Rancor

Excellent read. Dr. John House is coming along as a very good story teller. Totally different subject matter than "Trail of Deceit" but both great books.Looking forward to the next one.

Enjoyed reading this novel written by John. His books get better with each one he writes. Look forward to the next one!

This is a book that I couldn't put down from the beginning to the end. I think anybodywould thoroughly enjoy reading it.

Paul Roper believes that the town of Bakersville, Georgia destroyed his life as he knew it at the age of 14. His family was the typical family that loved each other, but one day in 1962 set a motion of events in order that eventually led to the death of his parents. Shortly thereafter, he and his sister were placed in foster care and eventually split up. Paul endured abuse in a juvenile detention center as well as other foster homes and felt that disaster followed him wherever he went. At the age of 18, he was able to enlist in the army and soon found himself shipped off to Vietnam to endure even more horrifying experiences of death and destruction. Eventually he found his way to becoming very competent with explosives and upon being cycled back stateside, took up an interest in firefighting and inspections. When the legislature required that all cities and counties have a fire inspector, Paul finds that he may finally have the opportunity to extract his revenge on the town of Bakersville and rid the world of it once and for all.This book was definitely a little different than my normal selections, but still held my interest through the entire book. It starts off in 1962 in the South with a lynching, suicide, sexual and emotional abuse, and the rarely seen darkness of the time period. Add the Vietnam war to the mix and you’ve got a very clustered book. Even so, the flow of the book stayed progressive making me want to get to the next chapter to see what was going to happen next. Then there was also an unexpected love story that eventually changed Paul’s life for the better, but not before he almost ruined it for life. I was glad to see that justice was finally served by the character who truly deserved to dish it out.There is a lot of foul language throughout the book as well as some fairly strong sex scenes as well as implied homosexual rape. I recommend this book for mature audiences.I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

A sweeping saga, RANCOR tracks the traumatic early life of a young man, Paul. The story begins with Paul’s father being lynched after having been falsely accused of murder. The novel then follows Paul through the disintegration of his family in the wake of the lynching, and after that through foster homes, a brutal juvenile detention center, and finally the U. S. Army and the killing fields of Vietnam. In Vietnam, Paul acquires skills he plans to use to destroy the small Georgia town where his troubles began. Ultimately, he returns to the community to extract his revenge, but things don’t go as planned.I thought RANCOR might have worked better as two books, one focusing on the main thread of the story, Paul’s desire to punish the town and its residents for his father’s lynching, and the other concentrating on his Vietnam experiences (where the through line of the primary story got suppressed).The Vietnam segment was well done—it brought back memories and highlighted several of the same issues the recent PBS documentary on the war did—and could have stood on its own as a sort of fictional memoir.That aside, RANCOR is a fine effort by Dr. John House.

This was a great read and dealt with a young man who had gone through numerous trials ultimately ending up in the US Army in Vietnam. The narrative about his service in Vietnam was so realistic and also brought in the emotions of a young man going to war and then coming home. The main character had revenge on his mind when he came home and the author does a magnificent job pulling several themes together for a climactic ending. Truly an enjoyable read.

After having read and enjoyed "Trail of Deceit", I was anxious to read "Rancor". After just reading the first few pages you are quickly drawn into the story. The chapters are short which allows the story to move along at a nice pace and like 'Trail of Deceit", you are left guessing until the very end to find out how the story ends. John House is a great story teller. I guarantee you will enjoy the book.

Page turner. Very emotional story. Love the way the author lets you feel like you really know the characters. Love the roller coaster emotions characterized in Paul. Highly recommend this can't put down story.