Title: Buying TimeAuthor: Pamela Samuels Young
Pages: 414
Rating: 4.5/5
Summary (Back cover):
Waverly Shaw is a down-on-his-luck lawyer who stumbles upon a potentially lucrative business just when he's about to hit rock bottom. In his new line of work as a viatical broker, Waverly comes to the rescue of people in desperate need of cash. There's a catch, however, his clients must be terminally ill and willing to sign over rights to their life insurance policies before they receive a dime. Waverly then finds investors to advance them thousands of dollars—including a hefty broker's fee for himself—in exchange for a significant return on their investment once the clients take their last breath. The stakes get higher when Lawrence Erickson, who's bucking to become the next U.S. Attorney General, hires Waverly to broker the insurance policy of his cancer-stricken wife. But Waverly's clients start dying sooner than they should, and Erickson—who has some skeletons of his own to hide—is unwittingly drawn into a perilous web of greed, blackmail, and murder. With two determined federal prosecutors hot on his trail, Waverly is on the run, and this time he might need some life insurance.
My Thought:
Superb! Buying Time is definitely a fast pace read and it's a page turner. I was fully absorbed in the story even though at first I thought lots of it kind of cliff hanging and left you wondering but turn out it makes sense in the end. It has two sides of stories which I keep asking myself; what's the link? One is planning on murder while another is guilty but both of them are quite victims of themselves by being framed. The characters are quite unexceptionable and disagreeable from the start. However, that conflict between characters towards the end or half through of it starts to link and it related to each other. I also realize that each main characters have personal issues and quite disturbing; drug dealers, a mental federal judge, materialistic wife, pressured husband, pushy in-laws, a pervert US Attorney General candidate, desperate dying people and the list could go on. But this really works in this novel. It is exciting, thrill and realistic. The best thing that I can find in the author is that, there's no hero. Each character has their sides of very interesting story of their own and for me, it's something cool when the story is not only or just about a person. It's about every person in the book.
All in all, the book is excellently well-written, strong plot line and have solid characters. Other than that, it is well-researched, and a lot of information on viatical policy and prior reading the book, I think this viatical has a lot of ethical issues. While I'm not familiar with the viatical policies, reading this book really broaden my mind on new perspective and learn something new. I really recommend this book to your TBR list or read it very soon if you have the same interest as mine. No regret assured.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young from the publisher for Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review and these are my honest review.
Credit: This book review is link up to Book Review Party Wednesday - Thriller Addition at Cym Lowell Blog. Click HERE for more info.