Parallel Lines

Finished October 29

Parallel Lines by Steven Savile

This suspense novel has a unique plot. Adam Shaw is dying of ALS, and his is worried about what will happen to his eleven-year-old son Jake when he can no longer care for him. Jake has Down's syndrome and Adam's wife Lily has predeceased him. Adam works for an insurance company and calculates numbers for a living, and he has determined that he needs 2.5 million dollars to ensure Jake is cared for. Adam can see no way of getting this outside of a unique way of robbing a bank, and so armed with a gun for show, he puts his plan in motion. 

The branch of the bank he chooses is a small one, and he's visited a couple of times before to get the lay of the land, but now that he has put his plan in motion, the other people in the bank and those connected to them also play a role and he can't predict their actions. There are two customers in the bank, a man and a woman, one of whom tries to interfere with his plans. The bank manager has issues and worries that go beyond the current situation. Of the four tellers, one is a widow with a secret friend and a regret, one is just out of a relationship and wonders about her future, one has a strong moral center, and one has a past that makes her a threat. The loan officer has recently had a series of losses in her life and during the robbery has a revelation that is unexpectedly hopeful. The security guard has a past as well, one that feeds directly into the current situation. 

Adam's own body is also unreliable, even with his medications, and he must rely on these strangers in ways he never expected. 

I read this book in one sitting, needing to know what happened to each character