Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Crossing - Serita Jakes

Product DetailsImprisoned by memories, Claudia Campbell lives each day in the shadow of a ten-year-old murder. Who can set her free?

On the way home from a football game, a decade earlier, a masked gunman opened fi re on a Texas school bus.  Cheerleading coach B.J. Remington was killed, but her murderer was never found. Claudia, who had a close friendship with the young, spirited teacher, constantly relives the anguish of that day, caught in one moment in time. When her husband, the assistant district attorney, becomes determined to uncover the mystery of that tragedy, the secrets buried over the years threaten to tear their family apart.

Officer Casio Hightower will never forget the day his dreams were destroyed. A star quarterback with a promising future, Casio was on top of the world—until one bullet changed everything. He is eager to help Victor Campbell find B.J.’s killer, the man who shot him. Maybe solving the case will help silence the demons driving Casio to hurt the woman he loves.

As the Campbells and Casio teeter on the brink of losing everything, will they be able to discover that what begins at the crossing ends at the cross?

MY REVIEW

This is the first book by Serita Jakes that I have read, and it certainly won't be the last. Written slightly different than any other I have read, it didn't take her long to have my undivided attention. The novel is divided into three parts with the verses of the Rock of Ages hymn preceeding them. It is written in the third person point of view, with headings to keep the reader in the loop as to whose thoughts and actions we are privy to at this moment. Claudia and her husband Victor, as well as a classmate of Claudia's are the main characters. BJ Remington, the cheerleading teacher who was murdered on the bus surrounded by her students and the football team makes her appearance in her thoughts immediately after the shooting, and until she dies. Although I was not sure I would appreciate this approach, Serita handled it very well without making it an element of paranormal.

Although not an extremely emotional story, the reader is drawn into the characters' lives with words drawing rich pictures of the relationships between parents and children, husband and wife, peers who have been touched by the same incident. Through it all PTSD is explored and faced.

This novel opened my eyes to the effects of PTSD and how it can affect those around them.

i received this book free from WaterbrookMultnomah Publishers through their Blogging For Books program, in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive one. The opinions expressed are my own.

1 comment: