Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson

Synopsis:

From his grandmother, Alex Cross has heard the story of his great uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a novel he's written--a novel called Trial.

Connected by blood

As a lawyer in turn-of-the-century Washington D.C., Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases. Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process. When President Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his home town to investigate rumors of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse.

United by bravery

When he arrives in Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful granddaughter, Moody. Ben enlists their help, and the two Crosses introduce him to the hidden side of the idyllic Southern town. Lynchings have become commonplace and residents of the town's black quarter live in constant fear. Ben aims to break the reign of terror--but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart.

This book is quite a step away from the regular Alex Cross novels, but it is every bit as intriguing… and much more disturbing.

It tackles the history of the Cross family led by one Abraham Cross a strong and extremely intelligent man living in the KKK dominated South.

It was hard not to cringe at some of the things going on in this book because the way people were, and still are, treated due to skin color is just plain sickening. It is one of those books that you don’t really want to believe, but know that there is some historical accuracy laced into every page.

It was a good book, but hard to get through for reasons above. I say any fan of the Cross series should definitely give it a shot even though it is separate from the main series.

4/5 Stars

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Soldier Hill by Phil Rossi

Soldier Hill is a touching story celebrating the lives of soldiers who have fought for their country.

Eddie is a high school kid. He doesn't do well in school, and he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. His guidance counselor doesn't think he is going anywhere with his life. Aside from all of this, Eddie shows how big of a heart he has.

When Eddie discovers a tablet honoring a boy named Billy on his school grounds, he decides to find out more about him. Having someone die who lived so close to him really hit home. He felt a connection to Billy and wasn't sure why.

With the Vietnam War taking too many young people and affecting families all over the country, Eddie was determined to find out who Billy was, where he came from and who his family is.

This book follows Eddie is his adventure from researching at the library to asking around town.

Joe is a lonely old man in town that everyone talks about. They spread nasty rumors about him being crazy and even a little creepy. There is a room in his house that is closed and locked so no one can venture in.

When Eddie becomes friends with Joe despite everyone’s warnings, he uncovers all of the answers he needs.

When the tribute to Billy is then threatened to be destroyed by contractors taking down the trees around the school, Eddie enlists the help of his good friend Dave to save the tree and the tablet in order to protect the memory and tribute to Billy. Through much hard work and determination they preserve the memorial, and it turns out even better than they ever could have imagined. 

This is a wonderful story about being selfless and honoring those who sacrifice so much their country.

It is touching and memorable for being just a short novella.

I really enjoyed the writing style as well. A lot of times with historical fiction, (okay, it isn't THAT far back in history, but stick with me) authors tend to try too hard to make it authentic, and it just ends up being boring and having no good flow to it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case with this one. It had a nice flow to it, and I didn't find myself bored at any part of the story.

I did find myself wondering why there was so much focus on the “crazy” old man, but it all comes full circle and makes sense at the end.

The story is sweet, the writing is on-point, and it is easy to get through.

5/5 stars from me. I did really enjoy it. 

Purchase link coming soon!

The Christmas Town by Elyse Douglas

The Christmas Town is a beautiful time travel book about happiness and love.

I almost just want to leave it there, because that is all you need to know, but I shall continue.

The Christmas Town begins with two women trying to get home for Christmas. When a large winter storm threatens their journey, they must share a car from the airport.

One their way home, they get lost and end up crossing a mysterious bridge. They ended up in a small, seemingly vintage, town on the other side of the bridge When they notice that other people’s reactions to them and their car were those of fear, they figured out something was a bit off.

When they fall in love with two army boys fighting in World War II, they have a difficult decision to make. Do they stay out of their time in place to wait for their men to come home from war, or do they ignore their hearts and try to get home?

It is easy to find yourself rooting for the girls and their men to be together. It was such a happy and uplifting story that just needs to be read.

The Christmas town is a beautifully written story. It sucks you in from the first page, and fully engages you up until the very last.

The story is funny, happy, and sort of magical.

The characters are all likable and all very well-rounded.

This is a great book to read during the holiday season, and it could really be great during any time of the year.

5/5 stars. 

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The Jester by James Patterson

This was a different book for me. Of course, it is Patterson, so it isn’t all that foreign.

It is centered on the Crusades and definitely has a medieval feel to it.

One thing that is clear from the start is who the hero is and who you should be rooting for.

It is a crazy emotional journey though. It takes you through heartbreak and triumph, and back again.

Hugh De Luc is a fool, in more ways than one. But he is a smart fool.

He will go to any length to avenge and save the ones he loves. Even try to take over some of the strongest armies in the land.

Sometimes when you have nothing left to lose, you have to give it your all. 

Will Hugh be proven to just be a fool, or will he save the land he loves?

I guess you will just have to read to find out!

