Kirkus Review of my novel The Hand of God

The Hand of God

The Hand of GodAn African-American man is caught between his own demons and those of 1950s American society in this historical novel. Jones (Tembo Makaburi, 2017, etc.) tells the story of 24-year-old Bobby Lincoln, who lives in the coastal town of Palm Harbor in 1955 Florida.

With few jobs and no education available to him, he ekes out a living by fishing and doing any other work that he can find, often using his boat. But it’s not enough for him or his common-law wife, Idella, who keeps threatening to leave him if he doesn’t become a more effective breadwinner.

None of this is helped by his own love of gambling and his tendency to keep company with some of the town’s best-known criminals. When a local gangster offers him $2,450 to take part in a serious crime, Bobby knows that it would break the heart of his deeply religious mother and disappoint a smart teenage boy who idolizes him.

But he also believes that it might be his only chance to keep his wife and get back some self-respect. One little boat ride quickly turns into a nightmare that consumes Bobby’s life even as he tries to conceal it from others. As the situation spirals further out of control, he finds that there may still be a way to get the redemption he seeks, even if it takes divine intervention.

Overall, this book is well-paced, drawing readers into its time period without slowing the story down with excessive description. Bobby is a believable and mostly sympathetic protagonist; his personal character flaws are many and glaring, but it’s enjoyable to watch him struggle to overcome them.

The book’s flaws, by comparison, are relatively small: the author tends to use double exclamation marks in dialogue when they’re not necessary, and he often tells readers what characters are feeling (“He liked being around him because he knew the teenager looked up to him”) instead of showing it through their actions. By and large, though, the story rises above these issues.

Summary: An imperfect but often engaging tale of an imperfect man seeking redemption.

 

An Affair to Remember!

The Duck Springs Affair

Rating:5 out of 5 blossoms!

By Tammy Windsor

This book was SO enjoyable that, once I picked it up, I could not put it down. I literally read all night long to finish it!

The plot was well-developed and had just the right amount of Southern charm and quaint “small town Georgia” feel.

And, I should know, as I am a small town Georgian, myself! The plot line was interesting and moved at a good, steady pace, never stalling or going flat.

The characters are rich and vibrant, full of warmth, passion and depth and are written in such a manner that you come to feel as if they are old friends you’ve always known.

It was very easy to get wrapped up in the feelings and emotions of the central characters and experience them in tandem. The deep loneliness, frenetic sexual angst, hollow longing, all-consuming joy of true love and soul-rending despair were all palpable.

The descriptive details were outstanding and invitingly drew me in. I could very nearly smell the fragrant peach trees, fresh hay and old, wooden timbers of the barn. I felt the hot, summer sun baking my skin, the oppressive, humid air sitting heavy in my lungs and the chilly water of the river being playfully splashed on me.

I could have sworn I could hear the wind rustling with a whisper through the crisp autumn leaves, the squawking and quacking of the plethora of ducks bobbing on the water’s surface and the low, plaintive bawling of the baby calf that had been separated from his mother during milking time.

I could almost taste the delicate sweetness of the rustic peach pie, the cool, refreshing purity of the water at the natural spring and the ambrosial headiness of passion’s first kiss.

The overall theme of the book put me in mind of one of my very favorite movies, The Bridges of Madison County. This book made me laugh, cry, sigh and wax nostalgic. Oh, and there’s a real humdinger of a twist that comes out of nowhere and leaves you stunned and emotionally annihilated.

Just thought I’d throw that 411 in there! I am really looking forward to reading more from Jones.

amazon.com