Review for "The Ridealong" by Michaelbrent Collings

The Ridealong by Michaelbrent Collings

The Ridealong by Michaelbrent Collings is a fast paced mystery thriller centered around a cop and his daughter. What started as a simple Ridealong with his teenage daughter quickly spirals into a night of terror and danger for both of them, trying to unravel the mess they have been placed in and uncover a mystery that could blow their worlds apart. The sinister voice at the other end of their radio can either be their salvation or their damnation, but one thing is certain, their lives will never be the same again after this.

I have to start this review with a cry, a plea if you will, to the movie production community at large; PLEASE MAKE THIS INTO A MOVIE. Considering their current penchant for adapting books into movies it wouldn’t be a huge leap to turn their sights to Collings work. This book is one of the few I can honestly describe as ‘gripping’ from start to finish, and then the ending hits you like a ton of bricks and you have to pick yourself up off the floor and wonder how the heck you missed that twist.

Now as amazing as it is, the book isn’t perfect. After the euphoria of the ending has subsided, you are left wondering if the general theme isn’t a bit passé nowadays. Apart from cop mystery dramas lining the shelves of airport bookstores, they do provide a certain guilty pleasure, but here I am talking about the twist, or rather the theme of the twist. Without giving too much away (something I have been told I am terrible about) the twist is something that has been done before (again I cannot mention who shares this particular genre with Collings work without giving the twist away, but trust me, you will know it when you read this). The punch to the gut the twist delivers is real enough, but the effects seem to quickly recede to leave the reader slightly less impressed.

Praise has to be given though, to Collings for taking what might be considered a bit of a pedestrian novel theme and giving it new life, throwing in curve balls and delivering the unexpected to his readers. While you may not read the book more than twice, it’s an enjoyable experience and those who dare to start the journey will be left feeling glad they did. 

For more about the author, click here. 

To buy this book from Amazon.ca, click here.