I have read and enjoyed a couple of this author's books so I had high hopes for this one. I was especially quite intrigued by the blurb as it sounded quite different to the books I have been reading recently.
So, Chris Brennan goes for a job as a high school teacher. He has an ulterior motive though which soon has him scoping out certain members of the baseball team. It becomes apparent quite quickly that Chris is there to do a little more than just teach and coach and, as the story unfolds and starts to give up small parts of the puzzle that is Chris, it all starts to come together.
I was swept away by the story initially and followed meekly as the author took me down certain roads, but it was not until a couple of key pieces were uncovered that made me go back and reassess certain assumptions that I had previously made, that I soon started to see the bigger, rather shocking picture.
We meet quite a few characters on our journey, all of them came across as quite real and on the whole credible. The main ones were easy to connect with and that always makes for a better read for me. Obviously some are more open than others but hey, that's true in life too so why not fiction?
Having recently just been to the States to watch my first live baseball match, I was especially interested in the baseball parts of the book. Don't worry, for those with no interest in the sport, they don't overshadow the book at all; I just liked the connection I made with it.
The three boys that the story focuses on are all from different backgrounds. They have different home lives, have suffered different things, and have different relationships with their respective family members. We follow each boy and their mother too and get a glimpse of what life is like for them. I am usually bad with a lot of main players in a book but each character was well drawn and distinct enough so I didn't have any trouble distinguishing them and remembering who went with who!
Pacing was also good. It starts off quite slowly with a bit of scene setting and character development but when the action starts, it goes off at a pretty fast, action packed pace. This is also where Chris really holds his own. And that's all I will say as to explain would provide spoilers. It all culminates in a rather thrilling finale which left me breathless as it wrapped up.
All in all, another great book from someone I now have on my watch list. Must revisit her back catalogue and fill in my gaps.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.