Book Review - Poison Town by Creston Mapes

Do you love a series?  I adore them.  I am a person who gets extremely attached to characters so if I can cozy up to them for more than one book, I will do it gladly.  In fact, the more books the better! This is just one of the reasons why I was absolutely delighted to read and review "Poison Town" by Creston Mapes which is book 2 in The Crittendon Files.

Poison Town: A Novel (The Crittendon Files #2)
Author: Creston Mapes
Publisher: David C Cook 
Format: eBook

About the Book (from Goodreads): 
There’s More Than One Kind of Poison in This Town People are sick and dying. Rumors are swirling. Some claim chemicals leaking from a manufacturing plant are causing the cancer that’s crippling people on the poor side of Trenton City, Ohio. Yet nothing at the plant appears amiss. The problem remains a mystery until reporter Jack Crittendon’s long-time mechanic falls ill and he investigates. Soon Jack becomes engulfed in a smokescreen of lies, setups, greed, and scandal. The deeper he digs, the more toxic the corruption he uncovers. As he faces off with the big-time players behind the scenes and tries to beat the clock before more people die, he realizes the chillingly unthinkable—he knows too much.

My Review:  
Hold onto your hats and watch your back!  Poison Town is a story fueled with even more tension than the first novel in this series "Fear Has A Name."  Jack Crittendon is hot on the heels of a story that seems almost too bad to be true and he is dealing with a far larger problem than one or two mere men.  The high profile Demler Corporation has provided jobs for decades in the city of Trenton, but at what cost?  

Somehow Jack and his co-worker Derrick have a story on their hands that is so big, they have to split time trying to put all the pieces together.  Something terribly wrong is going on in the small community surrounding the Demler Corporation's fiberglass plant, and people Jack cares about are suffering in more ways than one.  For Derrick this story could mean big things for his career as a journalist, for Jack the story could cause him to lose much more than time with his family.  Both are learning quickly that nothing is as it would seem.

I loved that things did not wrap up in a nice neat little bow after the first story.  First of all, that is kind of boring.  It is also totally fake.  Sure, as much as I would like to see life going smoothly again, the reality is not everyone heals or forgives the same way at the same time.  There is residual.  Some of us move on swiftly where others can take months or even decades to recover from life's tragedies.  

The minor characters in "Poison Town" are equally engaging.  I found myself rooting for the Randall family, and enjoying the time spent with them in the book.  They made me smile and hope.  They also made me quite nervous.  There were even a few times where I felt like I would smack someone silly if anything happened to the elder of the family.  

This thriller will keep you guessing and quite literally on the edge of your seat.  The characters will engage you and enrage you, but you will be glad for it.  There is even a bit of slow and easy romance without being over the top.  This is a story of faith in action in many forms.  

All in all, I actually enjoyed the book so much, I had a hard time putting it down.  Then I got to the point that I knew it would end soon, and I just HAD to put it down.  I just didn't want to disconnect with the characters.  "Poison Town" is an exceptional follow up to the first book in the series "Fear Has A Name."  If the third book in the series "Sky Zone" follows suit, I just may have to start adding past five stars.

I received this book for free in eBook format from the author and the publisher as a kindness and to facilitate my review.  This had no impact on my review.  The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

If you would like to pick it up for a great price, the Kindle version and Nook version are available for just $4.99 right now or get a bigger bargain at Christianbook.com their eBook version is $3.99 (not sure how long that will last).