Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
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Richard has a gift. He truly does. Many of you know I am a book worm. I read everything I can get my hands on, and I have never - never - been disappointed in a Richard Paul Evans book. I think I've been waiting to be disappointed for years, because most authors - including John Grisham and Philip Roth and nearly everyone else I can think of - will disappoint you sometime. Not Richard. His characters are always compelling. His plots are always tight and interesting. His dialogue is always true and comfortable.
I never get the feeling with Richard that his books are a vehicle. I never think that he sat down with an idea or belief he wants to exploit through fiction. I get the idea that characters come to his mind, and they tell him a story. In this book, it is the story of Nathan Hurst, a security expert with a music store who flies around the country busting employees who steal. Nathan has turret's syndrome, something Richard Paul Evans also has and can speak from experience about. The story begins with Nathan stuck in an airport on Thanksgiving weekend and the kindness he shows to a mother who is traveling alone with two small children. One of those children has a unique gift.
I love the local touches - the mentions of Eubank's weather forecast and The Five Alls restaurant. He really is our guy, and we feel at home all through his books. But he also belongs to the world, because his characters are every man. This is why he touches so many people, again and again and again. It is his gift. I recommend the new bestseller from Richard Paul Evans, The Gift.
