Constant Fear

"Constant Fear" by Daniel Palmer is a compelling, engaging suspense/thriller which takes readers on a thrilling roller-coaster ride at breakneck speed and does not let up until the final pages. Characterization is outstanding and the action is brutal enough for me to warn the squeamish to pass on this one. Otherwise, all I can say is, grab this one, buckle up, and maybe leave the lights on. Jake Dent's dreams of becoming a major league pitcher are shattered when he is injured in a drunk driving accident and after his wife walks out on Jake and their son, Andy, Jake is left to raise Andy alone. Latching onto survivalist philosophy and literature as a means of focusing his life, Jake trains Andy over the years to "be prepared " for anything life throws at him. Andy is now a student at the exclusive Pepperell Academy where Jake works as a custodian to qualify his son. Unfortunately, Jake has no idea that Andy and a small band of friends have a computer club called the Shire which steals small sums of money from wealthy parents to give to poor families in the best "Robin Hood" tradition. But one of them has seemingly stolen 200 million dollars worth of bitcoins from the deadly and crazed leader of a Mexican drug cartel who is sending "Fausto", his brutal enforcer, to Pepperell Academy to kidnap the members of the Shire to get his money back. Staging a hazardous waste "accident" to evacuate the school (after cornering the Shire members), Fausto is disappointed that none of the students seem to know the whereabouts of the money, even under threat of torture. Meanwhile, Jake discovers the kidnappings and his survivalist instincts and training kick in and he enters the school's underground tunnels and hidden rooms to engage the enemy and free the hostages. Palmer ratchets up the tension and suspense page by page as Jake must face a desperate band of killers to free his son and the others while law enforcement wait outside deterred by a bogus bomb threat. This is a fun but gripping read that will have you stopping at times to catch your breath or to just stretch tightened fingers. Daniel Palmer has certainly impressed me enough to await his next thriller in anxious anticipation. His writing style, characterization, pacing, and dialogue are noteworthy but his ability to create a sense of danger and suspense and hold the reader in that mode for hours is outstanding. I truly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to fans of the suspense/thriller genre.

The concepts of fear and ways to survive fear link the people and the plot. When anyone hacks into another's computer and data base, one should expect trouble. A survivalist father and his hacker son manage to stay alive, in spite of angry and determined bad guys from across the border. Throughout the narrative, unexpected twists and turns appear, somewhat like the tunnels under the private school. Nasty, awful violence keeps me from rating this a 5.

"Constant Fear" hooked me from the start and kept my attention until the end. I even brought it to work and took time during lunch to read instead of catching up on Facebook/email during that time. It was very fast-paced and I found myself quite a fan of Ellie -- the police officer that Jake Dent (the main character) is dating. She was very spunky and self-assured, but also quite caring. I also want my very own Kibo -- Ellie's dog. I was able to easily envision each of the characters and the situations from Palmer's descriptions. "Constant Fear" taught me quite a bit about survivalists; having diabetes (and just how dangerous it can be when blood sugar drops); and bitcoins. Reminded me to never mess with a drug cartel -- not like I was going to do that anyway. ;) If you're looking for a book that will suck you in and keep you interested til the end, "Constant Fear" is it.

This is by are the worst of all Daniel Palmer's thrillers. That being said, it was entertaining. It just wasn't good. It felt like a spec script for the next Die Hard movie. There were lots of scenes that didn't make sense in terms of character actions and dialogue, and as a diabetic since I was 13 (I'm now about 50), I found the diabetes subplot to be ludicrous. One of the main supporting characters spends many pages watching his sugar go down, down, down, when in actuality a real diabetic's sugar would have been going up and up and up due to stress, no food being eaten for hours, and the natural tendency of a sugar to rise over time when nothing is done. Every other book by Palmer has been excellent. This is an exception, and the author has built enough good will with his previous efforts for me to give h is next book a try.

I read a story by Daniel and his father in a compilation book of different suspense authors, and it was my favorite of all of them. So, naturally, I wanted to read more by them. Upon researching a little, I learned that the senior Mr. Palmer (Michael, I believe) is now deceased. So I bought this book by the son. At first, I was bored and decided it must be the father who did the good writing in the other story. However, I persevered and was so glad I did! The book got really, really good... good enough to deserve all five stars, and I will want to read another by him.

The book is a page turner. The only reason I bought the book was that I met the author at a pub in Somerville, MA. We chatted about a wide breadth of topics and I found him to engaging and knowledgable, which finds its way into the book.

I've read all of Daniel Palmer's books and this without exception was another winner! This book literally had me in constant fear , I turned the pages so quickly and actually had to stop reading this book several times just to take deep breaths ! Dan Palmers mind is very quick and he has the ability to engross the reader to the point of feeling terror! I'm an avid reader of suspense and mystery however this is a thriller ! To date, I cannot recall my heart racing to this extent and more and you in advance to get ready to take the ride of your life . I highly recommend this wonderful book!

First book I have read by Daniel Palmer. Took a bit to get into the characters, but once Palmer established them the book took you on a great exciting read that is a page turner. I enjoyed it immensely and will read another of Daniel Palmer's novels.

Great book. Kept you on the edge of your seat! I'll be reading more of Daniel Palmer's books!

Another good read.

Very good