I liked this book. This is my friend Don Hoesel’s second novel (Elisha’s Bones was the first) and I have enjoyed both. This is the story of a writer, CJ Baxter, who is successful as an author but not as a husband nor as a relative to his estranged family in his home town. CJ is from upstate New York where his family has had prominence in a small town and rural county for generations. CJ left to attend Vanderbilt and never returned . . . until his grandfather dies. There is a tragic family secret that has dominated CJ’s life for almost 20 years and eventually leads to a dramatic, and almost deadly, confrontation at the end. In his books CJ has used stories from his past that family and hometown residents recognize and understand that he is peeling back some of the veil from their little community. While they are proud to have a native son who is famous, they seem a bit anxious about what CJ may reveal in future novels.
In the book, CJ has recently come to faith but has not been “healed” of all his vices, resentment, and lousy attitude toward his wife. I think the story is a realistic look at how God uses time and experiences in some believer’s lives to mature them and bring them to a deeper understanding of how their faith is to be lived out. We would like to believe that becoming a Christian instantly transforms all aspects of our lives. Most of us know better.
Don does a good job in creating an expectation that something big is going to happen . . . and it does. There are some really tense moments (although I did not like it when CJ’s dog, Thor, is kidnapped) and the confrontation at the end is dramatic, though maybe not as satisfying as this violent-addicted culture would want. This is a good read and I gladly recommend it.
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