Reviewed for the CFBA Tour
Poison Town by Creston Mapes is the second book in The Crittendon Files following Fear Has A Name. Catching up with Jack Crittendon, ace reporter for the downtown Trenton City, Ohio, Dispatch newspaper, we join him in his freezing car on the way to his favorite family of mechanics on the poorer side of Trenton City where a huge fiberglass manufacturing plant (Demler-Vargus) seems to be the source of workers there and nearby citizens turning up with various cancers.
Now Jack's elder mechanic Galen Randall is in the hospital for similar symptoms as other people who've worked in the plant and some who just live in the same area. When Galen lost his wife with those same symptoms, he began to research Demler-Vargus just as his neighbor Spivey Brinkman had done. Between the two of them, they'd gathered all sorts of incriminating material about the huge plant.
As Jack's interest is piqued, he convinces another reporter to join him in the investigation, but for whatever reason his boss is reluctant to pursue it, delegating minimum time for their research.
While Jack is trying to uncover as much info as he can, things aren't going well at home with his wife Pam. In the previous novel she was kidnapped by a former schoolmate who was the abused oddball of their school. Jack has never come to terms with his wife forgiving the man and has purchased a gun he wears in an ankle holster in case he ever encounters the big bruiser after learning he's been released and now lives not too far from them. His rage toward the supposedly rehabilitated man has estranged him from his walk with the Lord, and Pam is quick to point out his unforgiveness and how it's changed him.
Creston Mapes has written a good story, albeit not one with which we're unfamiliar. What makes it exciting is the final third of the novel when the villainous action amplifies and all the pieces begin to come together with action-packed scenes and a few needed character transformations as Jack comes to terms with his own poisonous attitude.
My primary problem is with Pam. I've never been able to warm up to her. For me she comes off as the stereotypical Christian. As far as I'm concerned, Jack is a saint to put up with her holier-than-thou whining about his gun – she resents he didn't discuss it with her and has hidden it from her - and his slew of "religious" problems which she is quick to point out. Her guardianship of "the girls" (their two daughters) seems overbearing at times and conflicts with her professed "God will protect us" mantra.
The Randall family is the most entertaining bunch in the book with Travis and Galen stealing almost every scene where they appear.
A Christian novel written for the CBA, Poison Town will appeal to this specific audience.
Chapter One of the third book in The Crittendon Files, Sky Zone, is included at the end of this story.
Father, I pray your continued blessings upon Creston. May he continue to diligently serve you with all of his talents. Encourage him as only you can do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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