Bruthas by J.L. Whitehead

Synopsis:

What would you do if you were indirectly responsible for the deaths of several women in your neighborhood? What is a psychopath used your neighborhood as his stalking ground? This is the story of three brothers: Jair, the successful attorney in one of Philadelphia's top law firms, Ryan, the IT professional that is struggling with his sexual identity, and Nate, the dealer that has risen to one of the highest ranks in drug distribution ring based in a North Philadelphia neighborhood known as The Block. A series of murders takes place in The Block, and nothing is being done about it because the women that are being killed are addicted to the product that Nate sells. 

Review:

This is a book that really revolves around family and the choices that people make. This review was requested by the author, and to be completely honest this is not a book that I would normally read. It's not that book isn't interesting or doesn't have decent plot lines, because it does, it just wasn't my cup of tea. 

One of the biggest problems I had with this book was the amount of people in the book to keep track of. While I appreciate a wide variety of characters, let's face it every book needs a variety of characters, this one just had to many to not only keep track of but to bond with. I felt like i didn't have enough time or in-depth insight into the characters in order for me to really have a strong investment in them. 

One thing that was pretty good about this book though was the pacing. One of my biggest problems with books is when they feel like they are dragging on and and I just can't get into the storyline. Thankfully this book did not suffer from that affliction. The pacing was pretty fast paced, even from the beginning, and it's possible that it felt fast pace because there were so many characters and things going on with those characters, but I think it works for the reader in that it keeps them interested in the book. 

I wanted to mention that the author did a pretty good job with keeping the book as close to reality as possible. There is no sensationalized drug culture or making it out to be this amazing experience, it is shown for what it really is, a dog eat dog world. There were a couple of issue with some formatting things, but they aren't big or annoying, and I don't think it detracts from the story at all. 

Like I said earlier this book is not really my cup of tea, so I am going to give it a good rating because all the right components are there and I think the book can easily find an audience that will enjoy the book. The one thing that did bother me is that the book really didn't have an ending. It is a two part book, but even with books in a series or a trilogy or what have you, they need a good ending point where the reader can be satisfied until the next book comes out. I felt like this book just kind of ended. If you are looking for a book about family and all the elements that go along with that, in an urban setting, I think this would be a book you would enjoy.