Review: Another homerun by Christopher Koehler and the CalPac Crew
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2014
Even when you have read and enjoyed every book in a series sometimes one pops up that just strikes you as a cut above and so it is with Settling the Score. Stewart is the cox’n of his crew and therefore is very small. Like jockeys size matters in the race and when you are not one of the guys pulling his weight in the race you need to be small.Stuart has also had to work hard for everything he has and even for things that never did come his way. He doesn’t have money so his dream of going to medical school is much more difficult to achieve and involves going deeply into debt. Then into his live comes another problem, Philip Sundstrom.Philip came from money but most of it was ill gotten and his father is in prison for it. Philip has carved out his own niche, right out from under his parents’ noses, and it is honest money that pays his way. However, his father’s friends on the board are set to oust Philip from his own company and Philip feels powerless to stop them. Can Stuart help Philip figure out a way out of this mess? And what about Philip’s brother Brad, a star crew coach? Is he tainted by dad’s chicanery?I loved seeing how Mr. Koehler took Philip, a thoroughly unlikeable character previously in the series, from a cold, unsympathetic man to one you have to root for in this book. On the cover, that’s Philip playing with the little boy, but you don’t get to find out how this scene plays out or even who the little boy is until nearly the end of the book. Well played, Mr. Koehler.This book is rock solid in its plot development and character building. I loved it. If you haven’t read the previous CalPac Crew books I highly recommend that you do before reading this one. However, even if you don’t, Mr. Koehler leaves enough breadcrumb trails that you can follow them out of the woods and into a crew boat to enjoy this book.