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Sean Bridges
Author
Gunbarrel Highway
Sean Bridges, author
Texas trophy wife Claudia Grant dies after she causes an early morning car accident. In the other vehicle, Daniel Morrison, an attorney struggling with a pending divorce and pill addiction, panics and leaves the scene. The victim’s husband, congressional candidate Hayden Grant, is a corrupt politician who seizes the opportunity and places a million-dollar reward on Morrison’s capture. Dead or alive. Daniel is on the run. Roya Navarro, a determined San Antonio police detective is hot on his trail with local law enforcement, county sheriffs, a hungry journalist, and trigger-happy citizens all across the Lone Star state out on the hunt for the bounty.
Reviews
This sharp-edged thriller tells the story of Daniel Morrison, a man facing a failing marriage and on the cusp of plunging back into drug addiction, suddenly caught in a horrifying highway accident that instantly kills the wife of a politician bound for congress. Shaken in the aftermath, Daniel ventures out of his car, leaving the wreckage behind, and soon is viewed as the instigator of a hit-and-run. The consequence of this is immediate and extreme, as the congressman-to-be puts a million-dollar bounty on his head, and Danile must go on the run, undertaking increasingly desperate attempts to save himself.

Boasting a crisp, tense, multi-character narrative, Gunbarrel Highway delves deep into the motivations of each character, from police detectives to lovers to journalists hungry for a big story, suggesting the ways that tragedy touches many lives—and how many are eager to exploit or avenge it. While such a breadth of character exploration complicates the narrative, this makes for a fuller, richer story, and Bridges still keeps the gas pedal floored, with each perspective section and chapter moving things forward. In Daniel, Bridges skillfully depicts the dilemmas one must face when pushed to one’s worst—neither a bad guy nor a criminal, Daniel is a relatable man, down on his luck,caught up by chance in deadly circumstances. However, when push comes to shove, he turns every bit the criminal the media portrays him to be, taking hostages, evading the police, and more. Much of the suspense comes from the question of just how far he will go.

While the sometimes trite language can take away from this nuanced narrative, Bridges has nevertheless crafted a deeply compelling story. Set over the course of one day, this fast-paced thriller, packed with action, not only presents an engaging but also a pained investigation of human behavior. Both dark and human, this novel will resonate with readers who appreciate a nuanced take on the thriller genre.

Takeaway: Gripping on-the-run thriller of moral complexity and desperation.

Comparable Titles: Charles Salzberg’s Man on the Run, Scott Von Doviak’s Lowdown Road.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

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