A VICIOUS CYCLE (TERRI BLACKSTOCK)

Story Description:

When fifteen-year-old Lance Covington finds an abandoned baby in the backseat of a car, he knows she's the newborn daughter of a meth addict he's been trying to help. But when police arrest him for kidnapping, Lance is thrust into a criminal world of baby trafficking and drug abuse. His mother, Barbara, looks for help from Kent Harlan-the man whom she secretly, reluctantly loves and who once helped rescue her daughter from a mess of her own. Kent flies to her aid and begins the impossible work of getting Lance out of trouble, protecting a baby who has no home, and finding help for a teenage mother hiding behind her lies. In this latest novel of suspense and family loyalty, bestselling author Terri Blackstock offers a harrowing look at drug addiction, human trafficking, and the devastating choices that can change lives forever.

My Review:

Fifteen-year-old Jordan, a meth addict, has just given birth at home to a baby girl.  She wants another hit of meth but she’s run out and so had her mother and brother.  A few minutes after giving birth, Jordan’s mother bursts through the door screaming at Jordan to get up and change the sheets on the bed after the mess she’d made delivering the baby.  The Nelsons would be there any minute to collect their newborn daughter that she sold to them for $40,000.00 dollars!  No way was Jordan letting that happen.

 Lance, a fifteen-year-old friend of Jordan’s had come to visit to find out how Jordan and the baby were doing and walked in on a horrible family squabble over the baby selling situation.  Unbeknownst to Lance, Jordan had snuck out and placed her baby in the backseat of his car, but her Mother phoned the cops and reported that Lance had kidnapped the baby and is now sitting in jail, terrified.

 Barbara, Lance’s mother, calls her friend, Detective Kent Harlan in Atlanta and asks for his help.  He flies to Jefferson City to try and sort out what is going on and to hopefully get Lance out of jail.

 This is a story about the choices we make in life.  Sometimes we make the wrong choices and rather than live with those we have to learn to continue on and make the right choice.  Just because we made a bad choice doesn’t mean we’re stuck with those results for the rest of our lives, it just means that we have to try again and make the right choice the second time around.  It’s about the hardships we all go through in this life and how we handle those hardships.  Do we stay in a rut and suffer along or do we reach out to God and ask for His direction and make a decision to change our circumstances?  The book is also about learning our lessons and learning them well so we’re not constantly making the same bad choices over and over again.  A firm trust and belief in God to help us through our rough spots is a comforting and reassuring thing.

 I was pulled right into this story right from the beginning and read all 363 pages in one sitting!  I just couldn’t stop reading.  I would highly recommend this one to everyone.

*******PREVIEW COPY COURTESY OF NETGALLEY*********