From the author of The Winner Maker and Blackquest 40 comes The Pinebox Vendetta: a genre-bending thriller that combines a love story, cold-case murder mystery, and political blood feud — told over the course of a single breathless weekend.The Gallaghers and Pruitts have dominated the American political landscape dating back to Revolutionary times. The Yale University class of 1996 had one of … University class of 1996 had one of each, and as the twenty-year reunion approaches, the families are on a collision course.
Owen Gallagher is coasting to the Democratic nomination for president.
Rock Pruitt — the brash maverick whose career was derailed two decades ago by his association to a tragic death — is back, ready to reclaim the mantle of clan leader.
And fatefully in between lies Samantha Lessing. Sam arrives at reunion weekend lugging a rotten marriage, dumb hope, and a portable audio recorder she’ll use for a public radio-style documentary on the Pruitt-Gallagher rivalry — widely known as the pinebox vendetta. What Sam uncovers will thrust her into the middle of the ancient feud, upending presidential politics and changing the trajectory of one clan forever.
The Pinebox Vendetta is the first entry in the Pruitt-Gallagher saga: a series that promises cutthroat plots, power grabs, and unforgettable characters stretched to their very limits by the same ideological forces that roil America today.
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The Pinebox Vendetta by Jeff Bond is the story of the Gallaghers and Pruitts, two families that have been feuding since the Revolutionary War. Jonas Pruitt and Ephraim Gallager quarreled over a pinebox, the contents which were unknown. At one time they were friends and associates but they vowed that they would never be friends again.
The twenty-year reunion is fast approaching and with members of the two families, Owen Gallagher who is hoping to be the Democratic-run for President and Rock Pruitt, a nasty man who wants to reclaim his reputation. Twenty years ago his roommate was killed and the case never solved.
Sam Lessing will be there at the twenty-year reunion with her daughter Joss, who is looking at colleges. She is going so she can Zoom the reunion, as many people that she can film but mostly the Pruitts and Gallaghers. She wants to film a documentary of the two families. While there she and Joss find something that could knock the socks of one of the family members.
Sam is having problems of her own, her marriage is falling apart and she has feelings for Jamie Gallagher who has been living in Africa for the last 10 years. He is back for the reunion also but wants nothing to do with the feud. Sam and Jamie find themselves embroiled in the feud anyway.
What I liked, I enjoyed the writing and I am glad to see that The PineBox Vendetta is the first in a series because I would love to read more about the Pruits and Gallaghers. Digging deeper into the family dynamics. I think that the author portrayed each character appropriately to the story.
What I did not like, Rock Pruitt, I found him to be a very nasty man, I think that you will determine that also once you start reading this book. No spoilers here! Read this book you should, if you like a good mystery/whodunnit. Well written and mysteriously enough to keep the reader wanting more. I have read another one of Jeff Bond’s books and thoroughly enjoyed it.
THE PINEBOX VENDETTA (Pruitt-Gallagher Saga Book #1) by Jeff Bond is the start of a new thriller series. This is a political “Hatfield vs. McCoy” thriller with hidden agendas, dirty tricks and memorable but not so nice characters.
The Pruitts and Gallaghers have battled for political dominance since the Revolutionary War.
Rock Pruitt left Yale under suspicion of murdering his roommate and even as his powerful family helped him then, they never publicly backed him in his future to claim political power.
Jamie Gallagher was an idealist who left Yale and joined the Peace Corp in Africa. Everyone believes he died assassinating an evil warlord.
Yale University class of 1996 is gathered for the weekend for their twenty-year class reunion. Samantha Lessing is attending with her teenage daughter. She wants her to love Yale as much as she did when she attended. Sam has come with an agenda though besides seeing old friends. She wants to interview her classmates about the Pruitt-Gallagher rivalry, also known as the pinebox vendetta to use as a radio-style documentary for her work.
This reunion weekend once again brings all the families together. Secrets will be uncovered, plots revealed and the vendetta continues on.
At the beginning I was not sure where this story was going. It has a time and scene jumping start that had me confused at first, but once the reunion starts and the characters get sorted, the plot started to intrigue me and then I could not put it down. The author’s writing style is lean and the plot moves quickly. I was not very happy when the book ended, but I did feel the author did not cheat and leave a cliffhanger because he did reveal the solution of the mystery from twenty-years-ago before the ending.
Samantha started out so beaten down and stagnant in her life and marriage, but in just this weekend she takes control of her life and I loved her life decisions at the end. All of the Pruitts and Gallaghers are twisted, corrupt, manipulative and just plain unlikable, but they were also memorable and sadly realistic.
This is a unique thriller and even though I did not like the main characters, I do want to continue reading more of this saga to find out what else Mr. Bond has planned for them.
This is the third book I have read by this author and each one has its unique character which proves Jeff Bond can easily switch between various genres without losing the quality of the story.
You feel like you get to know each character. Like, dislike or hate them as you continue to read the pages. A good part of the story has to do with political families who will not stop at anything in order to become elected. Maybe not to the same degree of power play but it makes you think of some of the political families the US has known over the last 80 years. I think the pressure family members are under is probably very real in some of these cases
It also deals with love, betrayal and friendships. I highly recommend this book.