Author: Tom Piccirilli
Cover Artist: Carol Malcolm Russo
Publisher: Bantam
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Chase was just a child when his pregnant mother was murdered, and his father committed suicide. Orphaned, he’s eventually claimed by his paternal grandfather, Jonah, a career criminal with a reputation for being hard as nails and ready to do whatever it takes to stay in the game. He can kill a man in cold blood without batting an eye, or needing a good reason.
By the time Chase is a teenager he’s already an accomplished wheelman, working robberies with Jonah, but unlike his grandfather, Chase has heart. When he sees Jonah kill a man, he quickly realizes that even their blood tie wouldn’t be enough to stop Jonah from turning his gun on him if he thinks he needs to. Chase decides to walk away from the only family he has left.
Unfortunately, his skill as a mechanic and driver – as well as a criminal – amount to the only education he has to fall back on. He doesn’t get on the straight and narrow. Instead, he steers clear of his grandfather and heads out of state.
Life changes for Chase when a female police officer sees the robbery in progress and goes to investigate. Chase barely manages to gain control of the situation, but is captivated by the tough woman who controls her fear, while staring down the barrel of a gun. The choices Chase makes that night alter the course of his life, and ultimately he does turn his life around, eventually marrying Lila, the cop. He works hard to keep his demons at bay, but when the unthinkable happens Chase has to avenge the woman he loves… and reaches out to Jonah for help.
As I read THE COLD SPOT, I was intrigued by the layers of the story. On the surface, the book has a lot of action, the kind of adrenaline-charged scenes that lend themselves to the big screen: car chases, murders, heists, and even some physical combat. However, there’s a deeper story that’s simmering beneath the plot twists. The question THE COLD SPOT poses is whether a tiger can change its stripes. How much of Chase was programmed from an early age, and can he ever truly break free from his roots, or will it take only one tragedy to take him back to his criminal ways?
It also toys with other interesting themes, about the ties that bind us to our families, forgiveness, and the fine line between love and hate. The relationship between Chase and his grandfather is an uneasy one at best, and with a hardened criminal like Jonah as one part of the equation the reader has the sense that anything can happen.
The other relationship dynamic that was particularly interesting to me was the one that existed between Chase and his father. I don’t think there’s much in this review that isn’t clear from, or alluded to, on the jacket of the book, and I don’t want to give any unnecessary spoilers. However, considering Chase’s father is dead from the start of the book, I found it intriguing to see how much influence Chase’s father had over him, and how that influenced his choices. Chase is determined not to be like his dad, but in some ways ends up mirroring him.
With the confidence of a master storyteller, Piccirilli resists handing us all the answers to the questions raised throughout the book, and while we’re given the impression that we may know what happened to Chase’s mother all those years ago, the possible explanation isn’t fully explored. THE COLD SPOT is being followed by THE COLDEST MILE, and one can hope that means further revelations and another confrontation between Chase and Jonah, one that might shed more light on their complex relationship.
I’m also intrigued by the idea of a second book with Chase, because in book one we’ve seen him mend his ways, only to fall from grace. Because we know that he’s capable of turning his life around, and essentially has a good heart, there’s a sense that his future may not be written in stone, and there’s hope that he may ultimately be redeemed.
It’s hard to review a writer like Piccirilli. His writing is so fluid and his storytelling has a natural rhythm that makes it nearly impossible to critique. I admire the way that he tells energetic, action-packed stories that cut deeper and probe questions about what it is to be human, to love, to change, and how the things that happen to us in our lives shape the person we ultimately become.
