42. A Death in Live Oak (Jack Swyteck # 14) – James Grippando
I haven’t read a Jack Swyteck novel from James Grippando in years. A review of the books in the series shows me, the last book in the series I read was Got the Look (#4) ! Mistake!
Reading A Death in Live Oak has reminded me what a great writer James Grippando is how much I enjoyed the novels way back when!
The story revolves around the lynching of the President of a Black Fraternity at the University of Florida.
From Amazon:
When the body of Jamal Cousin, president of the pre-eminent black fraternity at the Florida’s flagship university, is discovered hogtied in the Stygian water swamps of the Suwanee River Valley, the death sets off a firestorm that threatens to rage out of control when a fellow student, Mark Towson, the president of a prominent white fraternity, is accused of the crime.
Jack becomes Mark Towson’s attorney. His job becomes stopping this rush to judgement and must stop this rush to judgement and proving his client is innocent. It’s a wild ride that involves not only Jack but his wife Andie who is a FBI agent!
A Death in Live Oak Brings Back Memories
Reading A Death in Live Oak made Me remember how much I liked Grippando s work and the character of Jack Swyteck. It also made me remember something else. The four years I spent at Florida. The descriptions of Peabody Hall, the Administration building and even a mention of the demonstrations by black students in 1971 all brought back memories.The mentioning of the demonstrations, which I took part in, especially brought back memories. When former UF President Stephen J O’Connell’s name was mentioned, a specific memory became very vivid. The memory was sitting outside the Preside t’s house singing “We Shall Over Come”.
But back to A Death in Live Oak. I thought the book was fast paced and kept me turning the pages at a rapid rate. The book is also very socially relevant considering the state of race relations in today’s America.
| Goodreads | Amazon |
Reading the book also sent me scurrying to my bookshelves to see what other Grippando books were there. The Jack Swyteck book that is there is is Last Call book #7 in the series. Hmm, maybe to be read soon!
A Final Side Note
A final side note, James Grippando won the 2017 Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction. He won the award for Hone Again book 12 in the Jack Swyteck series.
Now while I haven’t read Gone Again, I did read one of the other books that was a finalist for the award. The Last Days of Night written by Graham Moore. was that book. That book is a historical fiction book about the legal battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse fight over electricity. The Last Days of Night was, in my opinion, a great read. If Gone Again beat it out for an award, I think I need to check out Gone Again!! So check out both Gone Again and A Death in Live Oak
