The bodies of high school and middle school kids are found
dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. The drug trade along the I-94 and
I-43 corridors and the Milwaukee Metro area is controlled by MS-13, a violent
gang originating from El Salvador. Ricardo Fuentes is sent from Chicago to
Waukesha to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and
teach them a lesson. But he has an
ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had
killed his cousin the previous summer.
Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race
to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he
kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. The three
detectives come to realize that the ring has its roots in a high school among
the students and staff.
My Life in Books - Joseph Lewis
This book has a profound effect on me. It was the
first book I remember reading as a kid. I read this book as I sat between the
stacks and racks of books in the local library after school as I waited for my
dad to take me home after elementary school. I tried to find it on Amazon, but
couldn’t. That saddens me. It was about a young boy who became a leader among
his people, mostly through his actions rather than his words. It infused
culture and life among the people and the author did this in such a way that,
as I write my own stories, I use description and setting in much the same way.
In fact, one of my characters – a favorite among my readers (one of mine, too,
if truth be told) – is a Navajo boy born and raised in Navajoland in
Northeastern Arizona.
I think I read this book two or three times. It took
the first hundred pages before the book took off, and when it did, at first, I
couldn’t put it down. But then, I found that I couldn’t read it at night. Fenny Bate scared the living daylights
out of me. He, and the book, gave me nightmares. Haunting, dark. Everything a
great horror and suspense novel should be. An awesome book.
The book is made up of four different novellas, each
with a separate storyline. In particular, the novella, The Body is and was my all-time favorite. I read that story so much
that the pages fell out of the spine and I had to buy a new copy. The Body was made into a movie directed
by Rob Reiner titled, Stand by Me. I
must have watched that fifty or sixty times. The first time I watched it, I
went home and wrote a short story, Dusty
and Me, and it was the first piece I ever had published. The Body is a fantastic story by a
master storyteller. A story of friendship and loyalty. A story of kids trying
to find a place in their world, a world that is often unkind and unfair.
A long, long novel but it impacts all who read it. A
classic story of good vs evil, of personal triumph over greed and all that is
wrong or could be wrong in the world. So many rich and wonderful characters.
Setting and place is a character onto itself. The characters grow, as does the
reader. There are anger and tears, there is fear. It isn’t a “horror” novel per
se, but a story on life, the light side as well as the dark side. Perhaps a
story that evokes a warning for us all.
Actually, I could have named any of John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport novels. Great character,
especially if you like cops and detectives and mysteries. There are hurdles to
jump, dead-ends aplenty, and always a twist at the end that catches the reader
by surprise. Language and action are authentic, probably because Sandford is a
former newspaper guy and he covered local police over his years in that
capacity. This is just a guess though. In any case, he has a knack for cops and
bad guys.
Just about any of his books that have Harry Bosch as the main character are
worth a read. I like the Bosch series
for the same reason I like the Lucas
Davenport series by Sandford. Honest, authentic writing. Great characters.
A plot that keeps you guessing. These two detectives are not perfect by any
means. No way! They are human. They make mistakes. They push the boundaries and
sometimes, take a step or two over the line. I’ve not found a story containing Bosch or Davenport that wasn’t satisfying.
Of all the writers I have mentioned thus far, James
Patterson is perhaps my favorite. I enjoy his Alex Cross character the most. In Kiss the Girls, we have a serial “snatcher” for the lack of a
better term. I won’t tell you too much because I do hope you take the
opportunity to read it. Several twists, some psychology, and a whole lot of
fun. I’ve read so much Patterson over the years, one reader/reviewer wrote, “If
you like James Patterson, you’ll love Joseph Lewis.” I find that humbling and
daunting. Yes, my chapter set up is similar in that I end on action forcing the
reader to move on. Yes, I use my background in counseling and psychology in my
character development and story line, but Patterson is “The Man” in my eyes. His Alex
Cross books have it all: great characters that you want to get to know, big
city setting, and a great and satisfying story.
Joseph Lewis - April 2019
Joseph Lewis has written five books: Caught in a Web; Taking
Lives; Stolen Lives; Shattered Lives, and Splintered Lives. His sixth, Spiral
into Darkness, debuts January 17, 2019 from Black Rose Writing. Lewis has been
in education for 42 years and counting as a teacher, coach, counselor and
administrator. He is currently a high school principal and resides in Virginia
with his wife, Kim, along with his daughters, Hannah and Emily. His son, Wil,
is deceased.
Lewis uses his psychology and counseling background to craft
his characters which helps to bring them to life. His books are topical and
fresh and appeal to anyone who enjoys crime thriller fiction with grit and
realism and a touch of young adult thrown in.
Alexander Mayor is a writer and musician based in London.
Alexander Mayor is a writer and musician based in London.
