Final Breath

Rating:
Summary: Art imitates life!
Review: 10/22/03

Final Breath is a duplex novel, that captured and held my attention in the first five pages.

This is a story about two high school students, Chad and Mark, who couldn't be more opposite in personalities. The two pull together to solve the murder of a fellow student. Mark and Chad dive into their project, deciding that the murderer would be a great subject for the thesis of a joint psychology paper.

Meanwhile, at the nearby Crawford Center a yet, undiscovered murder has been witnessed by a young mentally challenged teen, Joey. Joey afraid and alone runs away from the Center and is secretly being hunted by two of the Center's security agents. The lead security agent, happens to be a "not so nice person."

The author, Paul Taylor manages to take the reader on a hilarious cross-country chase from Utah through Arkansas. The comical antics of the chase, sort of cushion the unfortunate ending. While, Joey is busy trying to allude capture. At the same time, Chad and Mark come up with a number of ludicrous schemes to gain access to information that may help them in their investigation and accidentally stumble upon a cover-up.

To reveal this cover-up and the murderer, they unwisely place themselves and their loved ones in grave danger.

To say the least, my feelings about this tale are ambiguous. The phrase, "The ends justify the means," comes to mind. However, to grasp the true meaning of this tale, one must adopt a different phrase: "The truth is the light."

This two-fold story could have easily been based on a true story. Regrettably, there are those in our society who abuse their position of authority for personal gain, be it power or money. These misguided individuals end up trampling on the rights of those they view as lesser or insignificant because of their differences.

I highly recommend this entertaining, yet enlightening story with its multitude of diverse human characteristics.

Rating:
Summary: Fun To Read!
Review: This book sucked me in from the beginning. It's unpredictable and exciting. You know who the bad guys are, but you are constantly on the edge of your seat for the poor kids caught in this mess.