Customer Reviews

Pilate's Cross

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pilate's Cross has a bit of everything--action, romance and spine-chilling suspense. Mr. Greenwood has a very strong voice for storytelling. His style is to tease and draw you in, and that's exactly what happened when I read his book.

I don't read many mystery books, but now, I'll have to wait for his next one to be further thrilled by the adventures of John Pilate.

John Pilate is a wonderful hero, and all around good guy. Simon, a figment of Pilate's imagination who is so very not content to remain so, isn't so bad either as something of a nemesis/anti-hero/conspirator. They are the two most sharply drawn, but all the characters are memorable. The story moves along at a crisp pace, and the dialogue is sharp. It's also got some very vivid imagery (sometimes a little too vivid *shudder*). I recommend it to anyone who like mysteries. I look forward to Pilate's Key.

This is the story of John Pilate. He is a college professor, teaching at a college in the small midwestern town of Cross, Nebraska. (I live in a small midwestern town, only in Oklahoma....crime stories set in towns like mine freak me out!). Pilate isn't the most popular person in town, by any means, and he is bored....until he stumbles on a murder conspiracy from about 40 years previous (JFK Assassination era). Obviously the county sheriff gets his toes stepped on and is keeping a close eye on him. Eventually they begin working together, and find MORE strange things (I don't want to spoil anything!).

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil the story, should you read it. While stories of this nature absolutely freak me out (and always have), I still love them and can't stop reading them (as in I always look for more, and once I start one, I stay up until I finish the book even if it's 3 am. Sometimes because I am too freaked out to sleep and have to know what is going to happen at the end!).

Life has dealt John Pilate a series of blows that he can't quite overcome before the next one comes along. He is a believable, sympathetic hero struggling to gain his footing in a new job in a very small college located in a very small college town. He gets embroiled in the town's old murder-suicide story more out of boredom than interest until events bring him into the middle of a mystery that is very much alive and kicking. He has to solve the mystery before it kicks him right into an early grave.
The characters and rural environment are well drawn, and the plot is one that held my interest throughout. I look forward to reading the sequel.

Note to the Author: Please tell Mr. Pilate to stop smoking. I worry about his health.

Although I enjoyed J. Alexander Greenwood's novel Pilate's Cross, I have to admit that I do have one complaint: it was too short. Mr. Greenwood came up with and developed a nice story line, with interesting characters, while managing to squeeze in layers of suspense, action, and even a little romance. I really enjoyed that Mr. Greenwood made the book more than just a "who done it" mystery, with his connections to civil rights, segregation, and small town politics. The problem is, I wanted more. I wanted to spend more time with Pilate, Simon, Kate, Kara, and Scovill. Pilate's Cross could have been twice as long and still remained the enjoyable, fast paced story it is. Nice job!

I loved how the author took an ordinary, flawed character and turned him into a hero despite himself. And while I know this has been done before, there is a great vulnerability to the MC that really drew me in and made me want to care about him. I was fascinated by the story as well--and the fact it's based on a true story. I'm looking forward to the sequel!

I have a habit of starting books and not finishing them, and this is the first book I've finished in probably 5 years. The settings/scenery/moods were so well described, I felt like I was right there in an episode of the X-Files, and the pace was perfect. If there's a sequel, I'll definitely be picking it up.

I'm not one to pick up a mystery or action book, but the underlying "story within a story" (somewhat based on real-life events says the author) intrigued me. One afternoon, I took off work early to spend the afternoon in my easy chair reading Pilate's Cross. I was sucked in immediately. The writer gets your wrapped up in the deep, dark secrets of the town of Cross, and it's hard not to fall in love with the flawed yet charming John Pilate. Looking forward to more by Mr. Greenwood.

Mr. Greenwood's book was recommended to me by my wife. Though I don't normally read fiction, I decided to give this one a try. I enjoyed the characters and the pace, and was happy to be introduced to a new writer. I think he has a promising future in mystery writing.

First, I am very happy to be the first to review Pilate's Cross. While I first read Pilate's Cross when it came out as an e-book, I wanted to let readers know they are in for a treat if they decide to buy Pilate's Cross. It is an excellently written mystery novel that smoothly glides along (even with all of the Kansas snowfall) with ever so subtle transitions in intrigue as Pilate becomes more involved in the "mystery." The author colorfully paints the characters (and there are a few *characters*)with diligence; one identifies readily with the *actors* and certainly accompanies Pilate through this intriguingly different mystery based on a factual happening. This is the story of a common man who *finds* himself after he is accidentally plopped into strange, perplexing, scenario which he enthusiastically embraces and works to its interesting, twisting, finale.