True North is the second novel by American author, Randall DeVallance. Barely a year after starting at True North, Salvatore Slocomb is surprised, early one Monday morning, to be plucked from the sales floor to step into the role of CEO. Sal is dubious about his ability to fulfil the duties expected of him, but True North’s founder and CEO, Burt Leathers promises that the brief orientation he provides will be all Sal needs. By Wednesday, he’s sitting behind the CEO’s desk, wondering what he actually needs to do. But Sal doesn’t know the reason Leathers has installed him there: Burt is taking the death threat from a disgruntled customer quite seriously, and figures that he’s safer with some randomly-chosen expendable in his chair. Except that Sal isn’t quite as randomly-chosen as Burt might think. Burt knows less about Sal, and how he might behave, than he realises. In fact, there are some vital facts that neither of them knows… It all has to do with the time, thirty years earlier, when Burt Leathers had the enlightening experience that eventually led him to create the motivational system, True North (available for $49.99 plus P&P) which includes a quality compass to help you find your true direction in life. And while some customers might swear by True North’s results, Don Bagley isn’t one of them. An officious customer service employee has stuck by company policy and refused him a refund, and he’s very angry. A string of unlikely but highly amusing coincidences quickly makes it apparent that the best idea is to don your disbelief suspenders and enjoy the ride. Some of DeVallance’s characters are quirky and appealing; others lean more to irritating, silly, or even obnoxious. Colleen Frink’s “would you rather” scenarios are comical and reminiscent of Jeffrey Lu in Jasper Jones. DeVallance gives the reader some marvellous descriptive prose: “They shuffled through the halls, subdued and disoriented, like bees through a hive that had just been doused with smoke” and “She batted her eyes, her lashes stirring the air around them like a pair of Japanese fans” are examples. The ending isn’t exactly “happy ever after” but is very fitting all the same. Short but very entertaining. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Beacon Publishing Group.