Each character has their own interesting story line and backstory. They are all well developed, and by the end you feel as if you know them personally. This is a specialty of Patterson.

4/5 Stars. A little slow at times, but an interesting story, and when it isn’t slow, it is full of action!

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The Book of Jobs: What Steve is Doing on the Cloud by Skye Atman

By the title, I am sure you all can assume that this book is about Steve Jobs. You would be correct.

It is a work of fiction that explores Steve’s time in a place that is sort of like a heaven.

In his time there he learns the rules of the place, and encounters many famous figures along the way. His struggle is that he wants to figure out how to reincarnate sooner than his allotted time because he wants to make sure that his company is run correctly as long as the construction of their new building.

It is a fun book to read, very light-hearted and interesting. The writer did very good research to make it close to character for Steve and the others you meet along the way.

If you are an Apple fan or a fan of Steve Jobs, it could be a fun read to pick up. It isn’t very long, so it won’t devour a lot of your time.

5/5 it was fun. I found it entertaining. 

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Love and World Eaters by Nick Wisseman

Book Four:

This book was about Aliah, a photographer hired to take photos of ancient artifacts.

Something goes wrong and she gets a bone fragment that has a mind of its own stuck inside her skin.

It takes her on a journey to discover the truth of an ancient murder, and drives her almost crazy until she does.

I couldn’t get into this one. That may be because I am not a huge fan of historical fiction. I found it to be bland at times which made it a lot harder to get through.

2.5/5 stars. I am hoping the next one brings more promise. 

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Amery House by Samantha J Moore

This story is set back in the Great Depression. It is about a lady named Nadine who first started out as a burlesque dancer in New York. Once the stocks began to crash, her life was turned upside down. She made a choice that changed her life, and she will forever be haunted by her past.

Once she left New York, she made her way down to the city of New Orleans where she takes up selling herself just to get by. The Big Guy decides to move all of his ladies into a large house so he can keep an eye on him. This is where the title comes from – Amery House.

“The trick was not to fall in love, not to let it get a hold of you. If you did, death was sure to come creeping around.”

This story gives the reader an interesting look into how the country was affected during the Depression. It isn’t a happy story by any means, but the ending did leave me smiling. It also gives you an insight into the lives of women who have to sell themselves for a living, because they have no other choice. Like the book says, they aren’t monsters. They do what is necessary. Samantha did a very nice job with the writing.

It’s an easy read, and is also pretty short. It is a story you should grab on a nice Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and just read it all the way through. It doesn’t take very long, but it will keep your interest from the first page all the way to the end. I would recommend this more to the ladies, but I am sure men will find it interesting as well.

All in all, it was a nice read and very well written.

So from me, it will get 5/5 stars!

Vengeance Is Sacred by Peter Healy

Im going to start off by saying that Historical Fiction/Supernatual is not usually my genre' of choice. When Peter approached me and asked me to read his novel, I was more than willing. I figured it would be interesting to dive into a genre that I am not used to reading!

When I started off the novel, I often found myself spacing out because it was just not what I was used to. 

As soon as the second chapter though, I started to get used to it, and began appreciating his writing style. As I have said numerous times, I am a huge fan of James Patterson novels, and those are the majority of the novels I have read for a good year now, so being faced with a whole new writing style threw me off for a little bit. 

Peter uses longer chapters and much more description, which I have begun to notice throughout the novel, is needed for the type of story he is telling! There are breaks in the chapters which allowed me to put the novel down for a few minutes, get something done, and pick it up again. I don't like leaving a book mid-chapter because I will likely forget what I had been reading, but the way he split up the chapters made it much easier for me. Not everyone is like that, though, which is where the length of the chapters would be good for those people!

Vengeance Is Sacred is based around Paolo Calefati. He has to run from his home country of Italy to "L'America" "The New World" or most commonly used today -- The East Cost of the USA. He ends up in Jersey City, NJ and faces the problems of new immigrants with finding work and love. Paolo’s battle between remembering his past, and trying to move on with his future is a reoccurring theme, as well as him striving to be an honest loyal man. The power of the Deva that he possesses makes him more powerful than people believe at first sight.

The way Peter tells the story expresses knowledge on the topics he is speaking about which makes me ask the question -- How much research did he do on the topic? I feel like he knew the information all very well. I was impressed. Especially with the different dialects, accents, and languages -- as well as customs of different cultures. 

Being a girl myself, I like the fact that Paolo really respects the female gender. I feel that is Peter's own personality showing through his character!

Overall 4/5 Stars!

The chapters were a bit long for me, but it was very well written and interesting!

I have found myself missing reading about Paolo, Maria, and Augie.


Please visit Peter's website to learn more information:
http://www.vengeanceissacred.com/

Read ahead for spoilers