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Flight From Fear
Lesley J. Mooney’s Flight From Fear traces the frightening ordeal of a grandfather and his two grandchildren after they find themselves hosting a bizarre guest. When Gabe’s plane crashes in the Canadian woods, Frank Benders and his grandchildren, Jacob and Natalie, open the door of their secluded cabin to find him bleeding, desperate, and clinging to life. During his time in their home, Gabe shows the small family two very different sides to his personality. As their fears increase, so do Gabe’s unsettling episodes.
Before Frank and his teenage grandchildren are able to summon help from the rangers, things in their remote forest home go tragically wrong. Mooney has taken a unique approach with her protagonist. His diagnosis of schizophrenia and the subsequent personas he develops make for an interesting back and forth between the characters. The reader is faced with feeling sorry for Gabe as his multiple personalities come and go rapidly throughout the plot. As much as I wanted to hate him for kidnapping Natalie, a part of me felt pity toward him. Mooney is effective at bringing out these mixed emotions with her villainous characters. I was somewhat thrown by the introduction of Frank’s trained eagle. As I read, I saw the usefulness of the eagle to the story line. Another element I found a bit difficult to grasp centers around the newlywed couple who shows up at Frank’s cabin shortly after Gabe’s abduction of Natalie. Samuel and Margaret, almost without question, step directly into assisting Frank and Jacob in their hunt for the two in the dense Canadian forest. This aspect seemed a little difficult to swallow considering the volatile nature of Gabe’s mental state.
Natalie remains, throughout the book, a character of immense strength. Her immediate willingness to help the man who otherwise seems hell bent on harming her is nothing short of amazing. She is pulled into a situation that most adults would find mentally devastating, but she is able to persevere. In fact, she not only perseveres, but it would seem she is able to forgive and forget. Mooney’s Natalie is an admirable heroine indeed. As much as I admire the evolution of Natalie throughout the plot, I feel the story lacks in a few areas.
For instance, Gabe’s hospital stay in the final chapters covers several pages without zeroing in on his condition, his criminal past, and his apprehension. Mooney, however, has fashioned a story different from any other in the thriller/suspense genre–her entire cast of characters is filled with an empathy unmatched by other authors. This alone makes Flight From Fear worth the read.
Amazon Author Page
Even I Shed a Few Tears
Lesley Mooney Author Interview
Flight From Fear traces the frightening ordeal of a grandfather and his two grandchildren after they find themselves hosting a bizarre guest. How did you come up with the idea for this novel?
As usual my imagination takes hold and it happens. I wanted to make it a family story with a pet dog and a mystery for a change, with a new setting. Living in forests and snow country brings its own dangers and difficulties. I love the beauty of mountains, and a winter scene is immediately interesting. The affliction the man suffers from is a disturbing one which is a terrible mystery in itself, but frightening. It actually becomes a sad story as the victim develops an affection for his ‘girlie’ ‘as he calls her. Even I shed a few tears at the end.
Gabe has schizophrenia and the subsequent personas he develops make for an interesting back and forth between the characters. What were some themes you wanted to capture with Gabe’s character?
At first that was a puzzle not knowing how that disease takes affect, so I bought in a natural Australian character first, then another completely different. I have read that the characters which come to life are often related to someone in their lives, but mine do not.
Natalie remains, throughout the book, a character of immense strength. What were some obstacles you felt were important to her characters development?
She is a young woman, the only daughter in the family, and many these days have to face up to a situation as she did in that story. Some woman find they have an inner strength in times of stress and fear. At first she’s terrified, but she develops a strength because of his injuries, then feels pity for the man with all the pain he suffers..
When will this book be available for purchase?
When I think it is ready and am able to publish it, probably within a few months.I do not wish to make a fool of myself, after the wonderful reviews received from you for the other books. That is why I had this reviewed first.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads | Shashwords
Flight From Fear
Lesley J. Mooney’s Flight From Fear traces the frightening ordeal of a grandfather and his two grandchildren after they find themselves hosting a bizarre guest. When Gabe’s plane crashes in the Canadian woods, Frank Benders and his grandchildren, Jacob and Natalie, open the door of their secluded cabin to find him bleeding, desperate, and clinging to life. During his time in their home, Gabe shows the small family two very different sides to his personality. As their fears increase, so do Gabe’s unsettling episodes. Before Frank and his teenage grandchildren are able to summon help from the rangers, things in their remote forest home go tragically wrong.
Mooney has taken a unique approach with her protagonist. His diagnosis of schizophrenia and the subsequent personas he develops make for an interesting back and forth between the characters. The reader is faced with feeling sorry for Gabe as his multiple personalities come and go rapidly throughout the plot. As much as I wanted to hate him for kidnapping Natalie, a part of me felt pity toward him. Mooney is effective at bringing out these mixed emotions with her villainous characters.
I was somewhat thrown by the introduction of Frank’s trained eagle. As I read, I saw the usefulness of the eagle to the story line, but I felt the eagle pushed the book a tad further toward a fantasy category.
Another element I found a bit difficult to grasp centers around the newlywed couple who shows up at Frank’s cabin shortly after Gabe’s abduction of Natalie. Samuel and Margaret, almost without question, step directly into assisting Frank and Jacob in their hunt for the two in the dense Canadian forest. This aspect seemed a little difficult to swallow considering the volatile nature of Gabe’s mental state.
Natalie remains, throughout the book, a character of immense strength. Her immediate willingness to help the man who otherwise seems hellbent on harming her is nothing short of amazing. She is pulled into a situation that most adults would find mentally devastating, but she is able to persevere. In fact, she not only perseveres, but it would seem she is able to forgive and forget. Mooney’s Natalie is an admirable heroine indeed.
As much as I admire the evolution of Natalie throughout the plot, I feel the story lacks in a few areas. There is a good bit of repetition of dialogue toward the end of the book which leads the reader to feel he/she has already read this page or that paragraph. In addition, I feel that some sections of the plot are stretched a little too far without getting to the meat of the plot. For instance, Gabe’s hospital stay in the final chapters covers several pages without zeroing in on his condition, his criminal past, and his apprehension. Mooney, however, has fashioned a story different from any other in the thriller/suspense genre–her entire cast of characters is filled with an empathy unmatched by other authors. This alone makes Flight From Fear worth the read.
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