The Breakthrough

Precinct 11 #3

by Jerry B. Jenkins

As the youngest bureau chief and head of the Chicago Police Department's Major Case Squad, Boone Drake seems to have it all under control. Only those closest to him know that just a few short years ago, he lost everything that mattered to him in a tragic accident. After years of healing, his life is back on track. He recently married a wonderful woman named Haeley, adopted her son, bought a beautiful home, and rediscovered his faith. But Boone can't fight the feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong . . . again.

When an all-too-personal case takes Boone to Beijing at a time when Haeley can least afford to let him go, Boone is forced to make a difficult choice. There he becomes enmeshed in a dangerous human-trafficking ring that takes him through the famed Hutong District's narrow streets, alleys, and hovels. Teamed with a former Liberation Army officer, Boone has one chance to pull off an elaborate sting and rescue a young boy before he disappears forever.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Christian, Mystery, Adult, Contemporary

400 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2012

About the author

Jerry Bruce Jenkins is an American novelist and biographer. He is best known as the writer of the Left Behind series of books for Tim LaHaye and The Chosen novels to accompany his son Dallas's TV series. Jenkins has written more than 200 books, including mysteries, historical fiction, biblical fiction, cop thrillers, international spy thrillers, and children's adventures, as well as nonfiction. His works usually feature Christians as protagonists. In 2005, Jenkins and LaHaye ranked 9th in Amazon.com's 10th Anniversary list of Hall of Fame authors based on books sold at Amazon.com during its first 10 years. Jenkins now teaches writers to become authors here at his website. He and his wife Dianna have three sons and eight grandchildren.

Reviews

[Lynnda Ell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I picked up my complimentary advance readers’ copy of Jerry Jenkin’s new book, The Breakthrough, I reached in a basket and took out a bookmark. It turned out that picking up the bookmark was a waste of time. I read the book without stopping.

Every book I read by Jerry Jenkins reminds me that he is a writer at the top of his craft. The Breakthrough polishes that reputation to an even higher sheen.

The story revolves around Boone Drake, a bureau chief in the Chicago Police Department. His wife sustains a serious head injury in a freak accident at the same time kidnappers steal his 5-year-old adopted son. The events produce emotional, physical, and spiritual crises that keep him uncertain about where to be or what to do. His pastor, friends, and coworkers rally to discover the facts surrounding the kidnapping, care for his wife in the hospital, and uphold him in his faith.

The action is nonstop, the plot twists more times than a mountain road, and the characters are complex and believable. Without preaching, Mr. Jenkins shows us how intense trials in a Christian’s life can prove his trust in God. Prove it not to God – He already knows – but to himself and to those in his community. Mr. Jenkins also shows us that even good friends can fail us and that forgiveness can heal that breach of trust.

Madelein l'Engle in Walking on Water expresses my emotions when I finished The Breakthrough. She states, "We don't want to feel less when we have finished reading a book; we want to feel that new possibilities of being have opened up to us. We don't want to close a book with a sense that life is totally unfair and that there is no light in the darkness; we want to feel that we have been given illumination." That’s it. I felt illuminated and strengthened to face my own trials when I finished Mr. Jenkin’s latest book. See what I mean; read The Breakthrough.

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Breakthrough" is the third of the "Precinct 11" series of novels by popular Christian author Jerry B. Jenkins. This series features Boone Drake, the head of the Chicago Police Department's Major Case Squad. In this story, Boone Drake, who has already having lost a wife and son in a previous tragedy, now must deal with the kidnapping of his newly adopted son which occurs just after his new wife is rushed to the hospital in a coma with a life threatening head injury. So this is certainly a book which reminds you of the age old question of "why do bad things happen to good people?".

It was a nice story of a loving husband and father dealing with and overcoming adversity and apprehending the kidnappers, but to me it was more about the moral than a truly realistic, believable crime story. It just wasn't my preferred style of book, however I would recommend it to readers of Tim LaHaye, Joel Rosenberg, etc and those who seek and enjoy a Christian emphasis in their readings.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ummm wheee to start this book is so good I recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers! But we’re to begin at first it started of slow but after 3 chapters shit got real and good chief Boone’s wife is pregnant and collapse and went into a coma from hit the ground and then her ex joined a human trafficking ring and kidnapped his son from Boone and his wife and o really didn’t know how Boone was going to handle all of this but he did especially at the end when he found the son and the wife woke up and told the son that they were pregnant! This book is seriously so good!

[Ryan Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is probably my least favourite of the trilogy. - bit predictable especially with the first two books something always happening to Boone would have been nice for things to have been normal for him and the ending felt week when everything wrapped up.

[Kathleen Concannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author I read so many of his books and I was never disappointed

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the book jacket I was curious on how Boone ends up going to China on a human trafficking case after such personal stories in the first two books. That book jacket doesn't really do the story justice.

