Redeemed

by Sean Sweeney

All he wanted was a second chance at life. Duane Thompson’s incarceration following a crime-filled night on the streets of Boston lasted a little over a decade and a half. When the Commonwealth paroled him, his second chance at life stalled. No one wanted him near their businesses. Despite being dogged by the police officer that had initially collared him, Duane does get his second chance, helping the poor in a small Central Massachusetts city. But when a woman is hounded by the same cop, Duane comes face-to-face with his greatest challenge. Yet unbeknownst to him, while all of this is going on an extremist government has begun reshaping Boston in its twisted image.

332 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2013

About the author

Sean Sweeney’s love of reading began in 1988, when he was handed J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit, and was given a needed reading boost with John Grisham novels and the Star Wars Expanded Universe in the 1990s. His passion for writing began in 1993, as a sophomore in high school, when he began writing sports for his local newspaper. Born and raised in North Central Massachusetts in 1977, Sweeney has written for several newspapers and radio stations. Since then, Sean has written upward of 29 novels along with a handful of novellas and short stories.

When he is not writing, he enjoys reading, watching Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, along with British mysteries and Doctor Who, the New England Revolution, and Arsenal F.C.

Sean lives in Fitchburg, Massachusetts with his wife and their four cats, Finn, Diva, Squeaky, and Spooky.

Reviews

[Rich Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that Redeemed is one of those of those rare book which is so well written that it draws you in even though you can't stand the characters. And I couldn't. I hated every single character in this book. Except for the very young Rocco and the second Judge that Duane was involved with, none of them really had any traits that I considered worth redeeming, and was hoping the next paragraph would have a large runaway truck mowing them down in the middle of the street.

Alas, that didn't happen. I'm not going to go into the plot here, since I'm bound to give away a spoiler, but the story was very interesting. I kept hoping everyone would get their just desserts. Some may have, some definitely didn't.

I think this is a uniquely Bostonian story, given the fact that's where the author lives and some of the plot is based on logical postulations given the tragedies that have occurred their recently. There are a few leaps that I don't agree with, particularly in the last part of the book, but I can definitely see the reasoning behind them.

The writing is excellent. Sean Sweeney can tell a damn fine story, and he does. The opening chapters with Duane on the run from the law have a reader getting into the skin of a very cold-blooded, hardly-human individual. You're pretty much glad of what happens next, and you feel a bit cleaner at the start of part two.

This one is definitely worth a read.

[Kim (Wistfulskimmies Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Duane. Sent to prison for killing a cop in Boston by an unjust judicial system, he comes out 16 and a half years later to a world that will not tolerate his past. He finds himself in a church, and the pastor offers to help him. He changes his identity and moves to a new town. He slowly begins to build up the run down town and makes a promise to one of his workers who is dying, he agrees to raise her son as his own. Harrassed by one of the original arresting officers, they move away and spend the next ten years in peace until Rocco (the son) decides to go to college in Boston. They return to a Boston much changed since Duanes incarceration. With the town under anarchy rule, can they bring peace back to the city or is Boston doomed?

This was a fantastically well written book. I have read many of Sean's books, but not one like this. Here, we see a man totally failed by the justice system, yet he takes a lifeline handed to him and he changes his life totally. He built up a town from nothing and devoted his life to living in a Godly manner. It was a fast paced book, and there were never any 'dry' patches. The characters were solid and believable, and I was compelled to find out what happened to them. Some got spectacular comeuppances and some got.....well I shall leave that up to the reader to decide! Go out and buy this - you won't regret it!

[Stephen Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author takes an interesting premise and runs with it in this book that builds momentum from page one through a surprising and thought provoking end.

The character arc for the richly developed protagonist was fascinating. He begins as a young thug who commits a heinous crime. Goes to jail, comes out a better man, but one that still facing numerous problems. And those problems get more complicated as the book goes on. He makes difficult choices and deals with the consequences.

I went through a wide range of emotions while reading the book. I disagreed with some of the decisions the protagonist made. I disagreed with some of the assumptions made by the author. But I found the book endlessly fascinating and nearly impossible to put down.

This was a fascinating story that took place over a 35 year period. As a book, it gave me a nice ride and offered some interesting insights into the world in which we live.