Book Review~ Jesse's Girl by Gary Morganstein

A big thanks to Gary for sending me his novel to read and review.

Startled awake by a ringing phone in the middle of the night, Brooklynite Teddy Mentor finds out that his sixteen year old adopted son Jesse is missing from the Rehabilitation Program in Montana, where he had been sent 2 weeks ago. Teddy risking his job and his meager life savings flies to Montana to track Jesse down. Once in Montana he learns that Jesse has left by bus and Teddy's route takes him to Illinois where finally the two of them meet up. Jesse, whose past substance abuse and other problems have made the relationship between him and his father strained, was secretly glad to see Teddy. Together, Teddy and Jesse embark on a mission.

Jesse left the Rehab Center to find a girl in Kentucky that he was in contact with. This girl claimed to be Jesse's sister, Theresa. They find Theresa living in a trailer in Mount Sterling, KY...with an abusive brother, Beau. Then the unthinkable happens - Beau beats Theresa and Jesse during a drunken heated argument. Jesse grabs a knife and stabs Beau, killing him. Or so he thinks.

Buckle your skates, folks because you are in for quite a rollercoaster ride.

Jesse's Girl is not only a fast-paced-nail-biting-thriller, but a testimony of how a father and his adopted son mend their broken relationship and come to realize that all that they really have is each other.

FIVE STARS
Publisher: CreateSpace (March 13, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-1441492241