Lawyers are known for lying, but no one ever pulled off the lie that Patrick Lanigan got away with. Being the successful lawyer that he was, he still felt like he wasn't quite happy with his lifestyle. He was determined to change that. He took a major risk. Within this a discussion of what risk taking is will be clarified. Along with ways that one uses as an example of death to fix ones life is described within this novel. An analysis of risk taking along with an example of this character will be explained further within this thesis.
What I believe risk taking to be is having the possibility of getting harmed, also being in a dangerous situation. Patrick Lanigan, the main character of this book, took many risks throughout the entire book. He wasn't afraid to leave his wealthy family behind. He didn't show very much fear of getting caught, until he sensed "shadows" following him day and night. Taking a risk for him meant, the excitement of life on the run, it meant having to hide from people who might recognize him, and having someone hide all the evidence. Taking a risk is basically never having to turn back and regret doing it, Patrick didn't regret it. When he made the decision to runaway, he was risking his life. .
Patrick got bored with his pathetic life, his job and co-workers, his wife in particular. For four years he planned to runaway and leave everything behind him. The first risk he took was burning up a body in his truck and making it seem like he was the one who had crashed. He basically faked his own death. He drove away, using the same roads where the corpse had burned. The major risk there was not getting caught driving away, and not having people figure out who was the real person who had burned in there. Another one of the bigger risks within this plot, was when he stole $90 million from his own law firm. He took the time to disguise himself as one of his co-workers, faked his signature and fled with the money.