Sunday, August 16, 2015

Review ~ Baby Please Don't Go by Frank Freudberg

Rating: 5/5 Stars
Author: Frank Freudberg
Available Formats: eBook & Paperback
Publisher: Inside Job Media
Publication Date: 05-06-15                  Pages: 332 
ALL LOCK GILKENNEY WANTS IS A FAMILY.

BUT HE’LL HAVE TO CROSS THE LINE TO GET ONE.

Lock is a dedicated investigator at Child Protective Services. An anonymous report of neglect comes in. He responds and finds the kids in good health. Lock concludes the report was a ruse, possibly part of a scheme to make Natalie Mannheim—the kids’ mother—look bad in an upcoming divorce trial. 

Natalie needs Lock’s expertise to help her win custody—and a multi-million-dollar divorce settlement. He realizes she doesn't have a prayer in court against her shrewd husband, and only Lock can help her now. 

Lock knows all about addiction, and he’s aware of the powerful hold Natalie has on him. But he can’t get her out of his head. Lock is caught between his commitment to take the high road and his burning desire to have a family. In this story of love, lust, deceit and murder, what Lock chooses to do will grab your imagination and never let go. 

My So-Called Review:

Baby Please Don’t Go is the first novel I’ve read by author Frank Freudberg and it’s one that I requested on NetGalley quite some time ago but never got around to reading until now. I have such a hard time with books that are centered around Social Services/Foster Care because it’s usually painted in a very bad, negative light. I’ve worked with Social Services and Foster Parents for over 10 years and although I know there are some very true horror stories out there, that is NOT the norm by any means! Social Workers and Foster Parents that I’ve worked with over the years have always had the best of intentions for the children under their care. Do they always make the right decision in every situation? No, of course not! But honestly, who among us can say that they always do? And herein lies my problem, it’s only the negative that’s put out into the media. All the thousands of hours of good, honest work that is put in by people who don’t have to do these jobs is usually not ever mentioned; not on the news, not on social media, and not in books. So you can see my stance on why I typically stay away from books of this subject manner and why I hadn’t up until this point read this book even though I had it available to me.

Then I read one single review that made me change my mind. One of my favorite reviewers, Maxine (BookloverCatlady) gave an outstanding review of this book on Goodreads and she’s never steered me wrong before, every book she recommends I end up loving in some capacity and she had a ton of great things to say about Frank’s new book. So I decided that maybe I needed to give it a try and I am so glad that I did because I really loved this book! Frank is a brilliant writer and master storyteller who really knows how to weave an intricate plot, I was honestly blown away by this book! And how did Frank handle the issue of his main character, Lock, being a CPS Investigator? Brilliantly! Lock is written with such grace and dignity yet he’s also a beautifully flawed mess which makes him so real, I just adored him! I won’t rehash the plot for you here because the synopsis gives you everything you really need to know going in, anything more than that and you enter spoiler territory. I loved all the twists and turns in this novel and oh boy there were many! A few times I thought, where could he (Frank) possibly take this story next? Only to be shocked a few chapters later when my question was answered.

Baby Please Don’t Go is a gripping page turner that shows how sometimes good intentions can go horribly wrong, setting off a series of tragic events. What got to me most was how believable some of these situations are. I could actually picture some of these things happening to someone and that, to me, is scary as hell!! If you love a thriller that burns slowly, that dives deep into the inner workings of its characters, then this is definitely the novel for you! I would absolutely recommend this novel and I look forward to reading more by Frank Freudberg.

A huge thank you to the publishers, Inside Job Media and to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!


About the Author:
 
Frank Freudberg is a novelist, journalist and ghostwriter. He enjoys writing about underdogs and their battles with forces seemingly more powerful than they are -- and he particularly likes watching the little guy prevail. Freudberg lives near Philadelphia and he's contributed to Reuters, Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Der Spiegel and others. His work has been mentioned in many notable publications including Time, Newsweek, and The Guardian.




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