Too Far

Great book. Lots of twists and turns all the way through. Be careful what you wish for..... There's even potential for a sequel...

This book ok me totally by surprise.. I loved it! How have I never heard of Jason Starr before... will be speaking out more books by him. That ending blew me away.. did not see that coming!!!

Life is not always greener on the other side. Jack Harper is a struggling real estate agent in a loveless marriage. When he meets up with an old college mate he find out about an extra marital relationship website and after a fight one night he decides to give it a shot. If only he could go back in time and stay well away!! He sneaks away one night to meet up with his first online friend, only to get caught up in a massive mess!!! He is suddenly on the run, his life turned upside down while he tries to prove his innocence.

An absolute page turner and a book that I shall be telling everyone about. Thanks to No Exit Press and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

A good thriller with a original and thrilling plot. Strong writing and characters and some big twists and turns. A bit slower in the middle, hence the 4 stars versus a 5 star, but well worth the read.
Will be telling Chapter Chatter Pub to read this and highly recommending.

I’ve become a big Jason Starr fan since I read and loved his book, Savage Lane, last year. As a result, I have read and enjoyed a number of his books. So, I was very pleased to be approved by Netgalley to read his new book, Too Far.

I loved Too Far and read it in a couple of days. I was rooting for Jack Harper, the protagonist, who isn’t a bad person, just somebody who is unhappy and disillusioned with his marriage, his job and his life and is looking for a distraction without hurting anybody in the process. However, as the result of one silly decision he ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and becomes prime suspect of a crime. There follows a story full of twists and turns and dodgy characters that leave Jack yearning for his previous, albeit miserable, life.

Starr is adept at bringing his characters to life and creating an atmosphere of tension and unease. I could feel Jack’s anxiety, paranoia and lack of control as his whole life began to unravel.

If you haven’t yet read anything by Jason Starr please give this one a go. You won’t be disappointed. I would like to have given this one 4.5*

Fast-moving quick read from Starr that offers thrills and mystery.

4.5 stars.

Savage Lane was a memorable read a couple of years ago, and on the strength of that I decided to read this from the same author. That novel is also referenced a couple of times in here, which didn't go unnoticed.

This almost feels like a novella, but with all the action of a full-length novel. It moves quickly from scene to scene, ratcheting up the horror and mess every few minutes. It starts with a bad decision and quickly escalates into a nightmare 'what if' that shows how fast a life can unravel.

Jack Harper is a recovering alcoholic, he adores his son but his marriage is somewhat stale. Not happy in his work as an estate agent either, he is tempted to look into an extramarital 'cheating' website but a client he knows from his music days, and soons forms a connection with a like-minded married woman that he uneasily agrees to meet.

But when the meeting goes as badly as it is possible to go, Jack quickly finds himself a wanted man, with more than he realised to lose.

Of course, as a reader you will most likely, like me, be telling Jack not to use the website, not to talk to the woman, not to meet the woman. So when he goes against our 'advice' and does so, you know he's asking for trouble. But still, you do feel for Jack. He's flawed, but he's human. He may be slightly naive:
"Soon things would return to normal. I'd get another chance, and this time I wouldn't make the mistake I'd made before."

His naivety becomes a little annoying actually, lasting a long way into the book.

We don't see as much of the wife and son for the majority of the book to think of them as much other than background, so it's Jack and a zealous police officer who command our time and attention. The hunter and the hunted. Jack keeps digging his own grave a little deeper, making bad decisions and exasperating me somewhat.

But of course, his situation leaves him with few options. It's a rollercoaster ride, fast and furious, a life changed in minutes, a mystery for Jack to solve whilst trying to rebuild his fractured existence, and as a parent, I did identify with his desperate need to see and reassure his son.

Not as biting as Savage Lane, entertaining though and darkly humorous, a good popcorn thriller with psychological elements and surprises that would play well on a screen.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample e-copy.

Too Far, one of many thrillers from popular writer Jason Starr, far exceeded my initial expectations, and so long as you can forgive the lack of realism, you should enjoy this freewheeling suspense-fest. It follows the demise of Jack Harper who, after struggling to make enough money to survive, decides to try his hand at conducting an extra-marital affair. The book explores the old proverb "the grass is always greener on the other side" and proves that this is rarely, if ever, true. By the time Jack realises that his yearning for a better life has caused him spectacular and irreparable damage it's much too late to stop the ball rolling.

Starr's writing is engaging and easy to get into, and the plot and characters are intriguing enough to keep you reading. However, I did find Jack a little annoying at times as he certainly liked to complain about everything from the small things right through to his loveless marriage and issues surrounding his sobriety. From the incident that precipitates the unravelling of his life right through to the conclusion the author cultivates and nurtures an underlying feeling of menace and ratchets up the tension to nail-biting proportions. There are a plethora of twists which add to the unpredictability of this disturbing and incredibly entertaining psychological thriller. Be careful what you wish for!

Many thanks to No Exit Press for an ARC.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Oldcastle Books, No Exit Press and the author, Jason Starr, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Too Far in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
Well, this book is definately a thriller. Full of twists and turns, this book kept me up into the early hours. Will definately be reading more from this author.
Well worth a read. What have you got to lose...?

My first book by this author. The blurb sounded so good that how could I not want to read it! A story teaching the lesson that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Jack Harper is in a loveless marriage and a boring job. He’s not the best husband, father or employee but he tries his best. When he is introduced to an extra-marital dating agency by an old friend, he thinks by adding a little ‘excitement’ into his life things would feel better. After meeting his online date, things become anything but exciting when he finds his life in ruins and being accused of a crime he didn’t commit.

Poor Jack Harper! He certainly wouldn’t be the first married man who wants to spice up his life and I very much doubt he’ll be the last! I really liked his character though and felt quite sorry for him! He obviously loves his son and it’s this that keeps him going as his marriage is obviously dead in the water. Even so, when Jack begins to make arrangements to meet his ‘date’, I just wanted to hide behind my hands, close the book or throw it in the bin – anything so I didn’t have to see Jack making the biggest mistake of his life! Whilst I knew from the blurb things were going to go from bad to worse, it doesn’t give you any idea how and OMG, it’s honestly couldn’t get any worse than what happened!!

This book had me biting my nails in anticipation of what would happen next! It’s a very up to date thriller with so many online dating agencies around now for every little ‘diversion’ that may tickle your fancy, but I have to admit I haven’t read a book that included one for a very long time! It was a terrific fast paced read with plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked on a very original story! Deliciously dark and dangerous, if you’re ever tempted into signing up for an online dating agency read this book first!