Reviewed by Danielle

TITLE: One Good Deed

AUTHOR: Andrew Grey

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 200 Pages

BLURB:

Luka Krachec immigrates to the United States to find his cousin dead and his cousin’s wife hospitalized after a terrible accident. He meets Peter Montgomery at the funeral. The American seems nice and captures Luka’s attention when he offers to help him with his English.

Peter has spent most of his life believing he shot his father at age six, and his family uses his regret and overwhelming guilt to keep him under their proverbial thumbs. Peter does his best to make up for what he did by helping others, and agreeing to help Luka with his English yields something amazing when they hit it off.

When Peter opens up to Luka about what happened when he was a child, Luka senses some holes in the story and suspects Peter needs some help, so he approaches the head of the psychology department at the college where he works. Neither expects to open a long-barricaded door to secrets, denial, and family manipulation.

REVIEW:

First of all let me start with mentioning I was delighted to be offered a copy of this book by the author to read. This is a different story than I am used to reading from this author; it’s more drama free so to speak.

There is of course some drama there but in a different way. The story focuses more on the relationships between different characters, the inner process to learn yourself and how to deal with things that get thrown your way in life.

For Luka, one of the main characters, one of the the things thrown his way is his coming to the USA from Serbia and learning about the loss of his family member after already been dealt the loss of a significant other.

For Peter, the other main character, its dealing with his guilt about something that happened 25 years before, and coming to terms with what happened to him and his family after tha .

With Peter teaching Luka English and Luka sensing there is more to Peter and his story, they both slowly proceed into a relationship that deepens slowly but surely.

When Luka takes Peter by the hand to find help and find a way to come to terms with what happened and more, they both find more than they were looking for. A new “family”, a new life and the freedom to live that together the country they are living in.

Author Andrew Grey always makes you connect to his characters one way or another, it doesn’t matter what the story is about or what the characters are dealing with. There’s always an entry to their emotions, their experiences.

It is the same with Luka and Peter, not forgetting to mention the other characters in this book. Bella, Luka’s sister in law and widow of his cousin is a very nice addition. She doesn’t need to be prominently there but when she is, it’s significant. There is also Marie and Vince, Peter’s mother and brother and his sister Julie.

For me especially the last two could have been explored more. The scene with Peter, Luka and his brother was excellent and I would have liked to have seen how it proceded. Also Julie; what’s her reaction to it all?

I am glad to read about Peter and his mother’s relationship and how it evolves?

Overall I have to say this was a great sweet and personal story with very solid characters. I liked experiencing things from an inside point of view, especially the guilt processing I think highly of and exploring the emotions the characters went through. It’s a very enjoyable read.

RATING:

BUY LINK: Dreamspinner Press