Hello everyone. Today I am reviewing Moving Day by Jonathan Stone for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
About the book (from the publisher): Forty years’ accumulation of art, antiques, and family photographs are more than just objects for Stanley Peke – they are proof of a life fully lived. A life he could have easily lost long ago.
When a con man steals his houseful of possessions in a sophisticated moving-day scam, Peke wanders helplessly through his empty New England home, inevitably reminded of another helpless time: decades in Peke’s past, a cold and threadbare Stanislaw Shmuel Pecoskowitz eked out a desperate existence in the war-torn Polish countryside, subsisting on scraps, dodging Nazi soldiers. Now, the seventy-two-year-old Peke – who survived, came to America, and succeeded – must summon his original grit and determination to track down the thieves, retrieve his things, and restore the life he made for himself.
Peke and his wife, Rose, trace the path of the thieves’ truck across America, to the wilds of Montana, and to an ultimate, chilling confrontation with not only the thieves, but with Peke’s brutal, unresolved past.
My review: Let me just say it. I loved this book. I was caught up in the plot immediately. Stone’s creation, the character of Stanley Peke, is a successful business man who is multi-layered, complicated, driven, and haunted by his past. When Peke first realizes that he has been fooled, that a scam has taken away everything he has worked to accumulate – the possessions that are not just things, but talismans, treasures that define the life he desperately needed to create in a new country – he knows that he must get them back. How he gets them back and the inevitable confrontation that must ensue is what fuels the rest of the story.
The suffering and brutality and loss that Peke was subject to as a child, the horrors he witnessed, have never fully been resolved. This invasion, this theft of all of his possessions becomes much more than a simple act of betrayal. It’s a game changer for everyone involved.
Stone is a wonderful writer. He takes us on the journey that Peke must inevitably take, a journey that involves a final confrontation with both his enemy and his own demons. It’s simply riveting.
Stone knows how to build suspense, to drive the story in a way that locks the reader in, hanging on tight, not wanting to put the book down. His words create time and place vividly. I was immersed in the world created on the pages of Moving Day. I couldn’t put it down.
I think you’ll really enjoy this mystery/thriller. I sure did.
About the author: Jonathan Stone writes his books on the commuter train from his home in Connecticut to his advertising job in midtown Manhattan. Honing his writing skills by creating smart and classic campaigns for high-level brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, and Mitsubishi has paid off, as Stone’s first mystery-thriller series, the Julian Palmer books, won critical acclaim and was hailed as “stunning” and “risk-taking” in Publishers Weekly starred reviews. He earned glowing praise for his novel The Cold Truth from the New York Times, which called it “bone-chilling.” He’s the recipient of the Claymore Award for Best Unpublished Crime Novel and a graduate of Yale, where he was a Scholar of the House in fiction writing.
Good news! One of you will be the winner of a copy of Moving Day. Just leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner on Sunday.
Happy Wednesday.
This book sounds like a good one to me. I love books that hooks me right at the start and this one certainly sounds like it does.
Just saw this on Amazon and was thinking it looked really good! Thanks for the review, I can always count on you for new books to add to my TBR list!
hugs, Linda
Oooh, a “chilling” book for the hot summer – sounds perfect!
Actually, all his books sound good. Off to check them out.
Thanks for a chance to win one, Claudia!
As someone who will be moving in 20 short weeks and is currently packing up a houseful of memories, I would be intrigued by this novel. Sounds like a great read!
It sounds very exciting. Moving is hell at the best of times!
I’m adding this author to my summer reading list based on your review. Love a good mystery.
Here’s hoping you have a wonderful time in Chautauqua! It’s a beautiful, peaceful part New York state and has always been one of my favorite places as my maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all live in the area.
Did you announce the winner of Eyes On You? If you did Imissed reading it.
This new book that is being given away sounds like it would be a great read.
Hi, Claudia,
Safe travels today as you make your way to Chataqua! I’m excited to add another new author to my rather long “must read” list! This book sounds great–I love good mysteries!
Thanks for this intriguing and captivating novel. A great giveaway.
Oooh, sounds like a great read! I love books that I can’t put down. Safe travels today.
The book sounds perfect for this long,hot summer. thanks and stay well and safe.
Sounds absolutely fascinating! Thanks for the chance to possibly win! Safe travels, Claudia.
Oh this book sounds thrilling. Would love to win a copy of it. It is certainly on my reading list.
Please put me in the hat to possibly win. The book sounds very exciting and I would love to try a new author.
Good luck with your trip.
You know I like a good read….count me in! Safe travels today! ;)
This sounds like a great read! Please count me in. And break a leg in Chautauqua!
If you “love it” Claudia..that’s good enough for me..count me in!!..Can’t wait to see where you are staying!
I enjoy your blog. Very peaceful reading.
Sounds like a great read! I am putting it on my amazon wish list,
Have a great time with your job. Are you taking all your usual stuff to set around?
Sounds like my cup of tea. I’m attached to my “things”. Add my name to the pot. Thanks. Have a nice time with your job.
Thanks for the give away, Another author to add to my list, Louis Penny’s were wonderful. Thanks for the reviews. Trish
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thanks for a chance in the giveaway- sounds good! Doris
Claudia, please add my name to the list of people who would love to read/win a copy of this book! It sounds fascinating! Thanks so much,
Donna
Thanks to you, I’ve discovered some outstanding authors. I really want to read this one. I love a book that I can’t put down
and drawing me in from the first page; well, it just doesn’t get any better!
jane in tx
Sounds like a wonderful book, would love to read it. Hope your time away goes well.
I love books that I can lose myself in. Read the whole Gamache series upon your recommendation so would love this, I’m sure.
I love a good mystery. I hope you get settled in and enjoy your new adventure/job.. You always make your temporary place – a comforting place to be.
Having worked at a museum and auction house before going to law school- this is
exactly the kind of mystery that appeals to me!
This sounds like a book I would enjoy, will be adding it to my reading list.
I love the suspense and how determined Peke is. After all nobody likes to get scamed. I would like a chance to read this wonderful book. Thanks for having the giveaway.
Having lost many antiques due to a burglary, I can understand the desire to track down and recover your belonging. When you add in all the other factors I’m sure that it makes for a fascinating read. Thanks for the opportunity to win this book.
I’m so pleased to see how much you enjoyed this book! Thanks for being a part of the tour.