3 out of 4 stars
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Bienvenue Parish, Louisiana is a small town where racial insults, prostitution, corruption, drug trafficking and public intimidation have become the order of the day. In his book The Locusts are Crying, Cliff Seiber sails with the reader in his pursuit to discover the source of the town's rot and zero-in on the perpetrators of the crimes.
Cliff Seiber is a Texan by birth and a south Louisianan by choice whose newspaper career began early in fourth grade. He has over 50 years of professional experience as a publisher, general manager, editor, reporter and columnist for newspapers in Louisiana, Texas and Colorado.
This C/T/M/H novel features Trevor Eden as the protagonist. Trevor's marriage and career are precariously hanging owing to his addiction to alcohol; which he is struggling to keep under control. When Dooby Babineaux is murdered in cold-blood, Trevor is enthused to rise above the intimidation by Sheriff Rougeau and Chief Johnny Rocket to restore sanity in Bienvenue Parish as well as redeem his reputation. To succeed in his mission, Trevor must get his publisher Zachary Winnfield's consent; who unfortunately dissuades him from doing the expose. However, Trevor Eden meets a mysterious Magnolia who encourages him to proceed with the mission. Can Trevor manage to bring everything to the light?
Anyone would work hard to redeem an ailing reputation. It is no different for Trevor Eden as he fights to get his family value him once more, while the author makes it easy for the reader to connect with him both as a career and family man. It is intriguing as Trevor makes the daring move to investigate the sheriff's department aware that any slight mistake would have his career going down the drain. The writing style used is simple and makes the reading easy and enjoyable despite the somewhat unclear rural Texas dialect that would pop up once in a while.
Racism, prostitution, drug trafficking and corruption are among the themes declared in the book. These issues arise in nearly every community and are rarely addressed. It is uplifting to read a book that seeks to bring solutions to a community submerged in such callous actions. However, I must admit that I found it difficult to relate the story to the title. I feel like the author should have chosen a better topic to flow with the themes.
There were few errors I came across though they weren't that disruptive. For example, the author wrote "…he sat the small dining table…," "I expected to see to see," "…I am going to swat your over the head…," and the word "to" spelled "tor". I recommend this book to all readers and specifically to investigative journalists. Overall I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars owing to the aforementioned flaws.
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The Locusts Are Crying
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