Boone's wife Hayley has an accident and Max is kidnapped. We see him and now boss Jack Keller working from US and going to China to rescue Max.

It moves fast and almost like unbelievable crime movie moves. It wraps up satisfactorily for a trilogy or yet can add another installment.

[Josh Utterback · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first two weren't too bad, but this one is awful. Poorly written with completely implausible behavior.

They issue an Amber alert but don't inform the media because they don't want people to know. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT IN AN AMBER ALERT. After a kidnapping they deliberately withhold the information from the father. When they catch some of the accomplices they immediately give away all of their information, before even consulting a lawyer, this happens multiple times. Spur of the moment a reputable Chinese businessman somehow hacks a bank website to make it look like money was transferred. Not to mention how they handout and take sleeping pills like they are candy.

The whole thing was just completely

[Kate]

I often turn to detective and mystery books as an escape after a string of non-fiction...not exactly sure how I selected this book. Rather than escape I found that it was a book that espoused a brand of Christianity in a proselytizing way that overshadowed any plot it might have had. I gave it a chance reading about 20%..then just couldn't either believe in the characters, their dialog and could find no plot that enticed me to go further.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third in a Great series!

I liked the fact is was told from a Christian World view and that it was a unique story line. It kept my interest from the beginning. I'd recommend it.

[Jan Aldergate · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh! improbable plot, wooden characters, but you can save time because you won't have to do your bible study while you read this. just didn't work for me.

[Eric Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got 58 pages into this mystery until I gave up and dumped it. Although I am a Christian, I found both his dialogue and his constant sermonizing annoying.

[Randy Tramp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boone Drake, head of the Chicago Police Department's Major Case Squad feels something is about to go wrong, again. And it does.

Boone must go to Beijing at a time his wife, Haeley needs him the most. There he must infiltrate a human trafficking ring.

Action packed pages with fast-moving scenes. I enjoyed listening to this story. One of the characters (Jack) sounded like Clint Eastwood. I found myself thinking about the story in between listenings. With the scripture sprinkled into the story, I felt the story went to a higher level.

[Pianosue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good ending to the Precinct #11 series. Boone Drake is not married and has an adopted son and he has become the youngest bureau chief and head of Chicago PD's Major Case Squad. All is going great but he begins to feel as if something is about to go wrong. Boy is he right. Lots of action and excitement occurs. While at a dinner party Haeley, his wife, falls and gets seriously hurt. Will she recover? What other surprises await them? Also during this time his son, Max is kidnapped. Who has him and where is he? Will they be able to find him and bring him home? Great story

[Kathryn Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

3½ ⭐ Well thought out--seems a bit farfetched. I enjoyed it enough that I read it in one day. Interesting. It might have been better had I read the previous 2 in the series first. He presented a realistic view of the Chrtian life. Though salvation wasn't crystal clear, he did mention once that one of the characters had been raised in a church that believed salvation was by how good one was, implying that that was an inaccurate view of true Christianity.

[Alet Swart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured the book in a day and a half. It was a little predictable at the beginning of the book with an obvious happy ending, but everything in between was well researched and extremely informative.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always like this authors books, especially his heart wrenching ones which I do not read anymore since they depress me for too long. This is a great series of a different genre. Good Christian suspense and crime.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of suspense in this third installment which I again very much enjoyed.

(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say too much about the plot without giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say that Boone Drake is dealing with more personal problems in Book 3 of the Precinct 11 series, ones that will test his faith in ways he can't have imagined.

** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED **

[Peggy Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate at 3.75 if that was an option. I haven’t read a Christian thriller book before, but it was well written. I felt some points of the story were stronger than others and it was a bit weak at the end.

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good series, but this one was my least favorite. It was very predictable and wrapped up too quickly and neatly with the last few chapters. It would not have been this easy if it had not been a cop's son.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this final book in the Precinct 11 series. I like how Jerry Jenkins keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the end of the book.

[Tee Mcdaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Susan Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! It held me from first page to last. A father like Boone is certainly hard to find.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much willing suspension of disbelief is required.

[N Hehi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful conclusion to an enthralling trilogy.

[Michele Pariseau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved this one ! The excitement of a stolen baby , a mama in a coma not even knowing! Good thing or more people would have been in a coma .

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

Jenkins knows how to bring his characters alive. I have enjoyed reading his books and look forward to more good reading.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this entire series preachy and unbelievable and unrealistic. It was just ok. It just was too over the top for me.

[Jodi Uplinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, but confusing to listen to and keep all of the characters straight (audio book)

[Pat Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A non-stop Thrilling Book!!

A sound bible based book of one finding his way to God thru life's trials, heartache & tears with Joy coming in the morning.