I read kids’ books because the fun the author had writing shines through and drips from the pages. I think that’s the secret behind the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Kids and adults enjoy reading what authors enjoy writing. 

I was reminded of this a couple months ago when I read author Andrew Klavan’s “The Long Way Home,” second book of his The Homelanders series. You can read the first chapter here on BH. The series centers on high school student Charlie West, who wakes up one morning to a world turned upside down. The last year of his life has been erased from memory, and he’s running from police for a murder he didn’t commit. He’s also running – for his life – from a terrorist group called the Homelanders, who claim he’s a former member and want to silence him. Faced with prison from one side and death from the other, Charlie must rely on his karate black belt, a few high school friends and his faith to maneuver the fog of uncertainty surrounding him and discover the truth. 

“The Long Way Home” is a fast-paced read that feels like you are watching the opening sequences of “Casino Royale” over and over again. For example, the book starts: “The man with the knife was a stranger. I never saw him before he tried to kill me.” It doesn’t let up from there.  (more…)

Charlie West went to bed one night an ordinary high school student. He woke up a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn’t know whose side he’s one or who he can trust. With his pursuers closing in on every side, Charlie makes his way back to his hometown to find some answers. There, holed up in an abandoned mansion, he’s joined by his friends in a desperate attempt to discover the truth about a murder he can’t remember-and the love he can never forget.

 Chapter One
The Killer In The Mirror – Part 2 

You have to understand:  a trained man with a knife is as deadly as anything, even more dangerous in some ways than a man with a gun.  You might grab a gun.  You might wrestle it away.  But you can’t get hold of a knife without getting cut.  And if the knife-man knows what he’s doing, he can carve you up with a blade just as fast as a bullet.

And this guy knew what he was doing all right.  All the karate training in the world wasn’t going to save me if I didn’t act fast and act smart.  If I fell and he came down on top of me, I’d be dead in seconds.

I knew it even as I was falling.  The panic raced through my belly.  The thoughts raced through my head:  I have to do something. (more…)

Charlie West went to bed one night an ordinary high school student. He woke up a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn’t know whose side he’s one or who he can trust. With his pursuers closing in on every side, Charlie makes his way back to his hometown to find some answers. There, holed up in an abandoned mansion, he’s joined by his friends in a desperate attempt to discover the truth about a murder he can’t remember-and the love he can never forget.

Chapter One
The Killer In The Mirror – Part 1 

The man with the knife was a stranger.  I never saw him before he tried to kill me.

I was in the Whitney Library when it happened, about seven miles from my hometown of Spring Hill.  I’d been there for about forty-five minutes.  I had come with a plan—a plan to clear my name, to get free, to get home to my family and out of danger.  Now I had to leave.  It wasn’t safe for me to stay in any one place for very long.

I was in the main research room on the library’s second floor.  I went down the hall and pushed into the men’s room.  I took off my black fleece and hung it on the door of one of the stalls.  Then, wearing just my jeans and black t-shirt, I stood at the sink and splashed cold water on my face. (more…)