10. Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks

I read about Faces of the Gone by Mr. Parks on someone's blog and immediately placed it on hold through my local library. I think it was definitely the type of book I needed to read after my railure with the Carlene Thompson book and I whizzed through it. I give Faces of the Gone a A-.

From Amazon:
Four bodies, each with a single bullet wound in the back of the head, stacked like cordwood in a weed-choked vacant lot: That’s the front-page news facing Carter Ross, investigative reporter with the Newark Eagle-Examiner. Immediately dispatched to the scene, Carter learns that the four victims—an exotic dancer, a drug dealer, a hustler, and a mama’s boy—came from different parts of the city and didn’t seem to know one another. The police, eager to calm jittery residents, leak a theory that the murders are revenge for a bar stickup, and Carter’s paper, hungry for a scoop, hastily prints it. Carter doesn’t come from the streets, but he understands a thing or two about Newark’s neighborhoods. And he knows there are no quick answers when dealing with a crime like this. Determined to uncover the true story, he enlists the aide of Tina Thompson, the paper’s smoking-hot city editor, to run interference at the office; Tommy Hernandez, the paper’s gay Cuban intern, to help him with legwork on the streets; and Tynesha Dales, a local stripper, to take him to Newark’s underside. It turns out that the four victims have one connection after all, and this knowledge will put Carter on the path of one very ambitious killer.

I loved Carter. I thought he was such a down-to-earth guy, a realistic reporter that will go to lengths to get a story, but not too act so stupid that he is unebelieveable. He seems like a genuine, nice down-to-earth character and one that comes across as someone I would love to hear talk about their lifes and stories in a bar. Mr. Parks does a fantastic job injecting some humor into the story, and Tommy is the perfect way to do this. He had me laughing the entire time when he was making fun of Tommy's pleated pants. The humor was perfect and lightened the mood of anotherwise grim story. I will definitely be on the lookout for more books featuring Carter Ross in the future... Faces of The Gone was the first in a new series!

I am at school right now and it's time to get the kids ready to go home. I hope everyone is having a great week... thank God tomorrow is Friday!!! Happy Reading everyone!