Primal, D. A. Serra (4.5 stars)

Description of Primal

Publisher: Perry Street Pictures, Inc., May 13, 2012
Category: Crime Thriller, Suspense/Thriller
Tour Dates: January & February, 2013
Available in Print and ebook: 191 Pages

PRIMAL by D.A. Serra (screenplay originally purchased by James Cameron)

The most dangerous place on Earth is between a mother and her child…

With everything at stake – what are you capable of? What if the worst happens and you’re not a policeman, a soldier, or a spy with weapons training and an iron heart? What if you’re a schoolteacher – a mom? In this gritty crime thriller a family vacation takes a vicious turn when a fishing camp is invaded by four armed men. With nothing except her brains, her will, and the element of surprise on her side, Alison must learn to kill or watch her family die.

And then, things get worse.

Review

Full of suspense and intensity, this story hits the ground running from the very first page. Alison and her husband, Hank, are taking their son, Jimmy, on a fishing trip--not exactly Alison's idea of the perfect getaway, but she wants to be a good sport. Unfortunately, a band of evil brothers are heading in the same direction intent on breaking their brother out of jail.

Not long after Alison and her family arrive at the cabin near Lake Superior, an escaped death row inmate and his brothers seek shelter from a storm at the very same area. Alison manages to sneak out the back, but her husband and son are taken hostage. With a fierce determination, Alison realizes she's the only chance the hostages have. She finds a local man, procures a gun, and digs deep to find a way to take out these bad guys.

Even when she thinks she has succeeded, the ringleader escapes. Back at home, facing the press and trying to get back to some sense of normalcy, she knows Ben will come for her. Hank, feeling his own guilt for not being the hero, just wants her to move on. Is she right? Will Ben come for her? Or, is she being paranoid?

The action never lets up, and the author does an incredible job creating a character who harnesses the power to take down a madman, but doesn't know exactly how to handle the power once she unleashes it. As a mother myself, I respected Alison's need to protect her child and understood the lengths to which she needed to go. 

But instead of just giving the reader an intriguing story, D.A. Serra really dissected the characters and how they each dealt with such an unimaginable situation. It wasn't just about the action, it was about the human reaction to evil and preserving our families.

I highly recommend this book to readers who like an intense read with the added bonus of well-developed characters. It's a breathtaking ride with heart-pounding moments. 

Rating: 4.5 stars
Note: Worthy of rounding up to a 5 on GoodReads & Amazon

About D. A. Serra

Deborah Serra was a screenwriter for twenty years and recognized by the Writer’s Guild for her long term continuous employment. She has written ten TV movies, four feature films, and numerous TV episodes including two years as a staff writer for NBC. She worked for top producers, directors, and actors. She has taught writing at the University of California, San Diego, Wofford College and at writers’ conferences nationwide. Serra has now turned her attention to novels, and she was honored as a recent recipient of the prestigious Hawthornden Literary Fellowship, and as a semi-finalist for the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Award given by the Faulkner Society in New Orleans, LA.

For more information, visit the author’s website.

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Thanks to Virtual Author Book Tours for including me on this blog tour. Please visit more blog stops on the Primal blog tour page.