Thank you so much to Park Row Books for inviting me to participate in this blog tour!
Book Summary:
THE EAST END opens with Corey Halpern, a Hamptons local from a broken home who breaks into mansions at night for kicks. He likes the rush and admittedly, the escapism. One night just before Memorial Day weekend, he breaks into the wrong home at the wrong time: the Sheffield estate where he and his mother work. Under the cover of darkness, their boss Leo Sheffield — billionaire CEO, patriarch, and owner of the vast lakeside manor — arrives unexpectedly with his lover, Henry. After a shocking poolside accident leaves Henry dead, everything depends on Leo burying the truth. But unfortunately for him, Corey saw what happened and there are other eyes in the shadows.
Hordes of family and guests are coming to the estate the next morning, including Leo’s surly wife, all expecting a lavish vacation weekend of poolside drinks, evening parties, and fireworks filling the sky. No one can know there’s a dead man in the woods, and there is no one Leo can turn to. With his very life on the line, everything will come down to a split-second decision. For all of the main players—Leo, Gina, and Corey alike—time is ticking down, and the world they’ve known is set to explode.
Told through multiple points of view, THE EAST END highlights the socio-economic divide in the Hamptons, but also how the basic human need for connection and trust can transcend class differences. Secrecy, obsession, and desperation dictate each character’s path. In a race against time, each critical moment holds life in the balance as Corey, Gina, and Leo approach a common breaking point. THE EAST END is a propulsive read, rich with character and atmosphere, and marks the emergence of a talented new voice in fiction.
My Review:
4 STARS
Thank you so much to Park Row books for the free copy of this book and inviting me to participate in this blog tour!
This is a very intense and compelling book that I really enjoyed. I loved the storyline and all of the characters and this was a pretty fast read for me! I couldn’t put this book down a couple of times as the cat and mouse game began and I was dying to know what happened next.
Corey has just graduated from high school and lives in the Hamptons with his mom Gina who is a housekeeper for billionaire Leo Sheffield. Full of angst towards the rich people, Corey starts breaking into their homes and not stealing anything, but playing pranks on them. He decides to break into the Sheffield mansion one night and witnesses something he shouldn’t have. Corey then must decide what to do when he finds out the whole thing is going to be covered up.
I loved how the story was told from Leo, Corey, Gina and Angelique (best friends with Leo’s daughter that also witnessed the horrible act that Corey saw). I love when books are wrote from different characters POVs instead of just a one-sided story so you feel like you get the whole story from everyone involved.
This was a great story from debut author Jason Allen and I definitely plan on reading more by him!
THE EAST END
Author: Jason Allen
ISBN: 9780778308393
Publication Date: 5/7/19
Publisher: Park Row Books
Buy Links:
Social Links:
Twitter: @EathanJason
Facebook: @jasonallenauthor
Author Bio: Jason Allen grew up in a working-class home in the Hamptons, where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs for wealthy estate owners. He writes fiction, poetry, and memoir, and is the author of the poetry collection A MEDITATION ON FIRE. He has an MFA from Pacific University and a PhD in literature and creative writing from Binghamton University, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where he teaches writing. THE EAST END is his first novel.
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