7 Hours - Post 4 - Teardrop by Travis Thrasher

Have you read any of the 7 Hours novellas yet? I've really enjoyed these stories! Here's the latest review with more on the way.

Let's begin with the summary of this 7 Hours offering, Teardrop: 

Mike Harden is living a comfortable life when he discovers he is going to die. Though skeptical of the stranger’s offer, Mike chooses to go back sixteen years to the day he married Ashley.

When Mike realizes this wish has come true, it doesn’t take him long to begin to make plans. He didn’t relive this because it was the happiest day of his life. Mike made this choice in order to go back to the moment when a man named Vince Levy first saw Ashley. The first and only time Vince saw the woman he would go on to kill ten years later. Mike has gone back to his wedding day to kill his wife’s murderer.

And now, my review:

Travis does a great job with characterization. Like with the other stories in this collection, I found myself thinking of his novella after I finished it, thinking about the main character and how he grew through the story. How a cop went from justice-minded to homicidal intentions following the murder and dismemberment of his estranged wife. He’s given a chance to live seven hours, either going back in time, or extending his life. He chooses to go back to his wedding and confront the guest who would later turn out to be a crazed serial killer. Mike thinks he can play God, that he can take matters into his own hands and change the course of his life, and more importantly, his wife’s shortened life. If he murders the sicko who would later kill his wife (among other women), he can keep his wife alive. But as he tries to carry out his plan, he gets more than he estimated. He also learns thankfulness, to be grateful for Ashley in his life, to cherish every moment. His run-in with “time” (the character of Thomas Constant) makes him reconsider how he has spent his. And nudges readers to do the same. 

Highly recommended.