“Thr3e,” a suspense novel by Ted Dekker, is about a college student named Kevin Parson who is in a car and receives a call from a man who calls himself Slater. Slater says that Kevin has a sin he has to confess in three minutes or his car will blow up. Kevin wracks his brain to fi nd a good answer when Slater gives him a hint, “What falls but never breaks? What breaks but never falls?”. This does no good, and in three minutes Kevin’s car blows up as promised. Slater is far from done and continues to haunt Kevin for an answer.

FBI agent Jennifer Peters is trying to catch the Riddler Killer, whose last victim was her brother. Because of the hints Slater gives, Jennifer is now on the case. She teams up with Kevin and together they try to fi nd solutions that may lie in Kevin’s dark past. His childhood friend, Samantha, comes into the picture again and she may hold some answers.

“Thr3e” reads very easily, is perfect for those who don’t usually read fi ction and is great for starting a new book collection. It is well-written enough that even the most avid of readers would enjoy it and should add it to their shelf. The only problem is the riddles throughout the book seem to sometimes take away from the fl ow of the plot. It’s not made clear how many of them even relate to the entire feel of the book. “Thr3e” isn’t just action-fi lled, it addresses some philosophical questions: Who is capable of evil, and if you are a “good person,” how does that stop you from committing evil acts? It keeps you hooked until the very strong and shocking ending.