The Reluctant (Crayder Chronicles #1) by C.S. Splitter /Giveaway

Action, adventure, suspense, and thriller in one story told with a liberal dose of humor.
Tom’s problems are not unique. His business is failing and his wife has to work too many hours to make ends meet. He is under some rather large financial pressures and wants more from his marriage and his life. He finds his respite in the air as a private pilot. Unfortunately for Tom, he is behind on payments for his plane and is forced to take odd jobs from a local crime boss. Tom is no criminal, but the errands he is running are just slightly on the wrong side of the law and the money is almost good enough to allow him to make his plane payments. Just as things begin to come under some semblance of control, he meets a woman who just might represent the adventure he seeks. He soon discovers that appearances, and beautiful women, can sometimes be deceiving.(synopsis provided by author)

My thoughts: 

The Reluctant by C.S. Splitter is the first book in the Crayder Chronicles. This adult-fiction offers suspense, mystery and murder delivered with a touch of humor.  I enjoyed this easy flowing read and finished it in just a few hours. It isn’t often that I read a book from a male point of view and I found it to be refreshing.

The tale is told from the POV of our protagonist Tom Crayder.  A middle aged, married man, whose wife Jenny works too much as they struggle to make ends meet. Jenny is clueless about Tom’s need for adventure and his straying eyes.  Tom’s pride and joy is his plane. In order to keep up the payments on the plane, he begins accept jobs from the head of a biker gang. Tom’s never broken the law, accept maybe for a few speeding tickets but his work with Jake is questionable. Tom’s only rule..No drugs.  This arrangement works well for them.

Tom’s other hobby is the shooting range and he goes there to decompress. He meets a young woman named Lorena and imagines taking her to a seedy hotel for a good time.  Despite being a fairly calm and level headed guy, the tale that unfolds finds Tom in some risky situations. Thanks to his encounter with Lorena he finds himself dealing with life and death situations. The tale is  action packed and full of suspense, murder and surprising twists. I found Tom to be witty and level headed and I realize he’s not really a bad guy; he just makes really stupid choices.  I am not a fan of men and women who are unfaithful and this aspect turned me off….but admittedly it makes for a good story. Having said that Tom loves Jenny and I think this is more of a mid-life crisis. Lorena is the typical other woman and she casts quite a spell on Tom.

Splitter’s writing style is smooth and the tale is easy to read.  I enjoyed the story and will continue on with the series.  I recommend this to fans of suspense and mystery. The Reluctant is currently available in eBook format.  The second book in this series is also available entitled The Willing.

I gave this novel 3.5 coffee cups out of 5.

Book two in the Crayder Chronicles:

How far would you go to protect your friends and family?

Tom Crayder is the All-American guy next door with a business, a wife, a son, a mortgage, and an expensive hobby. He is also a politically incorrect, wisecracking operative working for a shadowy organization dedicated to administering justice outside of a broken system. Not even his wife knows of his other life when she finds herself unwittingly involved in a drug war. Strap in with Tom as he navigates his way through the strata of a drug cartel. Lock and load with Lorena, a hard-hearted assassin, as she lends her deadly skills to Tom’s fight for his family. Sit back to watch Tom and Lorena figure out how to work together without killing each other. Join the rest of the cast from "The Reluctant (Crayder Chronicles)" as they pitch in to track down the hitmen that threaten their associate. Some mysteries are solved. Some questions are answered. Some live. Some die. (synopsis provided by author)

About the author: C.S. Splitter is a business man, author, and stand-up philosopher living in rural Maryland with his beautiful wife, small dog, and astonishingly large cat. He is an avid shooter and loves being 5000 feet above the ground, upside down, in an open cockpit. He will never again jump out of a perfectly good airplane and feels the need to color outside of the lines.

C.S. Splitter's links:

Splitters World Blog

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Splitter's Amazon Author Page

C.S. Splitter has graciously agreed to provide two followers

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Get your copies here:

Barnes and Noble:The Reluctant

Amazon:The Reluctant (Crayder Chronicles)