Book : Shady Cross - Hankins, James

-Titulo Original : Shady Cross

-Fabricante :

Thomas & Mercer

-Descripcion Original:

In one hand, small-time crook Stokes holds a backpack stuffed with someone else’s money three hundred and fifty thousand dollars of it. In the other hand, Stokes has a cell phone, which he found with the money. On the line, a little girl he doesn’t know asks, “Daddy? Are you coming to get me? They say if you give them money they’ll let you take me home.” From bestselling author James Hankins comes a wrenching story of an unscrupulous man torn between his survival instincts and the plight of a true innocent. Faced with the choice, Stokes discovers his conscience might not be as corroded as he thought. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review: This outstanding crime thriller from Hankins (Brothers and Bones) grabs the reader by the scruff of the neck and never lets go. When second-rate crook Stokes ransacks a wrecked car that’s run off a country road near Shady Cross, Ind., he discovers that the dead driver had a knapsack stuffed with $350,000; the bad news is that Stokes also finds a ringing cell phone that announces the money was ransom for the dead man’s little daughter. His first impulse is to ditch the phone and run with the cash. Instead, Stokes plays along with the kidnappers over the phone, trying to figure out their plan and save the child. He has no experience as a hero, and the new role forces him into situations that are deadly dangerous and grotesquely hilarious-while the kidnappers keep calling every hour to threaten the girl. Hankins skillfully keeps the story from going warm and fuzzy as Stokes gropes toward redemption. From Booklist Antihero is too kind a term for Stokes. He’s an ex-con; he robs the fellow on the next bar stool. He abandoned a wife and daughter because they were too much trouble. His last break-in may have left the householder dead. And he carries this fine, offbeat novel. The author’s skill in bringing this off is magical, since Stokes is not an engaging rogue-though his droll humor is evident-and he’s not a heel with a heart of gold like those Bogart characters. When he comes upon a backpack loaded with cash and learns it’s to ransom a little girl who’s being tortured, his immediate reaction is to blow town with the money, the hell with the kid. Fate intervenes, and Stokes is off on a twisty plot that brings him up against people-some outwardly splendid-who could give him lessons in baseness. As the narrative winds to its hurtful conclusion, we understand that by trying to rescue the girl, Stokes rescues himself. We also know we’ve read a novel crammed with crackling dialogue and characters who are, unfortunately, all too true to life. Review “This outstanding crime thriller from Hankins ( Brothers and Bones) grabs the reader by the scruff of the neck and never lets go.” Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[A] fine, offbeat novel...crammed with crackling dialogue and characters that are...true to life.” Booklist About the Author Bestselling author James Hankins pursued writing at an early age. While attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, he received the Chris Columbus Screenwriting Award. After career detours into screenwriting, health administration, and the law, Hankins recommitted himself to writing fiction. Since then, he has written three popular thrillers, each of which spent time in the Kindle Top 100. Additionally, Brothers and Bones received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was named to their list of Best Books of 2013, while both Jack of Spades and Drawn were Amazon #1 bestsellers. He lives with his wife and twin sons just north of Boston.