Saturday, June 29, 2013

Accidents Happen-Louise Millar

Accidents Happen


Louise Millar

Atria/Emily Bestler Books, Jun 25 2013, $15.00

ISBN: 9781451656701



Kate Parker suffers from a severe case of PTSD caused by a series of personal tragedies. On her wedding night to her business partner Hugo, her parents died in a car accident. Other incidents not quite as traumatic occur, but they pile on stress until the next major incident happens when Hugo is murdered during a break in to their home.



Now she raises her ten years old son Jack while struggling with OCD that has her teetering on the deep end. She calculates the odds in every little event like a trucker tailgating her as the next calamity to challenge her sanity. Computing the odds of something nasty happening to her or Jack became an overwhelmingly powerful incentive for their leaving London for Oxford. When she meets Jago Martin, Kate finds a kindred numbers guru. He dares her to face her phobias by her taking on riskier and riskier challenges.



This is a gripping psychological thriller as Kate struggles with OCD caused by her PTSD reactions to a decade of traumas; while Jack the tweener struggles with keeping his mom from going off the deep end. Believability turns questionable as Kate begins to change too easily (even with Jack as her motive) after meeting her guru Jago. Still Accidents Happen is a taut tale with a surprising tense twist.



Harriet Klausner

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