Gun Lake »

Born in Knoxville, TN, Travis Thrasher knew in third grade he wanted to be a writer and wrote his first novel in ninth grade. Tyndale House Publishers signed his first novel, The Promise Remains, which released in 2000. Today, Travis has nine books in print. He and his wife, Sharon, live with their daughter in Chicago, IL.

Once again Travis Thrasher takes readers on a thrilling ride, this time through the story of five escaped convicts and the people whose paths they cross. Weaving together twists of fate and fast-paced action, Gun Lake examines the consequences of sin and asks some compelling questions: Where do you turn when there is no hope left? How do you leave past mistakes behind? An edgy story with a redemptive message. Kurt Wilson could feel his heart beating. He took in slow breaths, but the blood still raced through his body. Adrenaline pumped and all he could do was sit there, behind the wheel of the Ford Explorer, looking out the open window toward the Harmans sporting goods store and waiting for word. Underneath his legs, next to his boots, rested a brand new .45 handgun that had never been fired. Hopefully after tonight, it would remain that way.

Publishers Weekly

Less is more, and cutting a third of the pages from this overly ambitious suspense novel for the Christian market would have improved it immeasurably. After some distracting introductory pages, Thrasher (Three Roads Home; The Watermark) introduces his novel with a strong scene as five escaped felons hold up a Louisiana sporting goods store. Sean, Wes, Lonnie, Kurt and Craig continue to spread murder and mayhem in their wake as they head for Gun Lake in Michigan. Ossie Banks, an ex-con-turned-Christian from Chicago, ends up along for the ride and shares his faith with the "Stagworth Five." Meanwhile, Norah Britt leaves an abusive boyfriend to make a new life in Gun Lake, and in yet another subplot, Michelle Meier takes her rebellious teenage son, Jared, from their home in Illinois to Gun Lake to straighten him out. At Gun Lake, yet more story lines are introduced: an older man is haunted by a past that he'll have to face all too soon; the deputy's wife has left him, and his passion for the bottle puts his job in jeopardy. The lives of this dizzying cast of characters will converge, of course, but the many points of view, background stories and extraneous information make for challenging reading. Thrasher portrays Sean, a Jim Morrison wannabe, fairly well, albeit heavy-handedly. There is a competent suspense story with redemption themes buried in these pages, but without a stringent edit to cut it down to size, even Thrasher's fans will find it daunting. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.