Review of The Singletons in Peril

The Singletons in Peril by Donald Hunt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I’m a member of a writing group with the author, so I saw some of Singletons in Peril in early drafts. I thought the book had great potential. Having read the novel in its entirety, I can truthfully say that it has realized that potential.

The Singletons are a family of four led by single mother Kim Singleton. Kim has a drug problem, which is not helpful in the best of times. This is not the best of times as Kim has had to take her family on the run. The novel opens with the family in a weird bookstore in Chicago which they ended up while running from Rockville. Kim’s two daughters, teenager Julie and kindergartener Elizabeth, meet a dwarf in the shop, and then the family is attacked by people with otherworldly weapons. Things get weirder from there.

The novel a series of long chases, punctuated by occasional pauses where we learn that magic is real and the Singleton family are essentially walking magical batteries. A series of unsavory characters want the family, while a shadowy organization tries to protect them. These episodes are well-paced, maintaining tension while not overpowering the reader with frantic action for the sake of action.

I found a lot to like in this story. Unlike a lot of stories, there is no “genre blindness.” The characters quickly understand that they are in a fantasy world where magic is real and they respond accordingly. Hunt has a keen understanding of sibling interaction which shows through the book, and the magical system was well thought out.

I very much enjoyed Singletons in Peril and I think you will too.

-- Chris Gerrib, author of One of Our Spaceships is Missing.




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