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Marathon (Jonathan Stride – 8) by Brian Freeman

On a rainy June morning, tens of thousands of people crowd into Duluth for the city’s biggest annual event: Grandma’s Marathon. Exhausted runners push to reach the finish line and spectators line the streets to cheer them on. Then, in a terrifying echo of the Boston Marathon bombing, there is an explosion along the race course, leaving many people dead and injured. Within minutes, an urgent manhunt begins for the person who planted the backpack filled with explosives.

Stride, Serena, and Maggie are forced into supporting roles in this investigation as FBI special agents take over the case. Politicians and the media push for answers and rumors fly as people leap to the conclusion that this was radical Islamic terrorism.

One spectator remembers being jostled by a young man with a backpack not far from the bomb site. He spots a young Muslim man in a tourist’s photo of the event, convinced that this man bumped into him in the crowd-but there’s no backpack in the photo. Distrusting that the police will follow up, he tweets the photograph to the public. In seconds, the young man, Mehdi, becomes the most wanted man in the city.

When new photographs surface from the day of the bombing, the spectator realizes he may have made a terrible mistake. Stride, Serena, and Maggie awaken to the possibility that the motive behind this bombing may not have been terrorism at all. But can they find the truth before more innocent people are killed?

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Author’s Bio

Brian Freeman is a #1 Amazon bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Jonathan Stride, Frost Easton, and Cab Bolton series. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 20 languages. He is widely acclaimed for his “you are there” settings and his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots.

Look for two books from Brian in 2017, including THE NIGHT BIRD (featuring a dramatic San Francisco locale) and the latest in his Jonathan Stride series, MARATHON.

Brian’s seventh novel SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards given out by the International Thriller Writers organization, and his fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for the same award. His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a nominee for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. IMMORAL was named an International Book of the Month, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Lisa Unger.

His novels (in order) are: IMMORAL, STRIPPED, STALKED, IN THE DARK (also called THE WATCHER overseas), THE BURYING PLACE, THE BONE HOUSE, the award-winning SPILLED BLOOD, THE COLD NOWHERE, SEASON OF FEAR, and GOODBYE TO THE DEAD.

He also has two Stride e-books, TURN TO STONE and the short story “Spitting Devil.”

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My Review

4 stars

People have gathered in Duluth Minnesota for the city’s biggest event: Grandma’s Marathon. But just as the runners are heading to the finish line a bomb goes off just like at the Boston bombing. Someone was bumped into by a Muslim man with a backpack. His picture is found and posted on Twitter. Within minutes all Middle Eastern men are targeted. Then he is discovered and people jump to the conclusion that he is the cause of the bombing. But then the witness thinks he may have made an error. By then it’s too late the change the rolling force of vengeful people that have no desire to look at the truth especially when more victims are discovered. It’s up to Jonathan and his team to find the truth before an innocent man get blamed.

This is my first Jonathan Stride book and I was pleasantly surprised. This is a story right out of the headlines and written in such a way to make you think twice about events on social media. It’s is written so well that you feel just like you discovered the post on your own Twitter page and want to get justice for those injured or killed. But it also shows how easy it is to get the wrong information and how easy it is to blame the wrong person.

There is a lot of action and suspense that will keep you drawn into this story. You will race through the pages and will love the surprising ending. I loved this book and will definitely be catching up on the other Jonathan Stride books.

I received Marathon from Quercus for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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