Tom Gnagey

12 Doors to Pass Tom Gnagey

12 Doors to Pass is an action packed, dark story about love, hate and the disappointment of revenge, played out among a set of four young people in their mid-20s who grew up together in the slums of Chicago where teenage problems follow most youngsters into adulthood. Stark contrasts are drawn between the main characters - Jimmy and Donny - neighbors and enemies since childhood. Through flashbacks, it examines the early environmental and family forces that molded their characters and set their possibilities and limitations. To punish Donny for imagined injustices in the past, Jimmy molested Amber, Donny's fiancé, while Donny was away in the Marines. It resulted in pregnancy. When, in a fit of poor judgement, Jimmy kidnaps Amber as protection against Donny, the story morphs into a frantic, cross country chase with Donny moving ever-closer. The necessity to exact vengeance begets the necessity to exact more vengeance, which begets . . . Guns are loaded and pocketed. The pursuit is on. It is that one similarity that propels the story toward its intense conclusion at the door of room # 12 in a shabby motel. Readers, 15 and older, who enjoy action adventure stories and thriller books should enjoy this one. Author, Tom Gnagey, is best known for his novels about the positive, compassionate, and helpful potential of mankind (over 100 of them under several pen names). 12 Doors to Pass, a kidnapping thriller, is one of his few explorations of man's potential for self-destruction.