Never Cry Again by Jim Cole

 

Drew is conceived in abuse, born into neglect, and raised in hatred. The story tells how the rural boy survives a life of extreme poverty, living in the poorest part of a southern Arkansas town and whose prostitute mother entertains numerous 'uncles'. When one of those uncles becomes abusive toward Drew, and then later attempts male rape, which was encouraged by his mother. Drew has no other choice. He must leave home.

The ten-year old boy climbs into a rail boxcar, and the train takes him away not only from the abuse but also from his friends, carrying him to an unknown future. Just as things seem their worst, Drew, realizing that his childhood is now over, vows that he will never cry again, but instead face life on his own terms.

Praised by one critic as Huckleberry Finn meets Forrest Gump, Drew's adventures on the way to responsible and compassionate manhood, set against the backdrop of America's Great Depression and the following turbulent years of World War II, are a story that is relevant to the upheavals and turbulence in society today.  

 

Some women are not cut out to be mothers. Drew's mom Edith  is one of them. Edith was only 13 the first time her father raped her and it wasn't much longer until the day she decided to go for a walk and never return. Having no place to stay and no way to earn money she ends up in a hotel with a married man. When he tells her that he is going back to his wife she is once again on her own. Edith ends up giving birth in a brothel and becomes a prostitute. She seems to enjoy this lifestyle as there is no shortage of other prostitutes to take care of her son, who she wants nothing to do with. This becomes a problem as Drew grows up and begins attending church, the only white boy in the all black congregation. The brothel owner feels she is already at risk having a child on the premises but the Klan may make trouble as well so Edith is sold off to one of her customers and she is not happy that she is expected to take her son with her and be a mother to him. By this point Edith is already a raging alcoholic with no maternal skills and Drew must basically fend for himself. He follows in his mother's footsteps of becoming a runaway after an attempted rape and is homeless and alone at 10 years old. Drew meets a multitude of people in his travels, some good and others who mean him harm though he never seems to give up hope of living a decent life.

This is usually my favorite time period for historical fiction and while I understand that racial tensions ran hot in the south it still seemed a bit heavier on the N word than was required and the (phonetically correct?) spellings of the way black people are portrayed as pronouncing certain words seemed over done and unnecessary. I'm not as in love with this book as I'd hoped to be.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

 

I received an complimentary copy for review.

I Know You by Erik Therme

Sisters Bree and Alissa Walker share a special bond. Neglected by their parents, they have always looked out for one another. But one day, sixteen-year-old Alissa goes missing. When Bree discovers her green backpack with all her belongings, abandoned on the steps of their run-down trailer, she knows that something bad has happened …

Then she receives a chilling text message. Someone has Alissa. But Bree will have to give up something very precious in exchange.

Desperate to save Alissa, Bree looks at everyone close to their family. She’s sure that Alissa’s best friend is keeping something back about her little sister and a boy at school, and why has their estranged uncle, who they’ve not seen in years, been hanging around again?

It soon becomes clear that the person behind the message knows a lot about the dark truths within the Walker family and will go to any lengths to get revenge. And as the search for Alissa continues, Bree discovers something about her brother Tyler that she wishes she hadn’t, a dangerous secret, which is also the key to bringing her little sister back home


Bree Walker is a young woman who always had to be the adult in the family. Growing up in less than ideal circumstances, it always fell to Bree to look after her younger siblings while her mother worked long hours to make up for the money her father drank away, or otherwise wasted. Before their marriage crumbled Bree's father was already mostly absent, other than to dole out abuse. Now that he is gone you would think it would be more peaceful but frequent family squabbles have little sister Alissa constantly running away from home, and middle brother Tyler only making an appearance when he wants something. After this latest argument, Alissa doesn't return home but her back pack is left at the door. She doesn't answer her phone and she has not been staying at her friend's house. Bree doesn't want to panic her mother, but she is getting sinister and threatening texts from someone who may have taken Alissa for revenge against her family so Bree sets off alone to confront this threat and rescue her sister.
This was a fast paced suspenseful read.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Erik Therme has thrashed in garage bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at his computer, he can be found cheering on his youngest daughter’s volleyball team, or watching horror movies with his oldest. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty-eight places in the world that UNESCO has certified as a City of Literature. Join Erik’s mailing list to be notified of new releases and author giveaways: http://eepurl.com/cD1F8L

The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox

From the author of the buzzed-about THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL comes an atmospheric follow-up novel set in historic New England, about a minister who takes a position in a small Maine town plagued by strange occurences that resemble the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, and the woman--rumored to be a witch and a murderer--presumed to be behind them. October 2019 marks the 170th death date of Poe and this is a novel that both compliments the season and the times.

A town gripped by fear. A woman accused of witchcraft. Who can save Pale Harbor from itself?

Maine, 1846. Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife’s death, so he moves to Maine, taking a position as a minister in the remote village of Pale Harbor.

But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople claim that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a reclusive widow who lives with a spinster maid in the eerie Castle Carver. Sophronia must be a witch, and she almost certainly killed her husband.
As the incidents escalate, one thing becomes clear: they are the work of a twisted person inspired by the wildly popular stories of Mr. Edgar Allan Poe. And Gabriel must find answers, or Pale Harbor will suffer a fate worthy of Poe’s darkest tales.


I enjoyed The Witch Of Willow Hall by this author so I was excited to get an advance copy of her latest work. This was a historical fiction/mystery with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure.
Sophronia Carver was never made to feel particularly welcome by the people of Pale Harbor Maine after settling there with her cold and cruel husband. Upon his death, the locals began to speculate and gossip that she may have murdered him, either by her own hand or some sort of witchery. Some even claim she has a tail. When strange occurrences begin, and dead animals are found the town gossips blame Sophronia even though she rarely leaves her home and spends her lonely days reading story submissions to her late husband's magazine which she now owns. Its a very solitary existence except for her one true friend and servant Helen.
When Gabriel Stone arrives to take over the church the villagers can't wait to give him on earful of rumors about the Widow, but what they don't know is that he has come to Pale Harbor under false pretenses and has his own secrets as tragic as the one Sophronia keeps.

4 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
Hester comes to writing from a background in museum work and historical archaeology. She loves the Gothic, the lurid, the dark...so long as the ending is a happy one. She has never seen a ghost, though she remains hopeful.

Hester lives outside of Boston with her husband. THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL is her first novel.

Website

http://www.hesterfox.com/

Little Whispers by Glen Krisch

It's a time to say goodbye.

Krista Forrester and her family return to her childhood lake house to say goodbye to her dying grandfather. His last wish is to spend his final days surrounded by family. It's a time to reminisce, a time for togetherness and love. But the family's return awakens both forgotten memories and the unsettled spirits tied to the land.

Sometimes memories are better left buried.

Krista never wanted to return to the lake house. She hasn't been back since Breann, her childhood friend, disappeared from the sandy beach right outside her back door. Her disappearance left behind both lingering sorrow and many unanswered questions. Was Breann a victim of a now-convicted serial killer? Will Krista and her family succumb to the evil bound to the lake house? Is Breann still somewhere close, waiting to be discovered? What are those melancholic little whispers Krista hears in the middle of the night?

Only by confronting the tragedies of the past can Krista guarantee her family's future.


A family reunion stirs up more than memories when Krista, her siblings, and their children arrive at the lake house to be with their grandfather in his final days. Years ago, Krista's best friend went missing from this area after they had an argument, never to be found. A convicted murderer may know her whereabouts, but Krista's grandfather may know more than he's admitted to all these years. Part family drama, part mysterious ghost story, this novel hit all the right notes for a captivating read.

I received an advance copy for review.
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