Review: What makes a compelling hero?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 29, 2012
I stumbled across Hope Road in Amazon's 'readers who bought X also bought Y' list, and bought it, hoping only for a few hours of distraction. I was not disappointed. The plot is tight and the book is extremely well written, however the main character, John Ray, was the big surprise.Right from the beginning, Ray exudes the kind of charisma that is usually reserved for sexy villains, yet he is not stereotypically handsome. He is described as a big man in his forties with a shock of black hair, and a physical 'presence', but he is not a James Bond, although it seems he is good in bed. Nor is he one of those angst-ridden types who introspect ad nauseum.So what is it about John Ray that makes him so compelling? I suspect the answer lies in his potential to be bad. He appears to be a solid citizen, but as the sole, surviving son of a retired crime lord, with a dead girl in his car, along with 50,000 pounds of counterfeit bills, you can't help feeling suspicious. The police certainly are. But nothing is quite what it seems, and solving this murder mystery is one treat you should not miss.Very highly recommended.Hope Road (1st John Ray mystery)