Cane and Abe by James Grippando (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Samantha died too soon. Abe Beckham’s new wife, Angelina, feels like Samantha never left. Through it all, Abe has managed to remain a star prosecutor at the Miami State Attorney’s Office. But his personal life is a mess, and it’s about to get worse.

When a woman’s body is discovered dumped in the Everglades, Abe is called upon to stay on top of the investigation. The FBI is tracking a killer in South Florida they call “Cutter” because his brutal methods harken back to Florida’s dark past, when machete-wielding men cut sugarcane by hand in the blazing sun.

But when the feds discover that Abe had a brief encounter with the victim after Samantha’s death, and when Angelina goes missing, the respected attorney finds himself in the hot seat. Suspicion surrounds him. His closest friends, family, professional colleagues, and the media no longer trust his motives. Was Angelina right? Was their marriage failing because he loved Samantha too much? Or was there another woman, and did Abe have a dark side that simply wanted his new but very unhappy wife gone?"

My Thoughts:

 Wow!  This book was something else.  This was a really thrilling read that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time!  I put off making dinner for my family just so that I could finish this one first.  It was just that kind of book.  The kind of book that sucks you in and makes you not want to stop reading.  Or in my case resent having to actually work while at work because I was squeezing reading time in on my breaks.  The kind of book that keeps you guessing until the very last page.  The kind of book that has so much tension and suspense in it that it took all of my self control not to peek at the last page.  I cannot tell you how proud I was of myself that I didn't peek because I really, really wanted to at various points while reading.  For me, this was the exact kind of reading experience that I hope for when I pick up a thriller and I wasn't disappointed until the very end. 

The ending didn't quite work for me which was unfortunate as I can't really state why without spoiling things.  Suffice it to say that it felt familiar and because of this wasn't as surprising as I had hoped.  I had guessed the ending without realizing it early on and was disappointed to see that I was right.  The author did such an amazing job with the suspense level throughout the story though that really I cannot complain too much.  I loved the majority of the book and just because I figured out the ending didn't hurt my overall reading experience as much as it could have.  On a different note, I really loved the history of the sugarcane fields that was included throughout the book.  I loved how the author used these details to really add to the mystery that was present throughout this story.  There were just so many things that ratcheted up the tension level in this book that there were points where I didn't think I could stand it.  Hence, my desire to read the ending out of order which I managed to refrain from.  Just barely though.  This was suspense at its' best!

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and am left eager to read more by this author.  He has an entire series (this is a standalone) for me to look forward to so I'm a very happy girl.  Readers that love a good thriller are definitely going to want to check this one out!  It was a page turner and quite a wild ride!  I had my one complaint but in the grand scheme of things I have to say that this is a book to check out.  Easily recommended!

Bottom Line:  One of those books where almost every page is filled with suspense!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of a TLC book tour.  Thoughts are my own as always.