The Boundaries We Cross

This, the latest standalone novel from celebrated author Brad Parks, is a thriller set in an expensive Connecticut boarding school, Carrington Academy. Many of the students have parents with powerful positions while others are scions of vast fortunes. Charles Bliss, Mr. Bliss to his students, prides himself on setting boundaries, no high fives, only firm handshakes.

Bliss is the narrator of an experience that cascades into a thriller after he is summoned to the head of school’s office. Prior to his meeting with head of school, Wellington Ambrose, he is a writing teacher with one published novel. His students are required to keep a personal journal and they must write a minimum of two hundred and fifty words per day.

Haley Goodloe, a state senator’s daughter and the granddaughter of an ex-governor, is missing. Haley’s writing class journal is left behind. She has written about a forbidden relationship with Mr. Bliss. After his dismissal from Carrington, Bliss sinks into a life of confusion, drinking and odd encounters.

Brad Parks pulls his readers into the narrative and doesn’t let go. The Boundaries We Cross morphs from a straightforward narrative to a page turner.