STORY SUMMARY
The Bennetts live in suburban Philadelphia. Jason, husband to Lucinda, and dad to Allison (15) and Ethan (13) owns his own court-reporting business. They seem to have it all and life is good......until one evening after Allison's lacrosse game. Jason is driving the new car, a Mercedes E-class Sedan, and someone is tailgating them! It's an old pickup truck and they are on a curvy stretch of road which also happens to be very dark. Suddenly, the pickup truck swerves around them, stopping abruptly and horizontally to the road. The Bennetts cannot get around the truck. Two men jump from the pick-up and pull guns on Jason, demanding the car. And then a flash of violence and chaos changes the Bennetts lives forever.
Later on that night, Jason and his family receive news from the FBI in the form of a visit to their home. The FBI agents tell them that the carjackers were actually members of an organized and very dangerous drug-trafficking organization.....headed by one of the local to Philadelphia crime lords. Now, Jason and the family are in their crosshairs.
The agents advise them to enter the witness protection program and to do so immediately. They have no choice but to agree. WITSEC ( which is what the witness protection program is known as) was designed to protect criminal informants, not law-abiding families. Jason and his family are taken away from everything they know....they home, their community and school, their jobs, their friends and relatives. They cannot go on any social media and cannot text or call family/friends. As the next couple of days unfold, so do their lives....their family seems to just fall apart.
And then....Jason learns a shocking truth.....and soon realizes that he must take matters into his own hands...because sometimes, true justice is a one-man show.
MY THOUGHTS
First of all, the character development in this novel is amazing. I felt like I was really one of their friends and my heart went out to them regarding what unfolded on that dark lonely road.
Some of the plot seems a bit far-fetched of course....and probably is......your average family man wouldn't take just a few days to figure out the extent of this crime and take matters into his own hands. However, this is fiction and it's fiction at a very fast-paced, turn the next page to see what happens kind of a book.
It's a tough subject yet it's also an easy read. I needed a break from super deep themes in a novel and this fit the bill.
Some of the main themes running throughout this book: the loss of a child to gun violence, adultery, betrayal, forgiveness, mercy, love, inner strength, drug trafficking/organized crime and family tie; 2nd chances.
It's a heart wrenching story but also one packed with great action and interesting twists and turns.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older (keep in mind there are some violent scenes and could maybe be triggers for people who have been victims of carjackings or gun violence).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.
2 comments:
Hi Faith. This book is already on my "to read" list. Glad to hear that you liked it. I hope you have a good week. You are already ahead of me in reading. I won't have completed my first book for at least another week.
I've read lots of Lisa Scottoline's books but not this one yet. It sounds good. I'll have to watch for it at the library.
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