Reviewer: Samantha
I received a review copy
Summary:
How far would you go to save your family?
Every morning, as her husband Mike straps on his SIG Sauer and pulls on his heavy Magnum boots, Jamie Anderson tenses up. Then comes the call she has always dreaded: There’s been a shooting at police headquarters. Mike isn’t hurt, but his long-time partner is grievously injured. As weeks pass and her husband’s insomnia and disconnectedness mount, Jamie realizes he is an invisible casualty of the attack. Then the phone rings again. Another shooting—but this time Mike has pulled the trigger.
But the shooting does more than just alter Jamie’s world. It’s about to change everything for two other women. Christie Simmons, Mike’s flamboyant ex, sees the tragedy as an opportunity for a second chance with Mike. And Jamie’s younger sister, Lou, must face her own losses to help the big sister who raised her. As the press descends and public cries of police brutality swell, Jamie tries desperately to hold together her family, no matter what it takes.
In her characteristic exploration of true-to-life relationships, Sarah Pekkanen has written a complex, compelling, and openhearted novel—her best yet.
Review:
To start, I will say this was my very first audio book I have ever listened to. Since summer means walking the dog several times a day, I thought I needed to join the audio book trend and I’m sure happy I did. This was such a terrific book to listen to during my long walks, a story filled with struggles and triumphs, delicate family issues, and so much more. Where to start? I have read every book from Sarah Pekkanen and truly love her writing. I get excited when I see she has a new book out, and know I will be in for a terrific story. All true again here. This book deals with a white police officer shooting and killing a Hispanic teenager, but there really isn’t a race issue at all in this book. What I think Pekkanen is focusing on is what effects a family, what effects a marriage, when something so huge and traumatic happens. Yes, we do get into the other issues, and we get both sides of the case, which I thought was great. But the parts that kept me on my toes were watching Jamie and Mike try to keep it together in the aftermath, watching the cracks appear in the once happy family façade, and waiting anxiously until the end to know how this story would play out. There are some fantastic subplots as well, including Mike’s ex-girlfriend and mother to his child and her role in all of it, which had me holding my breath at times. There was one particular scene where I started to cry, which you can image while walking down my street with my Vizsla at the end of the leash probably caused a funny scene if anyone was watching me. A powerful and gripping read, and one I highly recommend to you.
5 stars
