The Crossing - Serita Jakes

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading The Crossing, by Serita Jakes. I had not heard anything about the book and was not familiar with the author.

Here is the 'trailer' for the book:

"On the way home from a football game, a decade earlier, a masked gunman opened fire on a Texas school bus. Cheerleading coach B.J. Remington was killed, but her murderer was never found. Claudia, who had a close friendship with the young, spirited teacher, constantly relives the anguish of that day, caught in one moment in time. When her husband, the assistant district attorney, becomes determined to uncover the mystery of that tragedy, the secrets buried over the years threaten to tear their family apart. Officer Casio Hightower will never forget the day his dreams were destroyed. A star quarterback with a promising future, Casio was on top of the world—until one bullet changed everything. He is eager to help Victor Campbell find B.J.’s killer, the man who shot him. Maybe solving the case will help silence the demons driving Casio to hurt the woman he loves. As the Campbells and Casio teeter on the brink of losing everything, will they be able to discover that what begins at the crossing ends at the cross?"

I will admit that it took me a while to get into the book. At first, I found myself confused, as if I was expected to already know about the event that had occurred at the railroad crossing despite the fact that I had just started reading the book. Within a few chapters though, the events that occurred that day at the railroad crossing start to be revealed and the characters to be developed and I was glad that I had not put down the book early on. I found myself being drawn in, wanting to keep reading so that I could help unravel not just what happened that day, but why. I started to become attached to the characters and found myself rooting them on, hoping for good to prevail.

The story was told from many perspectives. There was Claudia and Casio who were both present at the event and still find themselves haunted by the events at the crossing. There is Assistant District Attorney Vic, the husband of Claudia, who has recently reopened the case from the unsolved crime that occurred at the crossing - in part to help free his wife of the demons that haunt her and in part, we are led to believe to bolster his bid to be DA. And, then there is BJ. BJ was one of the most interesting perspective, as she was the victim of the events at the crossing. Her perspective provides the reader with some insights into the events of the day, but mostly, they provide a view into her journey towards death.

The book took many turns and some left me baffled and unbelieving, how could that happen, I would wonder aloud. The ending, I will not share, but it was full of surprises - both positive and negative.

I would recommend The Crossing for those that like a mystery and I would suggest that you not give up too early on the book.

No compensation was received for this post. A copy of the book was provided through Blogging for Books. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.
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