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Boy on the Beach Book Review & Giveaway

I love mysteries and psychological thrillers.  I recently had the opportunity to read and review thriller Boy on the Beach by R. D. Maddux.  What did I think of this novel?  Check out my thoughts on the book, buy a copy of your own and enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post.

Book cover for psychological thriller Boy on the Beach by R.D. Maddux

Book Title: Boy on the Beach by R.D. Maddux
Category: Adult Fiction; 304 pages
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Content Rating: PG-13 + M 
There are implied sex scenes but no graphic descriptions of lovemaking. 
There is one scene with some violence.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for use in my review.  All opinions are my own.

About the Book

Andrew Foster, a real estate developer in San Diego, is a man suddenly haunted by his past. Memories, like specters from his former life of sex, drugs and rock and roll have come crashing into his current world of business in this sunny coastal city. The ominous, repeated appearance of a black SUV at the beach where he meets his sister each week, has triggered fears that it’s payback time for a bad choice he made years ago.

To add to his frustrations, his hopes of a big breakthrough in the San Diego real estate market haven’t come to pass. He’s starting to wonder if his visions of success will ever come true when an investor offers to finance his dream project. Soon things start to fall into place for Andrew in business, life, and even love. He starts dating the beautiful and business-savvy Nicole but even with her at his side he can’t seem to shake the ghosts of his past. As the relationship with Nicole deepens, Andrew opens up to her about the many loves and adventures that have taken him from the crazy days of living in Big Sur and Joshua Tree to business success in San Diego. Her wise insights help him face the character flaws that have caused him to fail in his past relationships.

Rounding out his social life is his once-a-week task of assisting his sister with her nanny job watching a young boy named Chandler. They build sand castles on the beach and enjoy the beauty of nature together. But the now ominous weekly appearance of a strange car at the beach has awakened Andrew’s fears. Is the boy in danger? Or worse, has an enemy from Andrew’s past come seeking revenge and now Chandler’s caught in the middle?

A strange twist of events threatens to destroy Andrew’s dreams, but as he searches for answers, a sudden revelation offers hope of a future he never imagined.

My Review

Boy on the Beach is Difficult to Put Down.  While this novel isn't an action-packed, psychological thriller--it will draw the reader into Andrew's story page by page.  Readers won't find a violent, terrifying story--although there is a bit of violence and a mounting fear as the book moves along.  Instead, readers will discover Andrew's past, page by page, and piece together the puzzle creating his current life events.  While I pieced together the underlying mystery fairly early in the novel--I still found myself drawn to every page as the author pulled me into Andrew's life story.   

I love a novel with a life story.    There were times that Boy on the Beach felt almost memoir-like as we visited moments from the past and followed the main character as he put together the pieces of his past and came to terms with the cause and effect factors throughout his life--leading to the present story.  I didn't like Andrew much at the beginning of the novel--but, that changed as he revealed himself and grew as a character.  There is a much deeper story than one of revenge and betrayal--and it is one that the author develops realistically.

Would I recommend Boy on the Beach?  If you love a psychological thriller focused more on human nature and character discovery and redemption with less violence--this is a wonderful novel. Even if you suspect that you have solved the "mystery"--there are still enough surprises, revelations and character development to keep you turning the pages through to the end. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.


To follow the tour and read reviews, please visit R.D. Maddux's page on iRead Book Tours.


Buy the Book

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Meet the Author


R.D. Maddux has story telling in his blood. Since he was young he’s always loved a good tale. He’s been writing seriously since he was in high school and college. His novels range from Mystery and Intrigue to Sci-fi/fantasy. With Boy On The Beach he’s set the story in modern America, to be exact, on the West Coast of California. He’s a native of the golden state and has been a resident of San Diego since 1987. Before that he grew up in northern California and lived in the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area with sojourns in some of the beautiful parts of our state.

Living in California for over 60 years he couldn't help but watch the way things have changed in our culture and the impact this coast makes on the rest of America and the world. So even though Boy On The Beach is fiction, like most serious novels, it is not without a context and comment on issues we all face in our changing world. It takes place in real locations that are very familiar to him and its characters, which are fictional, no doubt have their counterparts in the real world. Boy On The Beach is a story of intrigue, suspense, revenge, love and redemption with flashbacks to the era when sex, drugs and rock and roll set our culture on it's inevitable journey to our present day. This idea has been rattling around in his heart and mind for a decade and it's finally coming to the page.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram


Enter the Giveaway!
Ends Aug 25, 2018


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1 Comments

  1. Thanks so much Angela for your thoughtful review of my book. Have a great day.
    R.D.

    ReplyDelete

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