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A review by presleymarie85
The Unwilling by John Hart
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is my second John Hart book. What I love so much about his books is how richly developed his characters are and how the reader gets emotionally drawn in to them. The Unwilling is a combination of so many genres written into one beautiful story, it's a thriller, a family drama, and a coming of age story. The Unwilling takes place during the Vietnam War, and the war plays a vital role in the impact of the French Family. Beloved oldest son Robert who was killed in the line of duty, middle son and twin of Robert, Jason comes back from war a changed man. Jason, angry, violent, addicted to drugs and fresh out of jail is back in town and looking to reconnect with his young brother Gibson "Gibby". Gibby the youngest French son is all that Detective French and wife Gabrielle feel they have left and are willing to do anything to protect him.
Gibby participating in senior skip day is enjoying the day drinking, swimming and trying to jump from the cliff of the quarry into the water like his older brother Robert did, when he spots Jason. The two talk and Jason says that he will dive into the water under one condition, that Gibby hangs out with him for a day. Jason makes the dive and him and Gibby hang out together with 2 lady friends of Jason's. Tyra and Sarah. Drunk on beer and the afternoon, Tyra makes some lewd acts to the prison transport bus, the same prison that Jason was just released from. The actions from Tyra start the trajectory of the plot, that will reveal some very dark secrets and will include kidnapping, torture and murder.
A young woman is violently tortured and murdered and with no other leads, the investigation turns on Jason French who has a history of violence. Jason is taken back to the jail he was just released from and Gibby will do whatever it takes to prove Jason's innocence, even if that means putting himself in direct danger.
The characters are so richly written that the reader can perfectly visualize them as well as feel emotion towards them as one would towards their own family or friends. The plot is an emotional roller-coaster that has so many twists and turns that will leave the reader with their mouth open at the end of the book.
This may be my second John Hart and it will not be my last. This man can write books and plots and just draw a reader in. The first one of his books I read was Iron House and it was also a 5 star emotionally driven thriller family drama.
Gibby participating in senior skip day is enjoying the day drinking, swimming and trying to jump from the cliff of the quarry into the water like his older brother Robert did, when he spots Jason. The two talk and Jason says that he will dive into the water under one condition, that Gibby hangs out with him for a day. Jason makes the dive and him and Gibby hang out together with 2 lady friends of Jason's. Tyra and Sarah. Drunk on beer and the afternoon, Tyra makes some lewd acts to the prison transport bus, the same prison that Jason was just released from. The actions from Tyra start the trajectory of the plot, that will reveal some very dark secrets and will include kidnapping, torture and murder.
A young woman is violently tortured and murdered and with no other leads, the investigation turns on Jason French who has a history of violence. Jason is taken back to the jail he was just released from and Gibby will do whatever it takes to prove Jason's innocence, even if that means putting himself in direct danger.
The characters are so richly written that the reader can perfectly visualize them as well as feel emotion towards them as one would towards their own family or friends. The plot is an emotional roller-coaster that has so many twists and turns that will leave the reader with their mouth open at the end of the book.
This may be my second John Hart and it will not be my last. This man can write books and plots and just draw a reader in. The first one of his books I read was Iron House and it was also a 5 star emotionally driven thriller family drama.