“Ryan.”

From David Bell’s The Request.

In the six years since the drunken night that resulted in the death of one girl and the longterm injury of her sister, Ryan has been racked with guilt over what really happened.  Life with his wife, Allison, and newborn son is fulfilling for Ryan, but when the older sister of the accident victims catches Ryan secretly giving money and blackmails him, he’s distracted by his inability to get the money.  When Blake, Ryan’s life-of-the-party best friend from college, asks to meet, Ryan agrees and is excited to hear that Blake is about to be married to his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Samantha.  Blake asks Ryan to sneak into the home of Blake’s recent fling, Jen, to steal incriminating love letters that Blake wrote; Ryan refuses to fulfill Blake’s request until Blake threatens to expose the truth about Ryan’s involvement in the years-ago accident.  Reluctantly, Ryan agrees to get the letters and heads to Jen’s house when Blake swears she’ll be out, but when he gets inside, he finds Jen murdered, so he flees before police arrive.  However, when Ryan confronts Blake about the dead woman, Blake swears he didn’t hurt Jen or even know that she was dead, which leaves Ryan wondering who really killed Jen and if her murder is connected to his past.

This thriller is fast-paced and engaging right from the first page.  Highlighting how easily one mistake can ruin, and even re-ruin, a life, this book uses a genuine narrating main character to guide the reader on a search for the truth as time quickly runs out.  The Request will have readers captivated by the thrilling mystery from start to finish and the perfect quick-but-deep read.