THROWBACK THURSDAY PICK OF THE WEEK

I began this Throwback Thursday meme as a way to share some of my old favorites as well as sharing books that I’m FINALLY getting around to reading that were published months or years ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on my TBR list while I continue to pile more titles on top of them:)! I like that these older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere.

My Pick This Week is….

 

Published Oct 2014 by Seventh Street Books

College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe’s life is ever the same.

Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran–and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction, but can he discover the truth before it’s too late? 

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This is my first Allen Eskens book but I know for certain it won’t be my last. I’m not sure what I expected when I picked this up but this story had a little bit of everything which was a pleasant surprise. I immediately connected with Joe and felt for him as he struggled to make it in college while also having to take care of his autistic brother due to his mom’s neglect. She was THE worst! Then there was Carl and of course I felt for him all the while wondering if he was guilty of murder or had he spent 30 years of his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. I especially loved the way the author structured the story with Carl flashing back to the past to give his story of events.

Another major plus for me was the pace, it was fast, efficient and flowed extremely well, so much so that I read this in about a day and a half. I’d say it was pretty unputdownable. Some may say the author tried to do too much, I mean we’ve got a mystery, drama with Joe’s family, a love story and then in the last quarter some serious action scenes I’d call thrilling but guess what…I thought it all worked brilliantly! And no, I didn’t have the mystery figured out which made it all the better. If you’re looking for a fast paced, well plotted story I hope you’ll give this a chance.

Happy Reading! 

 

More Throwback Thursday Picks Around the Blogosphere…

Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe

Amanda at Literary Weaponry

Susan at Susan Loves Books

Cathy at What Cathy Read Next

Lynne at Fictionophile

Annie at The Misstery

Amy at Novel Gossip

Diana at A Haven for Booklovers

Mischenko at Read Rant Rock and Roll

Laurie at Cozy Nook Books

Caryl at Mrs Bloggs Books