The Woman on Pritchard Street by JD Young

Genre: Fiction

Pages: Paper Back

Publisher: Young Lions At The Gate

Reviewer: Virginia Armstrong

JAGS: 5

The Woman on Pritchard Street, a pseudo werewolf political thriller, tells the story of Simon Gautreaux, a journalist by trade, as he goes on a quest to the find the hidden truth in an all-consuming web of darkness.  Hired as a private investigator by a nameless benefactor, Simon travels to his hometown in Georgia, only to find the woman he is investigating is his long lost love, Grace, who is in dire need of his help. 

 Slaying demons from Hell, Simon brings Grace back to D.C. with him only to learn his benefactor is responsible for all the brutal attacks occurring in Georgia and D.C.  Further probing unveils dark secrets concerning key players throughout D.C. as well as across the globe-secrets that even he is not immune to. With the puzzle unraveling, Simon soon realizes his own life has a hidden past.  Traveling to Budapest to seek out answers, he reunites with his powerful grandparents, who bestow upon him all that he needs to wage war back in D.C.

 As for heroic attributes, Simon drank a little too much, had a raging temper and made one too many derisive comments.  He also pigeonholed all the folk in his hometown as uneducated, dirty and apathetic. The emotions portrayed were lax concerning the slayings and Grace’s death, but the kicker was when Simon set loose his dog on another character. The time spent in Budapest had the reader perking up, but the story crashed again on return to D.C.

The Woman on Pritchard Street has a good story line and gives the reader a few unexpected laughs, but lacks a certain depth. As Simon states, everything fall into his lap a little too easily. With that said, it seemed the author is allowed less effort into the telling of the story.  A definite summer read for those pool side days!