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The Truth

The Truth - Jeffry W. Johnston

Snip, snip! I hear the sliding of the garden shears as he holds them close to Chris’ fingers. Strapped to a chair, Derek threatens to snip off a finger for every lie that comes out of Chris’ mouth.  Derek wants details and Chris will supply them but just not every detail. The author had a wonderful way of bringing this story to life. Bringing together the present and the past, the story became urgent and I had a hard time putting this novel down once it got started. As Chris is strapped to the chair and he’s retelling his side of the story, I wondered just how things would work out. How would Derek know when Chris was lying?  How impatient was Derek? How serious was his threat and what was the purpose of him doing this? So many questions were tumbling through my head and yet I didn’t want to rush through the novel and miss something.

 

As we flashback to the “then” portions, we read about what actually transpired and what had made Derek become the offender. His brother Caleb was killed when he was found inside Chris’ home and Chris shot him. This is where the details get fuzzy and where you need to understand the parties involved. There is a commitment to family and to the ones you love that follows the individuals in this novel, this love runs deep and it hurts when they can’t abide by their obligations. As people fulfilled their own promises, it felt creepy with how far they would go in their attempts, their depth and their means showed just who they were. The story will grip you and you will want to know why, why is this so important and why hold back the details? What really happened that night in the kitchen? Some of it seemed so simple, yet we know our hearts can only carry so much. The ending, I was not ready for that but now, what can you do?

I received a copy of this novel from Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.