Redemption Point (ISBN: 0595399444) by Lawrence Parrott shoots
out of the gate from page one. Kate and Tommy are watching a sold out movie on Friday night. Tommy, ungentlemanly like, slips his hand inside his dates bra and pinches her. Kate reacts with a ‘slap’ and runs from the theatre. Tommy follows and Kate refuses to come back inside or cooperate with Tommy after he hits her. “When you come back beggin’, I’ll think about taking you back.” he says.
Lawrence Parrott in his debut novel does many things right and asks so many of the right questions in his novel “Redemption Point” you can’t help but be instantly captivated and wrapped up in the plot and character development. You will care what happens to the characters and most importantly why it happens.
What goes on in a peaceful small town? What kind of corruption lies behind familiar faces? Why do innocent people have to die? What are the costs for redemption?
When Zack Taylor gets laid off from his auto factory job in Detroit, he realizes his life is meaningless. He blames himself for his mother's suicide following the death of his alcoholic father, and perpetuates the cycle by drinking whenever he has a problem. Yearning for a new job and a new life, Zack withdraws his savings and heads south. Then he meets Kate Jenkins.
For Zack Taylor this isn't the first time his actions lead to the death of someone he cared about. His nightmares won't let him forget. Kate Jenkins has finally freed herself from her abusive ex-boyfriend, Tommy. Now she longs to escape the small town life she despises. When Zack walks through the front door of the diner where Kate works as a waitress, both of their lives change. For Zack it's love. For Kate it's a second chance at happiness. But Tommy has other ideas. For him some stranger trying to steal "his" girl means war. And war means people die…
In a recent interview the author talks about his book, “I worked in the Detroit area for a couple of years and got laid off, much like Zack in my novel. I actually decided to rejoin the Marines and went on to retire 16 years later, but maybe that was the “what if” that sparked my story of a laid off auto worker who wants to start a new life.”
Redemption Point is honest and is a simple with a great plot, ‘A big-city boy finds love and redemption in a small town.’ One of the central character’s is Zach. Zach is a complex character in search of a new life – The authors explains, “Zack has a good heart. He really wants to do the right thing and defend the weak, but he’s not perfect. He drinks too much, is promiscuous, has commitment issues, and doesn’t always make the best choices. When he meets Kate and falls in love, he grows up a little but continues to struggle with some of his vises. One event that haunts his past is his mother’s suicide. He feels responsible and wishes he’d stayed to deal with her break down instead of running away because he didn’t know how to deal with her problems, which eventually lead to her death. His nightmares won’t let him forget yet another bad choice he made. This fuels his commitment to bring his friend Max’s murders to justice no matter what it takes. It may be too late to save Max, but at least he can make his killers pay.”
Lawrence Parrott has done an exceptional job with his first novel, Redemption Point. He turns a complicated plot into one that is interesting and easy to follow. This is a very good start for a new and up and coming author. Redemption Point is solid and will be one of your favorite books of the year.
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
ISBN-10: 0595399444
Michigan native and retired Marine Lawrence Parrott
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