Intro

#30Authors is an event started by The Book Wheel that connects readers, bloggers, and authors. In it, 30 authors review their favorite recent reads on 30 blogs in 30 days. It takes place annually during the month of September and has been met with incredible support from and success in the literary community. It has also been turned into an anthology, which is currently available on Amazon and all author proceeds go to charity. Previous #30Authors contributors include Celeste Ng, Cynthia Bond, Brian Panowich, and M.O. Walsh. To see this year’s full line-up, visit www.thebookwheelblog.com/30authors or follow along on Twitter @30Authors.

Book Title: Method 15/33
Author: Shannon Kirk
Reviewing Author: J.J. Hensley
Series: None
Genres: Crime Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
Pub Date: 05/05/15

Don’t forget to enter to win 1 of 5 copies of Shannon Kirk’s book Method 15/33 HERE!

REVIEW

I picked up Method 15/33 simply because Shannon Kirk is a fellow member of the International Thriller Writers and a fellow contributor to a site I work with called The Thrill Begins. While I knew Shannon’s contributions to the site were thoughtful and well-written, I had no expectations regarding her book Method 15/33. I purchased the book without doing any research, but then looked it up on some websites. Each time I finished reading part of the premise description a new thought would go through my head.

Premise: A pregnant sixteen-year-old girl is abducted.

Thought: As the father of a daughter, I’m not going to like this at all.

Premise: The girl is held captive.

Thought: Yawn. An abduction, captivity, and ‘attempt to escape’ or ‘hope for rescue’ book. There are 1,000 of these.

Premise: The girl with a cold and calculating determination begins methodically gathering “assets” she may find useful while she devises a devious plan.

Thought: Well, that’s kind of interesting.

Premise: From the first moment of the abduction, the kidnapped prodigy had started planning not only her escape, but how to exact merciless revenge. She is patient. She is precise. She is relentless.

Thought: OMG. I’M IN. LET’S DO THIS!

What follows is a story told through the points of view of two characters. The first is the abducted girl. The second is an FBI agent who is searching for her. The genius of this book is that by the time you are introduced to the FBI agent, you are not even sure who might need saving—the abductee or the abductor.

From the onset, Shannon Kirk lets you know that if you are looking for a formulaic, predictable thriller, you are in the wrong place. When searching for great reads, I am always hopeful, yet rarely successful, regarding my quest to find a novel with a unique structure and compelling characters. In fact, I read forty to fifty books per year and I can confidently say that Kirk’s novel is the most original I have read since 2013.

As I am paranoid about giving away any spoilers, that is all I will convey regarding Method 15/33. Perhaps you think I already have given away too much. But, that is the trick. Whatever you think you know about this story is likely to be dead wrong.

 

ABOUT JJ

J.J. HENSLEY is a former police officer and former Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. He is the author of Measure Twice, Chalk’s Outline, and RESOLVE, the latter of which was named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2013 by Suspense Magazine and was a Thrillerfest finalist for Best First Novel. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

Website: https://hensleybooks.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JJHensleyauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hensleybooks

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.J.-Hensley/e/B00E5VOHMW

 

 

ABOUT SHANNON

Shannon Kirk is the awarding-winning author of Method 15/33 (psychological thriller) and Heavens (Literary Fiction, TBP 2016). Method 15/33 has received multiple accolades: Winner of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award, Best Suspense; 2015 USA Best Book Finalist; School Library Journal’s Best Adult Books for Teens (2015); and Finalist in 2013 William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition (when a Novella). Method 15/33 is optioned for a major motion film and has sold to multiple foreign rights.

Website: http://shannonkirkbooks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShannonCKirk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Method-1533-1420675224921773/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Method-15-33-Shannon-Kirk/dp/1608091864