I put myself on the waiting list for the book Twenty by James Grippando. I didn’t see the fine print on the cover of the book when I put it on the hold list but after I got it, I did read the fine print and saw that it said, “A Jack Swyteck Novel”. Hmm. Was this a series??
Darn. I looked and it was. Oh, I hated that. I’m a sequential girl and like things in sequence. Do I read it? Do I not? UGH.
I had waited so long for the book and just didn’t know what to do. I finally just listened to it.
So did I like it…YES! The book was a good stand-alone and I didn’t really feel like I missed anything. Occasionally there was a bit of a reference to something that happened before but it wasn’t glaring and didn’t make me feel like I missed anything in the story. I can safely say that I’m guessing more books that include Jack Swyteck will be in my future.
Here’s what Amazon had to say:
“Jack Swyteck and his family are caught in the crossfire after a deadly school shooting claims 20 casualties – Florida’s fifth mass shooting in as many years – in this provocative and timely thriller from Harper Lee Prize winner James Grippando that touches on some of the most contentious issues roiling America today.
It is the message every parent of a school-age child fears: “Active Shooter on Campus.”
Jack Swyteck is at his office when he receives the emergency text from Riverside Day School. Both his daughter, Righley, and his wife, FBI agent Andie Henning, are in danger. Andie is in the school’s rec center when she hears the fire alarms, then loud popping noises and screams coming from the hallway. A trained law-enforcement officer, Andie knows she’s supposed to stay locked down inside the room. But Righley is in her kindergarten classroom, and Andie must get her to safety.
The tragedy prompts mass hysteria – and dangerous speculation. The police haven’t identified the shooter, but they find a handgun on the school grounds registered to a parent, a Muslim man named Amir Khoury. News of the gun and its owner leaks and quickly goes viral. Within minutes, Al Qaeda claims responsibility. Andie is shocked – Amir is married to her friend, Lilly, a WASP whose bloodline goes back to the American Revolution.
When Xavier, Amir and Lilly’s oldest child and an 18-year-old senior at Riverside, confesses to the crime, the local community’s anti-Muslim fervor explodes to levels unseen since 9/11. Terrified for her son’s life, Lilly asks Jack to step in. A seasoned defense attorney with a passion to see justice done, he’s taken on plenty of complicated cases. Xavier’s, however, is not one he’s inclined to take – until an old friend who lost his daughter in the shooting tells him that he must.
With the public calling for blood and prosecutors confident their case is air tight, Jack must unearth the Khourys’ family secrets in order to expose the shocking truth and save his client from certain death. But he may not be able to save everyone – including himself.”
Amazon readers gave the book 4.6 stars. I think I would give it 4.5. It kept my interest. If you have a man in your life that reads, I can see a guy liking this book too!
After reading this one, I am going to go back and find the books in order. I liked the characters and think they would be good series to start. Hopefully, the online library has more.
