Ravens by George Dawes Green

The Boatwrights just won 318 million dollars in the Georgia State lottery. It's going to be the worst day of their lives.

Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko pull up at a convenience store off I-95 in Georgia, their only thought is to fix a leaky tire and be on their way again to Florida-away from their dull Ohio tech-support jobs. But this happens to be the store from which a 318,000,000 million dollar Jackpot ticket has just been sold -- and when a pretty clerk accidentally reveals to Shaw the identity of the winning family, he hatches a ferociously audacious scheme: He and Romeo will squeeze the family for half their prize. That night, he visits the Boatwright home and takes the family hostage, while Romeo patrols the streets nearby, prepared to murder the Boatwrights' loved ones at any sign of resistance.

At first, the family offers none. But Shaw's plot depends on maintaining constant fear-merciless, unfaltering terror-and soon, under the pressure, everyone's sanity begins to unravel . . . At once frightening, comic, and suspenseful, RAVENS is a wholly original and utterly compelling novel from one of our most talented writers.

Stunning is the only word that comes to mind after finishing George Dawes Green's novel. It lures you in immediately and the reader cannot tear themselves away from the story. Not only is the plot suspenseful, but the characters are so well done that the reader will imagine that they are reading about their own neighbors. Seeing what is behind the crime for the criminals, how the family starts falling into Stockholm syndrome, and the heart-stopping resolution makes this one of the best books I've read this year. It is the kind of book that once the last page is read, the reader will rush out to find anything else that Green has written. This book is highly recommended for suspense readers.