Title: A Glimpse Too Far
Author: Karen Charles
Publisher: Bookbaby
Publication Date: June 18, 2025
Pages: 217
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Format: Paperback, Kindle
BOOK BLURB:
A terrifying gift. A government cover-up. And a past that won’t stay buried.
Elouise thought she had left the past behind. After a tragic accident, she woke with chilling ability to see glimpses of people’s pasts and futures. She’s spent years trying to live a normal life. But when a powerful senator pulls her into a high-stakes game of deception and control, she realizes her gift is no longer a secret—it’s a weapon. And he intends to use it.
She must make an impossible choice: play his deadly game or risk everything to expose the truth.
Danger closes in. Now, Elouise is running for her life, hunted by those who will do anything to silence her.
Who can she trust? The boyfriend who swore to protect her? Or the man who wants to own her gift—at any cost?
A Glimpse Too Far is a pulse-pounding thriller filled with menace, betrayal, and a race against time. Will the truth be uncovered before it’s too late?
To order your copy, visit Amazon and BookBaby.
First Chapter:
The warmth of the car’s heater wrapped around Elouise as she gazed out the window, watching the snow clouds gather like thick cotton above. Her blond curls bounced with excitement as she tugged at her velvet dress, ensuring it was smooth and perfect for the performance. This was her moment—the Christmas musical, her solo.
Beside her, Crystal, her mom, adjusted her scarf and smiled, noticing the twinkle in Elouise’s bright blue eyes. “Are you ready, Sweetheart?”
“More than ready!” Elouise grinned, her smile wide and full of joy. The eight-year-old’s energy was contagious, even pulling a small chuckle from her dad, Edward, as he carefully parked the car in front of the school.
“Let’s get inside before we freeze,” Edward said, huddling close to the family as they stepped into the sharp wind that whipped around them. They hurried toward the gymnasium, hunching their shoulders against the cold. Christmas carols could already be heard drifting through the entrance doors, filled with the warmth of families gathering, waiting for the performance to begin.
Inside, the air was alive with holiday spirit. Elouise’s heart raced as the lights dimmed and the music began to play. She stood backstage, her hands clasped, waiting for her cue. When it came, she stepped into the spotlight, her curls bobbing with every movement.
Her voice rang out clear and strong, each note perfect. The audience was mesmerized. Elouise had that rare ability to bring a room to a standstill with the purity of her sound. She sang her solo flawlessly. When she finished, the applause was thunderous. Elouise beamed, her eyes shining as she took her bow.
Afterward, as they left the gym, fat snowflakes swirled down from the sky, transforming their world into a winter wonderland. Edward gently guided Crystal and Elouise to the car, his arms around them as they squeezed together.
The drive home was tense. The roads were slick with fresh snow, and the wipers worked overtime to clear the windshield. Edward kept a firm grip on the wheel, navigating cautiously around the bends. Elouise sat in the back, still humming the songs from the musical, her voice soft as the snow that continued to fall heavily around them.
Suddenly, headlights pierced the snowy darkness. From around the bend, an oncoming car swerved out of control. Everything happened in a blur: metal scraping, tires screeching, and the world flipping upside down. The car rolled once or twice before coming to a crushing halt.
Sirens filled the air as firemen and paramedics swarmed the scene, pulling them from the wreckage. Elouise lay motionless, her eyes closed, her curls tangled and limp. The paramedics worked frantically as they loaded her into the ambulance.
On the way to the hospital, her heart stopped.
The soft beep of machines broke the stillness in the ICU. Elouise stirred, her eyelids fluttering open, heavy and sluggish. The world around her felt blurry and distant. Her body ached, but the pain was muted by something else, something more overwhelming and foreign.
She blinked. Her vision cleared just enough to see the outline of her mother’s face above her. Crystal’s eyes were red from crying, but she smiled gently, her relief evident.
“Ellie,” Crystal whispered, leaning down to press a soft kiss on her daughter’s forehead.
When her lips touched her skin, a flash and a burst of light pierced Elouise’s mind. She gasped, her body tensing as a scene unfolded before her eyes. She saw her mother, much younger, standing in a hospital room just like this one. Crystal cradled a tiny baby in her arms, weeping softly.
The image disappeared as suddenly as it had come, leaving Elouise confused and disoriented.
“M-Mom?” Her voice was weak, her throat dry.
Crystal brushed her fingers through Elouise’s curls, her touch gentle. “It’s okay, Sweetheart. You’re safe now. The doctors…”
But Elouise didn’t hear the rest. The room tilted slightly, and her heart pounded against her ribs. What had she just seen? Was it real? A dream? It felt too vivid.
The door swung open, and a nurse walked in, clipboard in hand. He smiled warmly, but Elouise flinched, her body instinctively pulling away from the unfamiliar face. He didn’t seem to notice as he prepared her arm to have blood drawn.
As his gloved fingers wrapped around her wrist, another flash, this time, the nurse was outside, tossing a ball to a golden retriever in a sunlit yard. His laughter echoed in her ears. She squinted her eyes, and the vision vanished.
Her pulse raced.
“Easy now,” the nurse said, glancing at her with concern as he pressed a cotton ball against her arm. But Elouise didn’t hear him. The images wouldn’t stop. Each touch from a hospital staff member brought more fleeting, fragmented glimpses into their lives. A child’s birthday party, a woman crying in a dimly lit room, a couple holding hands on a park bench.
It was overwhelming, the flood of memories... or whatever they were. Elouise couldn’t understand. She squeezed her eyes shut, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.
“Mom . . . Dad . . .” Her voice trembled. “Please, take me home. I don’t want to be here.”
Crystal and Edward exchanged worried glances. Edward clutched his casted arm as he reached out to touch her, but Elouise recoiled, tears spilling from her eyes. She didn’t want him to touch her—not after what she had just seen.
When they were finally released from the hospital, the cold night air hit her face, but the fresh air did nothing to clear the disjointed images in her mind. As Edward helped her into the car, his hand brushed against hers, and once again, it happened: a flash, this time sharper, more vivid than before. Her father, much younger, was laughing in what she somehow knew was her grandparents’ backyard, climbing a tall oak tree. He was high up, higher than he should’ve been. Then, he slipped. She saw him fall, crashing to the ground in a crumpled heap, lying motionless on the grass below.
Elouise gasped, jerking away from him, her hands trembling.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Edward’s voice was full of concern, but all Elouise could see was that image: Her father falling, not moving.
“Don’t... don’t touch me!” she cried, pulling her knees to her chest as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Crystal rushed to her side, but Elouise pressed herself into the car seat, her small frame shaking. Her mind was racing, flooded with visions she couldn’t explain. The feeling of dread deepened, a cold, gnawing fear that something was wrong, something she didn’t understand.
As they drove away from the hospital, Elouise sat curled into a ball in the backseat, the flashes still playing behind her eyes. She was quiet on the way home, her thoughts a whirlpool of confusion.
The night outside seemed darker than before, as though the world had shifted, leaving her on the edge of something unknown and terrifying.
About the Author:
Karen Charles is the author of Freeman Earns a Bike, a children’s book, and two thrillers based on true stories. Fateful Connections takes place in the aftermath of 9/11, and Blazing Upheaval takes place during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles and the Northridge earthquake. She has two businesses: a global company that trains international teachers to teach American English, and an Airbnb on a beautiful bay in Washington State, where she resides with her husband. Her latest book is the psychological thriller, A Glimpse Too Far.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ www.weaveofsuspense.com
X ➜ http://www.x.com/karenra24229683
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/karen.rabe.7/
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