One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Title: One Breath Away
Author: Heather Gudenkauf
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Published: June 26, 2013
Genres: Fiction; Suspense Fiction

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My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
In her most emotionally charged novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf explores the unspoken events that shape a community, the ties between parents and their children and how the fragile normalcy of our everyday life is so easily shattered.

In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again. Trapped in her classroom, Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care. And thirteen-year-old Augie Baker, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.

As tension mounts with each passing minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage.

My Review:
After reading These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf, I had very high expectations for One Breath Away and I must admit that she certainly didn't disappoint yet again with One Breath Away. Gudenkauf has managed to write a perfectly concise and organized fast-paced novel. I thoroughly enjoy Gudenkauf's writing style in that she tends to write from several different POV's throughout the book, but not only do we get a good picture about what's going on in the present, she also provide plenty of glimpses of what has happened in the past to get the characters to where they are today.

There's nothing better when you're reading a book and you just can't put it down because you are dying to know what the outcome of the story is, and One Breath Away is one of those books. It is one of those prop you eyelids open way into the early hours of the morning, even though you know you have to get up in a matter of hours kind of book! It doesn't get much better than that!

I thought that the characters were so rich and deep that I couldn't help but fall into their story and get lost in their lives. All of the characters in this book were all so different from each other, that even though there were quite a few characters, there was never any confusion as to which character you were reading about.

This story is dramatic, agonizing, heartfelt, traumatic, and the list of adjectives could go on forever, but the best way to describe it is as it's simply amazing. I thought I had figured out the outcome on so many different occasions, that I lost count, but in the end, sat, shell-shocked, because the outcome was not one that I could have EVER predicted.

Overall, I must say that there isn't one thing I can say badly or that I didn't like about One Breath Away. It's books like this that keep my excitement boiling for each new adventure that I come across in every book that I pick up (or listen to)! It is authors and writing like this that keeps my desire for reading so alive and passionate. After These Things Hidden and One Breath Away, I definitely won't hesitate to consider Heather Gudenkauf one of my top go-to author's, as she has an impeccable writing abilities!

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