Nine years after he left Shilo, New Hampshire, former Navy Seal Tom Hawkins has returned to raise his teenage daughter, Jill, following the murder of his ex-wife, Kelly. Despite Tom’s efforts to stay close to Jill by coaching her high school soccer team, Kelly’s bitterness fractured their relationship. But life in Shilo is gradually shaping up into something approaching normal. Normal doesn’t last long. Shilo’s police sergeant makes it clear that Tom is his chief suspect in Kelly’s death. Then an anonymous blog post alleges that Coach Hawkins is sleeping with one of his players. Internet rumors escalate, and incriminating evidence surfaces on Tom’s own computer and cell phone. To prove his innocence, Tom must unravel a tangle of lies about his past. For deep amid the secrets he’s been keeping—from a troubled tour of duty to the reason for his ex-wife’s death—is the truth that someone will gladly kill to protect…
My thoughts
Tom Hawkins is a former Navy SEAL, is now a high school soccer coach for his daughter’s Jill’s team. Trying to establish a relationship with Jill after his ex-wife is murdered is tough. And life gets tougher when he is excused have having an affair with a student, one of Jill’s friends. Then suggestive photos of female students are emailed to him and found on his computer.
He knows he is innocent and could be the target of a set-up but why? And does his ex-wife’s death have something to do with it. Or are the secrets from his Navy days that have come back to haunt him?
Daniel Palmer’s second novel Helpless may be not be a powerful thriller as his first (Delirious) but it hits home for those of us who are fathers of teenage daughters and the fear of sexting (which is spreading like wildfire). I found the Tom’s predicament to be powerful and his determination to find the cause and end this frightful mess to be sometimes intense and sometimes a little off. To find that there were not one but two separate things going on made it all the more surprising.
Disclosure: I received this book for review from the author. I received no compensation for my thoughts.
1 comments:
His first book was fantastic! I can't wait to read the new one.
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