I would really like to rate this a 3.5/5. Interesting main character. Good plot. If you like thriller/suspense, this is for you. ( )

This was mostly a sad and brutal book, full of tragedy and lots of really bad people and some who may not have been so bad but did bad things that got out of hand.

Audie Palmer led such a tragic life for such a simple guy. He made some mistakes, as all of us do, but it seemed his payback was always way out of line of his mistakes. His big mistakes seemed to be loving his brother and falling in love with the wrong woman. For these mistakes, he was forced to leave college, almost die, and spend a large part of his life in prison as attempts were continuously made on his life. It looked hopeless for him, and we don't really know how, or why, this happened.

I thought this was a little like The Count of Monte Cristo in some ways, although I don't remember the facts of that story very well so my logic could be off. But I think Audie Palmer was a better person, as he never seemed to seek revenge even though we, the readers, most likely hope for it.

I've read a couple of the author's other books and enjoyed them. After reading this, I feel motivated to return to his Joseph O'Loughlin series and his standalone books. I read The Secret She Keeps, and enjoyed it very much also. ( )

quit, didn't like narration ( )

Audie has spent the last ten years in prison, accused of killing four people and stealing seven million dollars. His sentence would have been longer, but his attorney made a deal while he was in a coma. On the day before he is to be paroled, Audie escapes from prison. Nobody knows why he would do that, but the theory is that he is mentally unbalanced because on the day of the robbery, he was shot in the head and had to be put back together like "a jigsaw puzzle." Once he escapes, Audie doesn't behave as a typical escapee from prison. Instead of running to a faraway country, he stays in town and finds places to sleep where he won't be noticed or caught. He has a plan which includes visiting the home of his arresting officer and talking to his sister. Meanwhile, Moss, who was in the prison cell next to Audie is taken from prison and sent on a mission to find Audie and bring him back. He isn't sure why these unknown men want Audie, but the more time he spends looking for him, the less he wants to bring Audie back to men who will surely kill him.

Life or Death does contain some elements of mystery in the story of Audie, why he was imprisoned, and why he escaped with only one day left on his sentence, but the majority of the book is the story of a tragic life. There are some twists and turns in the story, but they are fairly predictable. Audie spends lots of time in the story contemplating choices he has made in the past and trying to determine if they have made any difference in his life or if his whole life has been based on fate. As a result, there is really only one way this story could have ended, but instead, it takes a safer route that defeats the theme that was presented throughout the rest of the story. A different ending would have made a much greater impact and have been much more logical. Overall, this is a decent book, that starts a little slow and leaves the reader feeling a bit defeated. ( )

Very good book, just had to slog through it in places, surprise ending. Highly recommended! ( )