I purchased and read "Thr3e" by Ted Dekker last weekend. The book is a psychological thriller in which a young seminary student, Kevin Parsons, is hunted by a serial killer. It all starts when Kevin is driving home from his university one evening and his cell phone rings. He is presented with a clue in the form of a riddle and is told he has 60 seconds to call the newspaper and confess his sins or his car will be blown up. He escapes the explosion of his car, but the next few days turn out to be the most difficult of his life. Being chased by a person who goes by the name of Slater makes the ensuing riddles and explosions an alluring read.

I couldn't manage to put this book down. Once I got far enough into the plot, it kept getting more and more intense. The author does a great job of keeping your interest throughout the narrative, however he could have done a little better job in wrapping up and linking in the riddles to the resolution. Overall, the twist at the end made me look like a complete clown in front of everyone else at the baggage claim in RDU airport when I actually said the words "NO WAY!" out loud. After looking up the reviews on Amazon and doing a bit of reading on the book, it turns out this is billed as "Christian fiction". I wouldn't have purchased the book had I known that in advance, however there really wasn't that big of a religious overtone that made me lose interest. One can safely ignore this misnomer if it would normally turn them off. Also of interest is the movie that was made out of this novel. It appears to have gotten horrid reviews, but we all now how accurate movie representations can be of good texts.

My advice to you? Ignore the bad movie reviews, forget the "Christian" label, and READ THIS BOOK! I believe this was one of the easiest to read, most interesting paperbacks I've read in a LOOONG time.

5 out of 5 DONKEYS!!