I had read John Hart’s Redemption Road awhile back, and although I remember I liked it, I couldn’t tell you more about it…but when I read the description of Hart’s new book, The Unwilling, I thought it would be a good one to read along with my husband and discuss in our mini book club (2 members). I figured I’d like the coming-of-age stuff, and the family drama. And he would love the war, prison story, and violence…

The story is set in the South in the early 1970s, at the height of the Vietnam War. The French family has lost one of the three sons: although Robert and Jason were twins, Jason’s birth at a few minutes after midnight gave him a different draft number than Robert, so Robert had to go to war and Jason didn’t. After Robert was killed, Mrs. French said “it should have been Jason, not Robert” which helped drive Jason to sign up and go to war, where he endured horrific events. He returned as a  broken and addicted man, with  a dishonorable discharge and a stint in prison as he was involved in drugs and guns. When  he got out, he returned to his hometown, where his father was still a police detective, his mother had basically checked out, and the youngest son, Gibson (“Gibby”) was a senior in high school. Gibby’s parents don’t want him to have anything to do with Jason, but the two brothers have a strong bond and Gibby agrees to spend a day with Jason and two women in their late 20s…what could possibly go wrong? 

Plenty, actually. Gibby, who had been overprotected by his parents since Robert’s death, had little experience with women, and when one of the women, a wild one named  Tyra,  got drunk and sexually taunted the inmates on a prison bus, causing  a  riot. Jason freaked out, and when Tyra was murdered shortly after this incident, the police suspect Jason, who got sent back to prison while awaiting trial. Mr. French isn’t sure what happened, Mrs. French thinks Jason is guilty, and Gibby  just wants to clear Jason’s name and get at least one of his brothers back!. 

Biker gangs, murderous psychopaths with connections inside the prison, and gun runners are all involved in the subsequent events, and Hart explores the (broken) French family dynamics, the insanity of war, and the real story of what goes on inside a  prison. It’s a mystery, a thriller, a coming of age story, and Hart tells it well. There is a ton of suspense, as Tyra’s roommate Sara goes missing,Gibby is suspected of abducting her, and he takes his BFF on a wild ride as they try to figure out what is really going on. 

So: my husband read it first and LOVED it. I really like Hart’s writing, but it was a bit over the top for me in terms of graphic violence (OK, I admit, I skimmed some paragraphs set in Vietnam and some in the prison. This book is highly recommended to anyone who likes a dark story with well-developed, flawed characters. I’m going with 4 stars although my husband would say 6. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of The Unwilling in exchange for this honest review.