Ben Lovison is main character of FATHERS HOUSE, but the cast expands to nearly everyone in the picturesque town of Duraleigh, North Carolina. Lovison is an assistant district attorney assigned to the seemingly random death of a teen. The teen has connections to a local community house for orphan and wayward boys, Fathers House. Fathers House named for the upright citizen Mayo Fathers exists solely to catch troubled teens before they fall through the cracks. However, a seedy underbelly lies just beneath the House, quite literally in fact. Fathers Disciples is an expansive crime syndicate based in Duraleigh literally under and connected to Fathers House. The syndicate keeps off the radar thanks to the extensive corruption reaching beyond the town to the FBI itself. As the walls begin to crumble around Fathers Disciples, Fathers sets in motion a plan to save the organization at the expense of Lovison’s life and many more innocents.
FATHERS HOUSE is unlike most crime fiction novels. The ideal reader is one looking for dark and twisted thrills, but at a thoughtful pace. C. Edward Baldwin does a masterful job of setting up seemingly disparate plot lines and random characters in the first portion of the story. On their own, the plot lines are thrilling and intense. The characters are all fully fleshed out and seem like living beings reacting to the story as it progresses. For instance, the sidekick to an up-and-coming rapper is more than he seems. With the street name “Prodegee,” Special Agent Cedric David is one of the youngest FBI agents undercover. David is not only a talented beat maker; he is a literal prodigy whom the FBI allowed to not only enter early but work fully undercover. Baldwin connects everything as FATHERS HOUSE methodically sprints to an explosive ending. A few minor typos slipped past an editor, but not enough to distract the reader from an engaging and thoughtful ride. A recurring theme of fatherhood cements this novel as a literary crime fiction worth the read.
A large cast of colorful characters coupled with a masterful plot combine to create an incredibly intense and thoughtful thrill ride. FATHERS HOUSE follows the rise and fall of a crime syndicate with tendrils of corruption reaching far and wide.
~ IndieReader.