admit I didn't want to stop reading (in fact, I finished all but the last two chapters at one sitting). 

Here's something else to consider: All the way through I said to myself that the story sure would make a great movie (the action scenes in particular just scream for video interpretation (maybe with Sandra Bullock playing Karen)? In any event, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review the book.

One Fatal Mistake by Tom Hunt (Berkley, February 2019); 320 pp.