Shady Cross by James Hankins

Good morning, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC book tour for James Hankins's Shady Cross.

Stokes is having a bad day when he somehow manages to avoid getting killed in a car accident. His bike is totaled but he's able to walk away; the driver of the other car isn't so lucky. 

When Stokes sees a bag full of money in the dead guy's vehicle, he thinks his luck might have turned. That is until the phone rings: "Daddy? Are you coming to get me?" With more cash than he could ever imagine in his possession - enough to pay off his looming debt to a local lender - Stokes is sorely tempted to ignore the pleading voice on the other end of the line. But something about the little girl gets to him. For maybe the first time in his life, Stokes decides to do the right thing and everything goes wrong. 

There's always something to be said about a book that can be enjoyed simply for being fun. Shady Cross is that kind of book. It didn't blow me away. It didn't leave me breathless with anticipation or really terribly on the edge of my seat. Many of the plot twists and turns were as easy to see coming as a car's headlights announcing it's presence from far down the road. And yet, James Hankins's thriller was absorbing and just plain fun: the kind of book you finish only to realize hours have passed and you haven't moved from your reading spot all afternoon.

Stokes is a great anti hero. He's a real dick, to be honest. At the start, he's just been released from questioning for a local breaking and entering that left a man hospitalized. So a b&e and assault that the police warn could become a homicide if the man dies. Stokes of course maintains his innocence but as he tells his tale of woe to a fellow drinker, he loads the midday drunk into a taxi helping himself to all of the man's money except for the cab fare. What a nice guy, right?

As the day progresses, it becomes more and more surprising that Stokes sticks to his path. Especially when the cards are stacked against him. This was a pretty amusing element to the story, watching Stokes doggedly pursue his goal of saving this little girl.

Shady Cross is quick and entertaining; not necessarily a memorable read but a good one for a lazy afternoon.

Rating: 3/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on James Hankins, you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.