The Cardinal and the Crook was a truly gutsy and captivating thriller with a whole lot of heart in it! I really, really enjoyed the pacing of this one and the boldness to write about something so sensitive in such a careful and captivating way. The juxtaposition of one brother choosing the church and the other a life of crime was so interesting and original—I haven't read a thriller like this in my life. I find it somewhat difficult to talk about all the things I loved without spoiling it, but I cannot recommend this enough!

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

#NetGalley #TheCardinalandTheCrook
THE CARDINAL AND THE CROOK: A gritty thriller with a whole lot of heart.
I like it when faithful people have the gumption to write a story that explores a darker side of the world, and that's why this book appealed to me, and why I'm so glad I read it. THE CARDINAL AND THE CROOK tells the story of two brothers, James and John, who were left at the doorstep of an orphanage by their mother. James, ensnared by the temptations of worldly wealth and prestige, ends up leading a life of crime. John, however, follows the calling of priesthood. And this journey takes them both to places they need to be in to grow. Loved being there every step of the way, loved the harmonious blend of grit and Grace, loved how complex the motivations were. A truly heartfelt thriller. Ten out of five!

Title: The Cardinal and the Crook
Author: Sal Tocco
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: egalley from Netgalley and Aim High Books
Series: NA
Star Rating: 2 stars

tw: death, abandonment, parental death, underage drinking, gambling, murder, money laundering, car accident, mentions of the Holocaust, molestation, addiction

A special thank you goes to Netgalley and Aim High Books for providing me with an early copy of this book. Please know that this does not influence my rating or thoughts on the book itself.

I was the wrong audience for this book. I’m just going to get that out there. I didn’t realize it until I was about halfway through the book and by then, I was already dedicated to reading the rest of the book. So my review is going to border on the negative. But take my words with a grain of salt. If what I’m saying sounds good to you, then feel free to check this book out.

This book had a very heavy and prevalent religious undertone. Once I finished the book, I discovered that the author was someone who works in the Catholic faith. So that made a lot of sense. But I didn’t care for all the religion. It felt like I was reading a very long sermon about how suffering for your faith will eventually reward you. Which I am not a fan of. It’s one of the reasons I left the faith. I don’t like suffering.

The writing was not great either. When the two boys were teenagers, they talked like men in their 80s. It was so incredibly stilted. There was also a ton of exclamation points used. I’m all for exclamation points but there has to be a limit. Also, the author italicized words and statements most weirdly and it was like my Kindle didn’t quite know how to format it. There was just so much telling and no showing.

The last 25 percent of the book is just how Father John, one of the main characters, goes around and helps people and then it’s just flashback after flashback. It was okay but honestly, it was so weird. It followed the pattern of flashbacks, like I mentioned and not just following his life. It was so odd.

Overall, this was not the book for me and I will be the first to admit it. I was the wrong audience for this book. I think some other people will enjoy this book especially those who belong to the Catholic faith. But honestly, for me, this was just not the book. At least it was a pretty quick read.

I struggled with this book. The prose was overly simple which made the storyline not that enjoyable.
I'm rating it as a 3 star overall.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Twin brothers raised in a parish with two different life choices.

Twin brothers, James and John, are left on the door step of a parish when they were infants on a cold stormy night. As they grow up, they begin to develop different interest. John is drawn to the priesthood and takes the necessary steps to climb the ranks. James is drawn to worldly possessions and becomes part of a crime family. Many years later, their mother returns to explain her decision and create a bond with her sons.

I enjoyed Sal Tocco's cleverly written book as the ending will surprise readers as it did me. The author takes readers through time as the boys grow up with easy to read chapters. Veronica's story was my favorite as it explores love and heartbreak which leads to her decision to give up her twin boys. I highly recommend this book for its captivating read and surprise ending.

This story had so much potential with a unique story line when a lady leaves her twin babies on the steps of a priest home and Father becomes a real Father. The twin boys grow up in a home where they are well-loved and are given everything, they need both need to grow in the world and spiritually. But as often happens their life's take different directions even though both paths look like they will lead to productive lives, but all is not as it seems. Trouble comes in and they all will face some difficult choices. This story holds together about 2/3rds of the way through but then in my opinion the story falls off. If you read this story understand that there are lots of religious overtones if there is any doubt but still it was a good story for a while. Give it a read and see what you think. I rate this book 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sal Tocco, and the publisher for this ARC of The Cardinal and the Crook in exchange for an honest review! This was a pretty good book! I believe it is a debut novel and I'm pretty impressed! I found myself emotionally invested in very early on! This book beautifully jumps through time to tell a full story of family and love and humanity. I was worried that the format might be confusing or convoluted, but I found it to be wonderfully executed.

The opening chapter was a strong one that had me hooked right away! I don't think there is a point where my attention waned. Sal Tocco was able to get me connected to his characters very quickly and I found myself not wanting to put this book down. I think The Cardinal and the Crook can be read in one night, but it is also broken up into parts that make it easy to read in segments if that suits you more. It's not a short book, but it never drags which I find makes for a solid evening (or several evenings) read as one winds down for the night.

I appreciate how this book depicted things as small scale as the pain of loss to some bigger issues in the world. That was all well-done. I also loved the strength shown, as well as the kindness. There's not enough books that can show all these concepts in a way that admirably serves the story.

I would probably say this book is a 4.5 that I personally would round up to a 5. The Cardinal and the Crook is a very reflective book, which I enjoyed, but I could see someone wishing for more action depicted rather than described/experienced. That being said, if you've read the description and think you're interested, I definitely think it's worth the read. I found it to be a very well-crafted narrative! Sal Tocco did an excellent job with this book and I'd absolutely love to see him write another novel.

Although the story in this book is interesting, there's something lacking in the execution.

The characters are interesting and their struggles have all the potential in the world to be page-turners, but it just wasn't there.
It all reads like a non-fiction book. We're told information, but there's nothing of substance to really back it up.

There is a lot of telling, so we're only given everything at a surface level. There's very little being shown and all the emotions that could have been super-charged fell flat because of this.
Which is a shame, because it has all the potential in the world to be a real heart-wrenching, captivating story. The two brothers are a solid base for characters, their origin story is absolutely brilliant and the different directions their lives take them, but how they remain strong together with their faith is brilliant, but, there just wasn't enough emotion in the book to really pull me in.

(Because of the average review/rating of this book, I won't be putting this review on GoodReads until after publication.)

345 pages

4 stars

In spite of the fact that there are some dark moments in this book, for the most part it is a forward-looking and hopeful novel.

A young mother abandons her identical twin boy babies on the doorstep of a rectory.

So begins a tale of unconditional love, drama, spiritual awakening and faith. This is an uplifting novel and I certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys such. It discusses an unconventional family dynamic, relationships and how it all works to produce some fine young men.

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions provided in this review are solely my own.

In the early 60’s, identical twin boys are left by their mother on the porch of a Catholic priest. As they grow, their personalities are the only things that make them different. We learn of their differences through time jumps and character jumps as one chooses seminary and the other to work as an accountant for a mob boss.Their love for each other remains strong as we learn about organized crime on the streets and in the church. The death of one brother is a major turning point in the story, but the strong characters and deeply-held faith of so many characters keeps what could a real downer become a truly inspirational story.