If you're seeking a narrative that looks ripped out of today's headlines have I got a book for you! Jeff Boyd's Hard Times has all the ingredients for a hard hitting best seller--a cop shooting an unarmed teen, a very corrupt police department, a decades old unsolved mystery, a falling apart school system, racism, classism, in-law drama‐-all set in the gritty big city of Chicago. From the first chapter on to the end it's a page turner par excellence.
But it's so much more. You really get to know the characters in depth: their personalities, their relations to each other, their hopes and fears, and the seemingly impossible decisions that they must make within the context of the narrative.
There's Buddy, a teacher working in a run down school that has nothing really to brag about except the football team. It's quite a contrast to the elite private school he formerly taught at. He finds himself increasingly discouraged and unmotivated. There are, though, a few students he really cares about. Meanwhile his wife, Chrissy, is on a fast track at her law firm and wanting children.
Curtis, Buddy's brother-in-law, is a piece of work by just about anybody's standards. He's a dirty cop, on the take. He and his partner don't play by the rules and are good at keeping their lies plausible. Despite that he's incredibly self righteous. And he has issues with anger management and alcohol consumption. He shoots Truth, an unarmed teen who is one of the students Buddy cares about.
Zeke, Truth's cousin, is the high school's great hope, the one who is going to take the football team all the way. He has far from an ideal home life. His mom is a drug addict, not capable of meeting his needs. Now she's disappeared, possibly kidnapped by a gangster.
A lot of people are trying to get their hands on a bloody knife and a police badge that contain possible clues to a long ago cold case.
That's by far not all the intrigue and drama going on. I hope I've whetted your appetite for a complex and engaging human drama masterpiece.
On a purrrsonal note, this week is just flying by. The blood drive went really well. I don't have the numbers yet. But it was quite lively. Today and tomorrow I have events to be paparazzi for. And Saturday is the drag show.
We're seeing signs of spring in central Maine. Grass is coming up. Tobago has migrating birds 🐦 🐦⬛ to keep track of. There are even signs of flowers. The campus will be gorgeous just in time for graduation.
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in the blood drive.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my Galaxy
