Book Review: Derailed

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Derailed     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
James Siegel
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Warner, Feb 2003, $23.95, 339 pp.

Life is quite predictable for Charles Schine. Every weekday he catches the 843 train leaving Babylon, Long Island for Manhattan where he works as an advertiser. At home and at work Charles bored as he feels choked by the needs of his wife and his diabetic daughter, and the demands of his job. With his wife off to her job, the impossible occurs as Charles misses his commute due to his daughter’s last second needs. He catches the 905, but that twenty- two minutes changes his life as he meets the also married Lucinda.

Charles now rides the 905 as he harmlessly flirts with Lucinda. This leads to a hotel rendezvous, but his first affair goes astray when an armed man breaks into his room, beats up Charles, and rapes Lucinda. His spiral into hell spins further out of control when someone tries to blackmail Charles, but instead of paying the fee, he hires a thug. His effort to return to suburban normalcy only sends Charles deeper into the quagmire with his life rapidly falling apart.

DERAILED is an exhilarating thriller, as the numerous woes (much self-inflicted) that pile on Charles would exacerbate Job and maybe some readers. Charles starts out as a sympathetic character, but his irresponsible actions to cover the hole he dug will change the reactions of the audience towards him, the accomplishment of the novel. James Siegel paints quite a picture of a person making one judgment error out of the need of having something joyous in his life that leads to a series of calamities and a powerful action packed character study for fans.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner