Safe / 13 Chances (Stuart Finlay) by Jack Chandler-reviews

13 CHANCES
(Stuart Finlay Thriller 2)
by Jack Chandler
Genre: adult, dark, dramatic, thriller, suspense

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 20 ,2025

Fin has a price on his head, a target on his back, and nowhere he can hide.

As a private investigator, Fin spies on cheating spouses and serves repossession orders. There will always be someone wanting to take a swing, or threatening to rip his throat out. But that’s in the heat of the moment. It’s not personal. Brice is different. He wants Fin dead. And not just dead. Hurt. Suffering. Broken. Then dead. And Brice won’t stop there. He’ll kill Fin’s friends, fiancée, and family. The source of his rage? Fin has Brice’s ledger.

That ledger details every crime Brice has committed and how he felt while doing it. It’s personal, damning, and a thing of pride. If Brice comes near, the book goes to the police. But if Brice gets arrested, he knows enough to put Fin behind bars with him.

The two men exist in a devastatingly fragile deadlock, but it’s the only thing keeping Fin alive. And Brice is looking to break it…

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REVIEW: 13 CHANCES is the second instalment in Jack Chandler’s contemporary, adult STUART FINLAY suspense, thriller series focusing on twenty-nine year old, private investigator Stuart ‘Fin’ Finlay. 13 CHANCES can be read as a stand alone but for back story and cohesion I recommend reading the series in order as there is an ongoing premise throughout.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there WILL BE triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Stuart ‘Fin’ Finlay, 13 CHANCES picks up four months after the events of book one RIPPED INTO wherein PI Stuart Finlay was tasked with locating a missing teen, a young woman who did not want to be found but Sarah, now known as Kat Morley continues to hide in plain sight but Kat is spiralling, struggling to address her fears and the demons from her past. With the help of a psychologist recommended by Fin, Kat is hoping for some peace but all does not go according to plan when betrayal comes from within, and both Kat and Fin will suffer for the sins of someone else. A missing journal is at the heart of Kat and Fin’s latest dilemma.

The world building is dark and gritty as we are up close and personal with the horrific treatment of a young woman who has suffered most of her life. Stuart Finlay is not a perfect hero, he is flawed, his friends are questionable but he is determined to protect the people in his life, something at which he continues to fail with every attempt at survival.

Most of the secondary and supporting characters are despicable and questionable including several people from Fin’s past including former friend Michael and his brother Noah, and ex girlfriend Lucy. We are reintroduced to Kat Morley, Fin’s long suffering girlfriend of two years Gail, and pub owner, Fin’s friend and mentor George. The requisite evil has many faces-betrayal comes from many directions.

13 CHANCES is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, pain and suffering, grief and loss. The character driven premise is dramatic, edgy and heart breaking; the characters are broken, contentious, and struggling. 13 CHANCES ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger-you have been warned.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one RIPPED INTO

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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SAFE
Stuart Finlay prequel
by Jack Chandler
Genre: Genre: adult, dark, dramatic, thriller, suspense

NOTE:  FREE prequel novella SAFE can only be found on the author’s website
HERE

Safe
It took a fractured wrist and two broken ribs for Fin to run away, but now he’s free, unprepared, alone, and thirteen.

Fin doesn’t remember his mother leaving. He doesn’t know if she said goodbye. For sure, his brother didn’t. After that, it was just Fin and his father. Fin hides when he can and takes the beatings when he can’t. As long as he has his best friend, he tells himself it’s OK. But then everything goes horribly wrong.

Next day, Fin’s gone.

Now he’s sleeping behind dumpsters and hasn’t eaten in days. His wrist is throbbing, his ribs are painful, and by the time George finds him, he’s barely conscious. When Fin wakes, he’s weak, disorientated, and in George’s home. George seems to want to help, but the only people Fin’s ever trusted have abandoned him or turned him away, and he doesn’t understand what this man wants from him, how much danger he’s in, or if he can leave.

•••••

REVIEW: SAFE is the prequel novella in Jack Chandler’s contemporary, adult STUART FINLAY suspense thriller focusing on PI Stuart Finlay.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there WILL BE triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from omniscient third person perspective (Stuart) SAFE focuses on the earlier life of of our hero Stuart Finlay. At thirteen years of age, Stuart had lived under the abusive rule of his alcoholic father for close to nine years but when his best friend pushed him out of his life, and his father’s abuse had taken its’ toll, Stuart ran without looking back only to find himself the ward of a gentle man name George who will become guardian and protector of our story line hero.

SAFE is a story of abuse and neglect, power and control, survival and friendship The premise is dark and gritty; the characters are desperate and broken.

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

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I was born in Wales and travelled both with my family and later alone. As a child, we had three years in Hong Kong, where my parents’ relationship broke down. We then had to return to England. In 1995, after working in a bank (which I found utterly soul destroying), I left for Australia to find myself again. It took six weeks, but it worked. When I came back, my father was in Hong Kong, where he lived out the rest of his days. My mum had gone to Puerto Rico, as her third year in her university course as a mature student. And my brother had moved to Japan. My boyfriend, now husband, had gone to Germany for an 18-month contract. I followed him and we’re still there now (these contracts have a habit of getting extended). We are now married with two fantastic boys (I might be slightly biased there) who are now beginning to find their way in the world. I have never been happier than I am at this time in my life.