8 March 2016

Review #362: Old Money by Bobby Cole



My rating:
3 of 5 stars


“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”

----Mahatma Gandhi



Bobby Cole, an American crime-fiction writer, pens his new thriller, Old Money, which is the third book in the Jake Crosby mystery series. This book features Jake Crosby, a stock trader turned game warden in Mississippi, who is asked by the Judge to keep an eye on two con-artists, whose father have left a large sum of money hidden somewhere in his estate, who are now trying hard to find that hidden money.






Synopsis:

Jake Crosby has traded in a stockbroker’s suit and tie for a standard-issue uniform. As a newly minted Mississippi game warden, he has two tough cases to cut his teeth on—the ongoing robbery of wealthy hunters and the ruthless search for a rumored hidden fortune.

According to local gossip, several million dollars have been missing since the conviction of local conman Bronson Bolivar, and following his death in prison, his two grown children have torn his property apart looking for the funds. As Jake searches for the robber who targets well-to-do outdoorsmen, he finds a trail leading to the Bolivars. But the allure of quick cash also draws unexpected interest from both Bronson’s former cellmate and an upstanding federal judge. Will Jake understand the severity of the situation in time or get caught up in a web of deceit?



Jake Crosby, a stock trader turned game warden is looking for the hidden treasure by pursuing the twin duo con artists who with the help of a notorious ex-convict, who was their father's cell mate, are trying to get their hands on their father's money. Jake along with Virgil, another game warden, decides to put the brother sister duo another 24*7 surveillance to find out what they are planning. The brother sister plans to con the ex-convict by luring him to get a customer for selling a fake pre-historic artifact. Little did Jake knew that chasing this smart pair of twin siblings is a real tough job, considering the fact that he has to keep his own family afloat without financial troubles all the while satisfying the old retired Judge's demands.

From the premise, I did not expect the story to be with so many loose ends and with such unexplained situations. The author's writing style is really strong but the layering and the structure of the story line is not done skillfully. Firstly, it doesn't makes sense of Jake's actions so many times in the book. I contemplate with the story line that Jake and his friend Virgil illegally stole illegal money, but what made no sense is why Jake never made up his own decisions, when he has gives choices to make one.

The narrative is free-flowing and although the pacing was bit slow in the beginning, the story captured fast pace in the middle of the story and kept me pretty much hooked till the very last page. This is not mystery book, it's more like a thriller with some adrenaline-rushing action scenes that are quite edgy. The book also explores relationships of the main characters, mostly the marital imperfections and financial problems in a household.

The characters are well-developed, though they did not seem realistic at any point of the story. Yet the characters are put under lots of stress both from their professional as well as personal fronts. Jake, the judge, Virgil and the con artists too were all left challenged by money.

Jake is a brave and strong hero but failed to make some simple choices in his life. The negative characters are much better than the positive ones and their evil and flawed demeanor and their greed towards money kept me glued till the very end. In a nutshell, the story is arresting enough to keep the readers gripped till the very end.

Verdict: If you enjoy an absorbing thriller, then do get a copy of this book for sure.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Bobby Cole, for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
Born William Robert Cole, Jr., in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1964, writer Bobby Cole now lives in West Point, Mississippi, where he is President of Mossy Oak® BioLogic®. He and his wife Melissa are the parents of a daughter named Jessi. Cole is an avid wildlife manager, hunter, and supporter of the Catch-A-Dream™ Foundation (a program for terminally-ill children). He began writing his first book, The Dummy Line, after a camping experience with his daughter, and he now regularly enjoys writing in his free time.
Visit him here


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