SWITCHBACK: A PATRICK FLINT NOVEL (audiobook) by Pamala Fagan Hutchins





Published in 2019 by Pamala Fagan Hutchins.

Read by the author, Pamala Fagan Hutchins.

Duration: 7 hours, 56 minutes.

Unabridged.

My synopsis:

It is 1976 and E.R. Doctor Patrick Flint wants to take his family on a week-long family camping and hunting trip on horseback. He is keenly aware that his teen children are getting older and they won't have too many more opportunities to go on adventures around their Wyoming home.

But, things are starting to unravel. His wife decides she doesn't want to go at the last minute. His daughter is complaining because she'll be out in the mountains and away from the boy she is interested in. 

So, the family separates for the week and that's when things start to go bad - and once things start to go bad in this book they just don't stop.

My review:

The basic outlines of Switchback are quite good, especially for the first book in a series. There's a decent amount of world building and the choice to set the book in 1976 removes all chances of cell phones or computers being a part of the story.

But, there are problems. For example, Dr. Flint is a congenial, funny guy at work. At home, he yells and screams when things don't go his way. The couple throws things at one another - not soft things, but things like dishes and coffee mugs. Maybe that's the way some couples do things, but I've been married a long time and we don't do it that way. Voices can be raised, but things don't get thrown. I disliked the man from that moment.

*****Spoiler Alert*****

This book is just way too busy with plot twists. There are sudden (often violent) plot twists that started at about the one-third point. Once they started coming, they never seemed to stop. An escaped prisoner commits a home invasion, a motorcycle gang (sort of) makes leering sexual comments to the high school daughter, the family uncovers a drug manufacturing operation, a car theft, a devastating car crash, a coyote pack attack caused by the (sort of) gang, food poisoning, a mountain lion attack, a horse killed for no reason, an attempted rape, a kidnapping, a murder, an attempted murder, a stabbing, and a horse breaks its leg in the middle of nowhere. 

There were enough plot twists for 2 or even 3 books. My advice - slow things down and save these ideas for another book.

*****End Spoiler Alert*****

Despite my misgivings about the sheer number of plot twists and my dislike of the main character, I found the last third of the book to be pretty compelling - I wanted to find out how the book ended.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Switchback: A Patrick Flint Novel by Pamala Fagan Hutchins.


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