Perseverance - Softcover

Schrader, B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0973086300 ISBN 13: 9780973086300

Publisher: Northern Lights Publishing Ltd., 2002

The story begins with a short flashback to the day that drastically changed the life of two brothers. Kevin Cooper and the much younger Barney are forced to sell their ranch after their father's death and are about to turn their backs on the only life they have ever known.

Years later Kevin and Barney are standing in an underground subway station waiting for a train, when a violent explosion kills Kevin and leaves Barney injured and devastated.

Mac Sheldon, one of the two police officers who first arrive at the scene, soon develops an unlikely friendship with the despondent young man and tries to help him get his life back together.

Growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father, Barney has made it a lifetime achievement learning how to disregard physical and emotional pain. He refuses to deal with the grief caused by the death of his brother and instead focuses all his energies on vengeance, as soon as it is discovered that the explosion, which also killed a couple of police officers, was no accident.

Barney Cooper investigates the murder of his brother on his own, only to find out that members of the police department were responsible.

On the head of the corruption is Harry McKinnon, one of Mac's superiors. Afraid to tell Mac Sheldon about his discovery, Barney sets out alone to get even for his brother's death, despite the fact that he is outnumbered five to one.

In his first attempt at vengeance Barney fails miserably. After a short car chase and a shoot-out on a deserted logging road, McKinnon and his cohorts - now fugitives - disappear into the wilderness.

Determined to finish what he started Barney sets out again. But this time he is not alone. With the help of Mac Sheldon - who harbors a fair share of misgivings over the endeavor - and two of Mac's friends, he tracks down the five fugitives on horseback.

Catching up with McKinnon a second time, Barney finds out the hard way that revenge isn't sweet. All but one of McKinnon's men end up dead, and it is Barney himself who gets even with his brother's murderer.

He gets his man, but loses a 'friend' - and some of his self-respect. (Only Mac Sheldon figured out that Barney did not shoot McKinnon in self-defense.)

With Mac's help Barney slowly starts rebuilding his life. He meets Rachel Hayes and finds out about the problems involved with becoming a step-parent. Tragedy strikes when Rachel's abusive ex-husband comes back into the picture. Stuart Hayes kills Rachel, and her death causes Barney to go off the deep end. But again Mac is there to help pick up the pieces.

One final dramatic incident forces Barney to look at his life from a different perspective. This time he has to pull through on his own. And now he has to make some serious choices about his future.

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From the Publisher:

The positive ending gives the reader the inspiration that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

There is heart and soul between the pages, making the individual characters come to life with an easily flowing dialogue that communicates their feelings and personalities.

From the Author:

About her writing, Schrader stresses that she tries not to make assumptions unless there is no reliable information available to her.

"The bottom line is to keep it real. The hard part is keeping it simple for the reader's sake. Not everybody cares about too much detail, and one could easily run the risk of boring the general public to death. I want to write books that average people like to read. Something that is entertaining and takes your mind off things.

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