Tom Reinhart has become one of my favorite authors. I can always count on him for gritty, gut-wrenching stories that suck me in, keep me reading, and leave me exhausted by the end. In The Saint of Seven Mile, he’s done it again. The premise is simple: Mason leaves NY for Detroit, in an attempt to leave behind all the horrors of book 1 and embark on a normal life with the woman he loves. But in this author’s hands (and for a man like Mason), nothing is ever simple.

As in the first book, this is not a story for the faint of heart. It’s brutal and violent. It will tear into you and not let go. Even after you reached the last page, you still feel it. Well-written and intense, make sure you have time on your hands (and some Kleenex) when you sit down with this one.

Mason Stone is not a character that leaves your mind quickly. He’s violent and unforgiving. He’s a cop and a hero, a vigilante and a killer. Yet you cheer him on every step of the way. Plagued with the demons of his past, Mason is a man full of rage who yearns to be good enough for the woman who has chosen him. He wants to give her the life she desires and deserves: a normal existence with no killing, no running. Yet even as he tries, he fears he will disappoint her just as he knows the world will inevitably disappoint him.

I can’t recommend this author enough. There is a ruthless honesty to his work that gets me every time.