Blog Tour | What Beauty There Is - Cory Anderson

 Jack Morton has nothing left. Nothing except for his younger brother, Matty, who he'd die for. 

Now Jack faces a start choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money. 

And so begins a race against times as Jack tries to track down the stash of money while evading the clutches of Bardem, the man who masterminded the drug deal gone wrong all those years ago and who has held a vendetta against the family ever since. 

But when Jack meets Ava, things become even more complicated. 

At first Jack thinks he's found someone he can lean on for once, but then it turns out that Ava might be the one person guaranteed to bring Bardem to Jack's door. 

What Beauty There Is is Cory Anderson's debut novel and what a debut it is. Heart-breaking , brutal and emotional What Beauty There Is is a rollercoaster of emotions with central characters that are developed from page one and a plot which has you turning every page with a sense of a trepidation and excitement. 

Set in the harsh winters of Idaho, What Beauty There Is focuses around the central character of Jack Morton, a seventeen-year-old desperate to protect his family. After the heart-wrenching scenes of his mother's suicide within the first few pages of the book, Jack becomes the sole carer of his little brother, Matty. Left with only a few dollars, a cold home and the well-meaning but always prying eyes of  the town sheriff on his back, Jack knows he has to protect them both from the closely circling authorities to avoid losing Matty too. Thus begins his secretive adventure to find the hidden drug money that sent his father to prison. 

Once Jack begins the search for the hidden briefcase the fear builds. Fear of being discovered by the authorities as they hide in a dilapidated building; fear of being chased by the monstrous Bardem who was his father's crime acquaintance and fear of trusting anyone who enters their lives. When Jack meets Ava, her silent generosity and desire to help dilutes some of those fears, but as Jack and Ava's world's begin to intertwine the danger they are in also increases. 

Anderson writes her character's brilliantly, with realistic characterisation and empathy created from page one. Jack's heart-breaking decision to bury his own mother, to remove his brother from their family home and to protect him at all costs is believable and one which the reader becomes fully invested in. Jack's desperation is mirrored brilliantly with the evil desperation of Bardem as he tries to track the brothers down. Bardem is fierce, unforgiving, cruel and spontaneous. He kills in daylight. He shoots without a second thought. He is everything Jack is not. Yet the pair are united in their search for the money they believe is rightfully theirs. 

From the moment the hunt begins, Jack is a rabbit being chased by a never-tiring fox. Danger lurks at every corner. The world of safety Jack created for his family is infiltrated by drug-gangs and fear. When, as a reader, you believe Jack has reached an outlet of safety, there is always something or someone waiting to betray or chase him in a new direction. At many points the story becomes something out of the scenes of a gun-slinging western movie, with vicious attacks and no mercy given; however, the integrity of Jack's character never diminishes. Anderson's writing of Jack's sensitivity and emotional tolerance to the new world he is subjected to creates a believable balance between the two worlds portrayed and means that as a reader you are fully invested in the action between the pages. 

What Beauty There Is combines brutality with emotion to create a compelling read. It's gritty yet uplifting and a true tale of the strength of love in a family.