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    Shady Cross
    Shady Cross
    Shady Cross
    Audiobook9 hours

    Shady Cross

    Written by James Hankins

    Narrated by Bon Shaw

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In one hand, small-time crook Stokes holds a backpack stuffed with someone else’s money—three hundred and fifty thousand dollars of it.

    In the other hand, Stokes has a cell phone, which he found with the money. On the line, a little girl he doesn’t know asks, “Daddy? Are you coming to get me? They say if you give them money they’ll let you take me home.”

    From bestselling author James Hankins comes a wrenching story of an unscrupulous man torn between his survival instincts and the plight of a true innocent. Faced with the choice, Stokes discovers his conscience might not be as corroded as he thought.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateFeb 24, 2015
    ISBN9781501212376
    Shady Cross
    Author

    James Hankins

    James Hankins writes thrillers, mysteries, and novels of suspense, including his latest, The Inside Dark. His previous books—The Prettiest One, Shady Cross, Brothers and Bones, Drawn, and Jack of Spades—all became Kindle #1 bestsellers, while Brothers and Bones was named to the Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2013 list. Hankins lives north of Boston with his wife and sons, and can be reached through his website, www.jameshankinsbooks.com; on Twitter @James_Hankins_; and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JamesHankinsAuthorPage.

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    Reviews for Shady Cross

    4/5

    37 ratings10 reviews

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    • 1/5
      good premise, horrible and unrealistic execution
    • 3/5
      I liked this book even though I didn't love it. I recently discovered that Amazon Prime members can borrow books with narration as part of their Prime Reading program. There are not a ton of options but this one sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a try. I did find it to be an entertaining story and I really liked the premise. Stokes is a small time criminal. He is not above taking something that isn't his and tends to keep his eye out for any opportunity to to make a little money. When he is involved in an accident that takes another man's life and finds a bag full of money, he thinks that he has finally found his big payday. Then the phone in the bag rings and everything changes. When he realizes that the money in that bag was meant to save a little girl's life, he feels compelled to do the right thing and save the girl.This book had a lot of things going for it. I love that the story features an antihero. It was kind of fun to see a character with questionable morals work so hard to save someone he has never met. The story was exciting with one roadblock blocking his path after another. There were a few surprises along the way as well.I didn't love all aspects of the book. I started to tire of all of the problems that Stokes kept running into. It seemed that no matter what he tried thing would go wrong. It became a bit predictable and the excitement of the story suffered as a result. I also never really connected with the characters. I didn't dislike him but I didn't like him either. I never fully believed that he would really risk so much to save the girl. This is the first time that I have listened to Bon Shaw narrated a story and I really enjoyed his performance. He handled all of the voice really well and the dialogue in the story was flawless. The cast of character in this story really cover a wide range including men, woman, older adults, and children and he did a great job with all of them. I would not hesitate to listen to his work again in the future.I would recommend this book to fast paces mystery fans. This was an enjoyable listen that was a little different than the norm. This was the first time that I have read James Hankins work but I do plan to read more in the future.
    • 3/5
      Interesting thriller with an unconventional guy, doing unconventional things, with an unconventional outcome. At times the story seemed to bog down and I wasn't sure I really liked it, other times I think it was just the narrator I didn't like. The main character isn't very likable, but that's the point. But somehow it all comes together and I needed to see this through. I was pleased with the outcome although I could have used an epilogue.
    • 5/5
      This is an action-thriller with a protagonist we don't really like very much. Kinda uncommon, actually.It starts off in such a way that you wonder why the main character acts the way he does - it isn't really believable that he would do anything other than take the money and run, but... if you can suspend disbelief on just that one little thing, the rest of the story is pretty logical, fast-paced and hard to put down.The author does spend some time throughout the novel trying to justify the main character's behavior (i.e. he has a daughter of his own, and his father was abusive) and I think, by the end when he was questioning himself about why he made the choices he did, it really does make sense.Lots of over-the-top violence (not graphic though, just extreme) and lots of action. I quite enjoyed the story and will look for more books by this author. For those of you who are familiar with Jack Reacher, this guy is kinda like a "bad" version of Jack, a bad version who wants to redeem himself...
    • 5/5
