I wouldn't rave about this book but it was a good story and well written ( )

After reading Edward Adrift and 600 Hours of Edward, I was trying to get my hands on anything written by Craig Lancaster. While listening to The Summer Son, I realized Lancaster's true strength as a writer.

Lancaster displays a similar writing style to Carson McCullers..tough, dark, and at times, harsh. Like Carson McCullers, he is passively descriptive one moment, and the next moment, is up and in your face.

The Summer Son is the age-old Father/Son story written from a fresh and unheard perspective. It is the story of a boy who grew up with a father, but never had a dad. Lancaster writes of the heavy- hearted consequences men endure who live with unresolved father/son dysfunction.

The story goes back and forth between childhood and adulthood, and flows as smooth as hot butter. The father's life unfolds for us slowly, slowly.. until we start getting glimpses of the man he was, and the man he is now. A man made of old worn out leather, but reaching out for a last chance.

The ending is unexpected, and just a class act. This book isn't sad, and it's not depressing...but it does have a bite. It will linger in your mind. ( )

This was a great book. ( )

Craig Lancaster does not disappoint readers with his second novel The Summer Son. A powerful, moving story that is intense at times and keeps the readers attention the whole way through.

The story begins with Mitch as an adult, receiving mysterious phone calls from his dad. His life is in a quandary and spiraling fast out of control. After much deliberation with his wife, he goes to his dad to find the missing puzzle pieces to the jigsaw of his life.

Throughout the story, there is a mystery to what is going on and the author gives slight hints but you don't really know until the end and WOW!!!! You don't see it coming!
I absolutely loved loved this book and will probably rave on and on about it. ( )

Craig Lancaster is the master of character-driven fiction. His writing feels effortless, though I know it's anything but. From the very first page, I was pulled into the world of Mitch Quillen, a man whose troubled relationship with his father has clouded every aspect of his adult life. He searches for answers, confronting his father and reliving his past. I was swept along with him, pulled by the power of Lancaster's words.

This book will make you feel and make you care. To the very last page - and an ending that will blow you away - Lancaster will hold you captive.

** I was lucky to receive an ARC of The Summer Son. In no way did that alter my review. ** ( )