Book Review: Driven

By Sara Steven

It was only for a couple of minutes, while dropping Noah off at nursery. Little did Melanie realize that leaving her sleeping son in the car would end up being the biggest regret of her life.

A teenage prank turns sour

For teenager Woody, joyriding with his new friend helps alleviate the tedium of a life of poverty and boredom. This isn’t what he wants to do with his life but for now, he feels accepted. Except on this occasion, his actions have consequences that could change his life forever. Is it too late to turn his life around?

How far would you go to save those you love?

While DI Paton is on the case of the missing child, he is soon drawn into a web of deception that hits dangerously close to home. He quickly finds himself torn in two, not knowing which way to turn: save his career or his family? Will he be able to crack the case before he himself cracks? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

Once I started reading Driven, I couldn’t stop! From the get go, I’d become instantly hooked after discovering that Melanie’s son, Louie, had been kidnapped. Every decision that is made elicited some type of emotional response from me: fear. Hope. Dread. Anger. I wasn’t entirely sure how Louie’s story would progress, and was pretty amazed and later, shocked at what comes from his situation. I could understand the emotions that fed into everything, but at the same time, as a mother, I couldn’t even fathom not making the right choice when it comes to someone else’s child. 

Woody embodied much of what I can remember from my teenage youth. There were many of us who didn’t always make the best choices, and while the same can be said about Woody, at the heart of him is goodness. Unfortunately, he’s made some pretty bad choices and much of it is tied to Louie’s wellbeing. There were plenty of moments where I’d cheer Woody on when he was oh so close to finding out the truth about his grandfather’s neighbor, but then something would get thrown into the mix and derail him. It was a really great way to add even more suspense to a situation that left the reader questioning next steps. What is in store and coming for Woody and the other characters?!?

I loved, LOVED Tommy. Paton’s son really was one of the best characters in this story. I loved his interactions with his dad, with his babysitter–even the stray cat he managed to find in his dad’s shed were really great endearing moments that made me instantly like him. It’s obvious that when push comes to shove, the “baddies” are really no match for his quick thinking and the years of training he’s gleaned from his father. On that thread, the same endearing qualities could be found in Paton, too. He’s doing his absolute best to fix the wrongs he’s been tasked to repair, while also trying to hold his family together, too. It was interesting to walk along with him as he works on figuring out the various clues in order to solve not one, but multiple cases!

This is my first venture into the DI Patton Investigates series, but it won’t be my last. I appreciate a good crime mystery novel, and Driven had it all and then some! A seriously good, riveting, five-star experience!

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK * Amazon US

We are thrilled to be introducing DI Dave Paton and his son Tommy, the stars of the first novel in Kerena Swan’s new series, to the world. Before coming to Hobeck, Kerena had published three novels, Dying To See You, Scared to Breathe, and Who’s There? and has built a solid fan base around her writing career thus far. She is a juggler extraordinaire: driving forward a successful care business she runs with her husband yet finding time to write. She loves to write, here and there and everywhere when she’s not working. We don’t know how she does it but we are glad that she does! Kerena talks about her writing, her influences and how she came to Hobeck in this video.

Visit Kerena online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter​

Giveaway – Win a paperback copy of Blood Loss by Kerena Swan (Open to UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within seven days, then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winner's information. This will passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for fulfillment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  We are not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Giveaway ends December 7th.

 

Visit all the stops on Kerena's blog tour:

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.

Listen to this book on Speechify!