      If you love mysteries, you have got to read this book. Stokes is a small time crook who recognizes that he is a little bit stupid and doesn't realizes that he has a conscience and heart. James Hankins kept me reading this book every single time I had a chance and often I did not want to lay it down to eat or sleep! This story is set in the fictional town of Shady Cross, Indiana and I presume in Northern Indiana. Stokes has made a lot of poor choices in his life and he continues to make them throughout this story. He had abandoned his girlfriend and daughter because he did not like to clock into his job. He drinks too much, would rather steal and hock something than work. He finds a backpack full money in the car of someone he ran off the road because he was drunk. The backpack held $350,000 more money than he ever dreamed of. He took it. He finds out later that there is a cell in it too. He did not want to answer it but he did. A man is asking for the money. He said if he didn’t get he would start hurting the little girl called Amanda. Stokes was not that stupid. He figured out that the dead driver must have been the little girl’s father. What should be do? Take the money and forget about her? Now the story really begins. What will he do? He has no idea, himself but someone that little girls asking for her daddy managed to wiggle its way into the heart he didn't know he had.This book has comedy, suspense, action, psychological pain, backstory and emotional intensity. The main character is a bad guy but it will not be long before you are rooting for him. I am hooked, now I want to read all that James Hankins has written.I received an Advance Reading Copy of Shady Cross in exchange for a fair review from the publishers but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in my review
    • 4/5
      The description is what initially drew me to this novel, which is kind of ironic given I generally avoid child abduction stories. Just goes to show, I suppose, that there are exceptions to every rule. Shady Cross once began as a idyllic place, beautiful and a haven for those who lived there. As time passed, it became less so, "shady" no longer meaning what it once did. I knew going in that Stokes is not what I would call a nice man. He doesn't like to get attached and he gave up on earning an honest living long ago. When he comes across a bag of money, he is serious about running with it even despite the debt he owes one of the two Shady Cross loan sharks and even despite the girl whose only hope of rescue is no longer available. The kidnappers are serious though. They want their money and the evidence the girl's father has taken from them. For every misstep made, the girl will come to harm. It doesn't take long for Stokes to figure out just how true that is--and it's finally what proves there might be a heart beating inside his chest after all. I enjoy a good anti-hero now and then, and Stokes certainly fits that bill. I will not pretend I liked Stokes by the end of the book, not exactly, although I didn't hate him either. I wanted him to come out on top. Stokes isn't the easiest to like--but I appreciated how honest he was about the kind of person he is. And I came to have some respect for him, for the efforts he went through to help that little girl. He may not have been the best of men, but he wasn't the worst of them either. He really did want to do the right thing in the end. One aspect of the book I liked in addition seeing Stokes grow as a character, was the juxtaposition of his situation and what he was trying to do with those he went to for help. Just because someone is an upstanding citizen on the outside, doesn't mean that person actually is underneath. For all that Stokes was a shady character, those who were supposed to be better than him were sometimes worse.There is much in the way of twists and turns in this book, many of which are unexpected. I had a couple different theories about how it would all turn out as I read, some of which was correct and others came as a surprise. Shady Cross definitely earns its thriller label. There was only one scene in the novel that made me queasy, in which I wondered if I could read on, but my desire to see good prevail over evil was strong. I am glad I stuck to it.Shady Cross by James Hankins is gritty and suspenseful. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Stokes is racing against the clock, and Hankins does a good job of keeping up the intensity of events as they unfold. It was a hard book to tear my eyes away from, I just had to know how it would all turn out.
    • 5/5
      What makes a person do the ‘right thing’? Sometimes it’s because you want to. Sometimes you reluctantly do the right thing. Stokes had driven his motorcycle too recklessly causing a car to careen off the road. The man behind the wheel was dead. He saw a backpack in the backseat. He reached for it. It contained a LOT of money! Stokes had no intention of doing anything other than keeping the bag. After all, he had some big time debts of his own and this money would take him a long way. He walked til he could get on a bus; his motorcycle was toast. A phone began ringing inside the bag. People were looking at him, clearly annoyed. He answered the phone. The little voice said: “Daddy, … Are you there? Can you hear me? They told me you’re coming to get me soon. That if you give them money, they’ll let you take me home.” He found out the hard way, these were not people to fool with. They would hurt her; he was convinced of this. They wanted more than just money; they also wanted ‘the evidence’. Stokes returned to the dead guy. He needed his ID so he could look for the evidence and try to save Paul Jenkin’s six year old daughter’s life.The whole story takes place from 1:40 pm to 2:49 am the next morning in fictional Shady Cross, Indiana. It had my heart pumping and every now and again, I realized I’d halted my breathing. The author didn’t waste any time with getting the reader up to speed. It’s very fast-paced and takes a couple of delightful twists. Stokes was not a good guy but I found myself liking him and I was certainly rooting for him. James Hankins is clearly an author to watch. Shady Cross earned a solid 5 out of 5 from me.
