Reviewed by Dan

TITLE:  The Second Son

AUTHOR:     John Inman

PUBLISHER:     DSP Publications

LENGTH:     292 Pages

RELEASE DATE:   May 10, 2016

BLURB:

It’s an old, old story: a tale of the consequences of good and evil. Plus the limitless power of faith and love, and how they can forever change an empty life.

When Charlie Strickland, a reclusive artist living in the backwoods of Indiana, opens his door to find a handsome young stranger standing naked on his front porch, an astounding odyssey begins.

It doesn’t take Charlie long to fall head over heels in love with his oddly innocent visitor. The young man calls himself Joe. Just Joe. But when amazing things begin to happen, Charlie soon comes to realize who Joe really is.

What follows will turn Charlie’s world, and everyone else’s, upside down.

REVIEW:

There is so much I want to say about this book.  I want to rave! I want to explain how good it is.  But how to do that without major spoilers????

John Inman brings us a tale of a lonely, divorced, bisexual painter.  Charlie Strickland is happy living almost off the grid, on a lonely piece of property with a lake in the middle of absolutely nowhere in the Midwest.  He used to live in California, but likes the seclusion of his current life.  Both his ex-wife and ex-lover have each gone their own ways, and he and his dog are quite happy.

All that changes when there is bright flash of light and an earthquake one night.  An earthquake?  The Midwest doesn’t get earthquakes do they?  Then a knock comes on his door and there is a naked young man standing there…asking to come in.  Charlie invites him in, and his life will never be the same.

That’s really all I can say!  I’m biting my tongue.  This was an excellent read, and I really enjoyed it.  There are references about half way through to some truly loathsome people, and some truly evil deeds.  The references are quick, so you could skip ahead on those pages if there is any particular trigger that bothers you, but I wouldn’t advise skipping that section.  Mr. Inman did a great job at describing the sort of people who belong in Hell in my opinion.

Technically, of course, the book was flawless.  Well written, well edited, and the pace and storyline were just right in my opinion.

I very highly recommend this one.  There, I didn’t do any spoilers.  I will tell you a couple things.  This isn’t a romance in my opinion, and there is little or no on screen sex, so if those are important to you, you might want to skip this one, because you wouldn’t get it anyway.  If you’re like me, and you enjoy a read that makes you think and reflect, take my advice, add this book to your TBR pile today, you won’t be sorry.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

DSP Publications  

Amazon