The Bluff: A Thriller
Adult; Mystery/Thriller; (Market)
“Gripping and full of surprises, The Bluff is a clever psychological suspense with layered characters and an atmospheric setting. Traymore masterfully ratchets up the tension little-by-little until the shocking, explosive end."--Tracey Devlyn, USA Today bestselling author
“What do you have to lose, Kate?” Ryan asked me, as we stood on the bluff looking out on Lake Michigan.
Turns out, almost everything.
When I first moved from Manhattan to this small town six years ago, I worried about many things. I worried about finding a job. I worried that I’d be bored. I worried that my relationship with charming photographer Ryan Breslow was moving too fast. But I never worried about whether the ground beneath my feet would crumble—both literally and figuratively.
My marriage didn’t go as I’d imagined. A year ago, Ryan met his untimely death in a car accident that’s still under investigation. Isolated and alone, all I wanted was to sell my home and leave Crest Lake and its painful memories behind.
But with my home inching ever closer to the edge of the crumbling bluff, the property has become unmarketable. All of us on the lakefront have lost chunks of property, and tempers are at a boiling point about what to do next.
And now, on the evening of a contentious vote about how to fix this pressing issue, my nemesis on the shoreline committee has been murdered. I know how it looks, but it’s not what it seems. But I have to get my plan passed and cash out.
Because I do have secrets.
And they won’t stay buried forever.
Semi Finalist
Plot/Idea: 10 out of 10
Originality: 10 out of 10
Prose: 9 out of 10
Character/Execution: 10 out of 10
Overall: 9.75 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Kate Breslow wants to leave Crest Lake, Michigan, after the sudden death of her husband a year before, but in order to sell her lakefront house, she must fight to make it safe for buyers in this eerie thriller that centers on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. When her nemesis is murdered, Kate’s plans for a new life begin to unravel, and Traymore wisely uses that unraveling to spark the plot's upsurge—followed by an explosion of riveting, high-stakes action.
Prose: Traymore’s writing is spare and satisfying, organically feeding the details of the story to readers while masterfully handling multiple flashbacks.
Originality: The Bluff ticks all the boxes for a psychological thriller, and the physical bluff in the story is, itself, a foreboding character that binds the characters together with uncomfortable ties.
Character/Execution: Readers will immediately root for Kate as she navigates her life as a young widow amidst questions about her husband’s death, but when her situation is compounded by small town politics, readers gradually learn to question Kate as a reliable narrator.
Date Submitted: July 17, 2024
Reviews
Readers' Favorite
The Bluff by Bonnie Traymore is a gripping tale packed with action. The psychological suspense will keep you reading right through as the story unfolds and secrets are uncovered. Your attention is grabbed from the first page, and the tension rises slowly, reeling you in and keeping you hooked until the exciting ending that you won't see coming. This is an excellent thriller, recommended to anyone who wants a good suspense story to get stuck into. -- Readers' Favorite 5 Stars