    • 5/5
      A special thank you to Amazon and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. James Hankins delivers a bittersweet, humorous, suspenseful, and intense crime thriller, SHADY CROSS! A complex conspiracy of kidnapping, murder, greed, and best of all–redemption. Stokes is an ex-con living in Shady Cross Indiana—running from the cops, and hiding from the biggest and meanest of loan sharks and thugs. He is a slick operator, borrows money to get out of one jam, as high interest rates mount, and then finds himself on the run to escape, looking over his shoulder. He has a bad name in town, and appears everyone is after him for something. If he needs a few bucks, it’s a burglary; after all he is not a real killer, even though it happens when people get in his way sometimes; he is not much in the honesty and ethical department.As a back story, readers learn years ago he met the girl of his dreams, he loved her and he wanted to straighten up and live a normal life with a real job. It worked for a while; the traditional life. However, with a poor childhood and lack of a good education, the perfect job was never in his future. When all his attempts failed, and his daughter was born, he felt forced to punch a clock and it was just not in his DNA. So he did what he does best – left and turned to crime. All alone, with his Airstream trailer, a Yamaha and a Bud. (he is actually a pretty clever guy and street smart).Now, his luck may have turned, when there is an accident (which was his fault); ruining his motorcycle and finds the driver of the other car is dead. He does not need any cops coming after him, so he has to get the heck out of town.However, he discovers a backpack and SCORE- $350,000! He begins to imagine what he can do with this amount of money. He can pay off his loan sharks, (or not), and take the money and leave town and start over. He now has options. He covers his tracks and heads to the bus station, and stops at a diner, when the cell phone rings in the backpack, and it a little girl wanting her daddy to come and get her, as the bad guys have her. Now, he has this little girl haunting him!The novel covers the next twenty-four hours, as someone is always on his trail, putting a kink in his plans, no matter where he turns. His plans change from one minute to another. The little girl Amanda has been kidnapped and the killers demand the ransom, or they are going to kill her. They tell him they have someone on the inside (cops) and he cannot get them involved. He goes from trying to throw the phone away and ignoring the situation, to being completely obsessed with rescuing her. With phone calls every hour, the intensity builds. (After all, he is not the dad, Paul) and has no clue why this guy has enemies. From loans sharks, mafia, cops, and the dead driver’s ex-wife, there are so many people and things in his way. The closer it gets to the drop off time, he begins to wonder if he actually has a heart, when all he can think about is the little girl he once lost, and this is his second chance to redeem himself no matter the odds. Intense, emotional, and witty, readers will hate Stokes in the beginning and will fall in love and sympathize with him by the ending, with his heroic behavior and may in the end, actually have a heart. Can he save himself and the little girl?I recently discovered this bestselling author, James Hankins,and have devoured all his books. Crossing many genres, each is unique and different and his latest is like no other, I have ever read. Hankins' imagination and creativity is brilliant, with many twists and turns; one obstacle after another, leaving me glued to the pages, heart pounding-- to learn the fate of the innocent kidnapped little girl Amanda, and the man with a past of regrets, who risks it all to save her. Well done!
    • 4/5
      Picture a small-time crook who’s just stumbled onto a backpack full of cash . . . enough to pay off the loan shark snapping at his heels and still leave plenty for starting a new life. Suppose he learns that this windfall, retrieved from the back seat of a dead man’s car, is ransom money, meant to free a young girl from her cruel kidnappers?As the story opens, that’s the dilemma for Stokes, a not-very-likeable thief. Will he use the money to pay his debt to the local loan shark? Will he take the money and run? Will he ignore the tearful pleas of a little girl?Stokes manages to get himself into and out of more trouble than seems plausible for one man; still, the narrative moves along with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing about what will happen next and whether or not Stokes can be the man they will be rooting for him to become.Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Stokes would have been a plain Joe if this story had just been about a small time crook but the author infused life and a good heart into Stokes. So that as soon as I heard the little voice say "Daddy? Are you coming to get me? I knew instantly that Stokes would do the right thing and come out the hero. I just did not know how far he would go to save someone else's life that held no monetary gain for him what so ever. As the story progressed I grew closer to Amanda as well. I found myself cheering for Stokes. He was a bit of a surprise as he had brain smarts. This book was good from start to finish. I look forward to reading more books by this author. Shady Cross is worth your time and money to read. You won't be sorry.