Lightwood

The Judah Cannon Series, Book 1

By: Steph Post

Narrated by: Bradford Hastings

Judah Cannon is the middle son of the notorious Cannon clan led by Sherwood, its unflinching and uncompromising patriarch. When Judah returns to his rural hometown of Silas, Florida, after a stint in prison, he is determined to move forward and live it clean with his childhood best friend and newly discovered love, Ramey Barrow. Everything soon spirals out of control, though, when a phone call from Sherwood ensnares Judah and Ramey in a complicated web of thievery, brutality, and betrayal.

Pressured by the unrelenting bonds of blood ties, Judah takes part in robbing the Scorpions, a group of small-time meth-cooking bikers who are flying down the highway with the score of their lives. Unbeknownst to the Cannons, however, half of the stolen cash in the Harley saddlebags belongs to Sister Tulah, a megalomaniacal Pentecostal preacher who encourages her followers to drink poison and relinquish their bank accounts. When Sister Tulah learns of the robbery, she swears to make both the Cannons and the Scorpions pay, thus bringing all parties into mortal conflict rife with deception and unpredictable power shifts.

When Judah's younger brother Benji becomes the unwitting victim in the melee, Judah takes it upon himself to exact revenge, no matter the damage inflicted upon himself and those around him. Judah becomes a driven man, blinded by his need for vengeance and questioning everything he thought he believed in. With Ramey at his side, Judah is forced to take on both the Scorpions and Sister Tulah as he struggles to do the right thing in a world full of wrongs.

©2018 Steph Post (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

There's more to Florida then Disney...

Growing up in Florida I never came across a town quite like Silas. There are plenty of small backwards towns in the FL Bible Belt so it wouldn't surprise me if one like this existed.
Silas is run by crime on one side and crime portraying itself as religion on the other. Judah Cannon gets out of prison, walks about 20 miles to get home and within 24 hours his good intentions go by the wayside.
This story shows a rather bleak existence with no really Good guys. There's only bad and worse with the protagonist having a semblance of right and wrong. It's when his completely innocent brother is beaten and his father betrays the family for money that Judah finally stands alone. Well kind of, he has his childhood sweetheart by his side.
This is a rather compelling story and I'm interested to find out what happens in book two.
Bradford Hastings narrates this book. I have never heard him before but he does a FANTASTIC job. I would like to hear more from him.
RECOMMENDED for those who are drawn to dark stories.
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