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Review: Riptide, by Eric E. Wright

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Riptide, by Eric E. Wright (Harbourlight Books, 2014)Riptide, by Eric E. Wright

Vacationing on St. Simon’s Island to revive their marriage, Ashlyn and her husband, Craig, are in church when he hands her an envelope of divorce papers and walks out of her life. Betrayed and bewildered, Ashlynn soon finds out it’s worse than she thinks. The FBI has frozen her and Craig’s assets and seized their house in an investigation into Craig’s alleged money-laundering.

Ashlynn is a respected marriage counsellor. How can she face her clients? Craig is a deacon in their church. How could he have an affair, let alone commit a crime like this?

She can’t even ask him, because he’s disappeared with his attractive female co-worker. Leaving Ashlynn to fend off FBI agents and the Russian Mafia, who claim Craig lost their money. Naturally, they want it back.

Riptide is an engaging story of one woman who discovers inner strength and deeper empathy for the people in situations she’s only addressed professionally in the past. She also learns to trust good friends instead of relying solely on herself. Most of these friends are new, people who reach out to her in her pain on the island: Remy, captain of a shrimp boat; Lottie-Jean from the restaurant where Ashlynn takes temporary work; Valerie from the local church.

The counsellor part of Ashlynn observes her reactions to Craig’s desertion. If she goes back to her clients, she’ll have a greater insight into their pain.

Remy, who fancies himself a “knight in blue jeans” appoints himself her protector—from car repossessors and from the Mafia goons when they find her. Ashlynn can’t trust her feelings toward him. Even though Craig won’t consider reconciling, shouldn’t she keep trying? And is she really drawn to Remy, or is she just rebounding from Craig?

Riptide is a suspense novel, but the danger isn’t overt until far into the story. Until it escalates, readers develop a strong sympathy for Ashlynn as she spars with the FBI agents and dives into a busy waitressing job with no experience.

Eric Wright brings St. Simons Island to life and gives us a look at shrimp fishing and storms at sea. Once the action starts for Ashlynn, it doesn’t stop. Don’t plan to put the book down unfinished.

Eric E. Wright is the author of suspense novels, non-fiction books about country life, and books on theology. Visit him at The Country Window to learn more about the author and his work, and follow this link to read chapter 1 of Riptide.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Review: The Lightning File, by Eric E. Wright

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The Lightning File, by Eric E. Wright

The Lightning File, by Eric E. Wright (Hidden Brook Press, 2007)

“My discovery of terrorist cells operating in Canada coincided with Stephanie’s request that I move out.”

And so begins journalist Joshua Radley’s harrowing adventure.

Well-liked by almost everyone at the Toronto newspaper where he works, Josh is in the boss’ bad books. He’s been spending too much time chasing a hunch about a new drug ring linked to international terrorists. With a few tenuous leads and a faceless hacker friend, Josh slowly begins to piece together some clues.

As gifted as he is with news stories, Josh isn’t so good at relationships. His wife can’t take his workaholic ways anymore and says they need time apart. All he wanted was to track down this terrorist threat before it’s too late. Now, he’s dealing with writer’s block on the stories he’s actually been assigned, a tumult of emotions over his separation, a shaky faith, and temptation in the form of a beautiful woman who shares his commute.

The Lightning File languished in my “should read” pile too long because I thought it might be traumatic. Terrorists, after all, get pretty intense. But Josh is our narrator for the whole story, and although he’s shaken by his experiences it’s not an upsetting book to read. Instead, it’s a fast-paced puzzle he’s racing to solve.

His investigations take him into nuclear power plants and other places that require a lot of detail. Author Eric E. Wright does a fine job of keeping it all understandable, although at times the volume of facts got a bit too much for me.

Perhaps it’s the weight of facts that makes me feel there’s more “telling” than “showing” in this novel, although Josh tells us a lot about his feelings too. The plot gets very complex as it progresses, but it’s all part of unravelling the mystery. And the details could come out of today’s newscasts – or tomorrow’s.

The Lightning File is a well-crafted, high-stakes novel that will appeal to men and women both. It’s the winner of the 2007 Canadian Christian Writing Award in two categories: best mystery/suspense and best independently-published book.

Canadian Eric E. Wright is the author of five non-fiction books. The Lightning File is his first novel, and his second, Captives of Minara, also featuring Josh Radley, released in November 2009. You can learn more about Eric at The Country Window site and read an interview with him at the Hot Apple Cider site.