Whimpulsive: 15 Seconds by Andrew Gross

15 Seconds by Andrew Gross

Genre: Mystery/ Suspense
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 323
Source: Copy provided by publisher through Bookbrowse

The Short Version:
When Dr. Henry Steadman is pulled over by an overzealous cop a bizarre series of events soon find him on the run and accused of two murders he did not commit.

Why I Read It:
From the Publisher:

15 seconds can tear your life apart . . .

Henry Steadman didn't know what was about to hit him when he pulled up to a red light. A successful Florida plastic surgeon, he is in town to deliver a keynote address at a conference when suddenly his life becomes an unrelenting chase to stay alive.

Stopped by the police for a minor traffic violation, the situation escalates and he is pulled from his vehicle, handcuffed and told he is under arrest. Several other police cars arrive and the questioning turns scary, but just as Henry is released and about to move on, a blue sedan pulls up and the officer is suddenly killed. As the car speeds away, there is only one suspect left behind–Henry. In that moment, his idyllic life becomes a free fall into hell as he becomes the target of a police manhunt, as well as being pursued by a cunning, unnamed perpetrator bent on some kind of vengeance.

When Henry turns to a close friend for help, and he, too, ends up dead, Henry realizes he's being elaborately framed. But in a chilling twist, the stakes grow even darker, and he is unable to go to the police to clear his name, without bringing on dire and deadly consequences.

My Thoughts:
I've enjoyed some of the books that Andrew Gross has co-written with James Patterson but this one was a disappointment. The fast paced and action filled story I expected was there but the believability of the events which initiated the story was missing. Although the author takes an event from his own experience and embellishes it into the story that is the basis for the book, he doesn’t manage to do it in a way that made sense to me.

The main character, Dr. Henry Steadman tells the sections from his viewpoint in an odd way. The tension and stress is told with exclamation points rather than action that draws the reader into the story. It’s filled with short simple exclamation point filled sentences that became annoying to me.

The confusing timeline in the first half of the book finally made sense but by then I didn't care. The second half included a ridiculous romantic angle and some pretty amazing (as in completely unbelievable) deductions by Steadman. It's not awful, but it's not one I can recommend.