Centralia, by Mike Dellosso

You awaken from a nap disoriented. Momentarily panicked, you wonder what day it is. What time is it? Is it day or night? After a few moments, the fog lifts in a flood of remembering, and you breathe a sigh of relief.

But what if you woke up into a nightmare of disorientation that didn’t seem to end? In fact, what if every moment you were awake, the nightmare of confusion only grew greater?

In Centralia¸ Peter Ryan wakes up in his home, but he can’t seem to find his wife and daughter. A thorough search of his home lends him no clues. In a panic he calls his close friends, only to hear them tell him that his wife and daughter are dead—and have been dead for some time. From that point, Peter’s life becomes a massive man-hunt as he searches for his family while his enemies search for him.

Thus begins Peter’s roller coaster journey through a maze of memories and lies—and memories that are lies. We, the reader, are allowed to join Peter on his quest, only to experience confusion, danger, and Bourn-esque escapades right along with him.

The answers seem almost impossible to find. Peter amazes himself by behaving in ways foreign to his current understanding of who he is. His firm belief that his wife and child are alive drives him forward through the maze of danger and deceit. With only a cryptic hidden note left behind by his daughter, Peter sets his face toward his goal—Centralia.

Will he find the answers to his questions in Centralia? Who can he trust along his journey? What did he do in a life outside his memories that makes him a danger to so many? As you participate in Peter’s journey, you will find the answers along with him as he fights his way toward his destination.

The story is fast-paced, but it is not a quick read. What you discover on this roller-coaster ride fraught with danger is the indomitable spirit of a man who has no memories of who he is or what he is—a man determined to find his family, and in the process discovers WHOSE he is.

Published by Tyndale House