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Truck Stop Jesus
Oh, for a simpler time! Paradise Jones dreams of the Hollywood glamour days. Clothes, hair, vintage car--you name it, she's got it. She's classic retro, a 21st-century image of her favorite Golden Era stars--Doris, Audrey, Esther, Marilyn. The entertainment rags call Paradise eccentric. The studios rarely call at all. When an altercation with her leering stepfather forces her to flee Los Angeles, Paradise leaves behind everything she loves and longs for.
A few hundred miles east, Doc Morales' years of hard work in the minors of Major League Baseball have produced exactly one at bat in the Big Show. A collision at first, a blown knee, and adios dreams. Nothing left to live for but pick-up games and his collection of old movies. Nothing, that is, until beautiful, damaged Paradise Jones crashes into his small, Arizona town. So begins an epic road trip that will change everything.
Throw in a couple of oddball bounty hunters, a forgotten movie-star boat captain, a cowboy priest, and a dashboard Jesus that is more than meets the eye, and Paradise and Doc have all the ingredients they need to cook up a fun and quirky slice of Americana pie.
A few hundred miles east, Doc Morales' years of hard work in the minors of Major League Baseball have produced exactly one at bat in the Big Show. A collision at first, a blown knee, and adios dreams. Nothing left to live for but pick-up games and his collection of old movies. Nothing, that is, until beautiful, damaged Paradise Jones crashes into his small, Arizona town. So begins an epic road trip that will change everything.
Throw in a couple of oddball bounty hunters, a forgotten movie-star boat captain, a cowboy priest, and a dashboard Jesus that is more than meets the eye, and Paradise and Doc have all the ingredients they need to cook up a fun and quirky slice of Americana pie.
332 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2016
85 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Buck Storm
12 books56 followersGET A FREE COPY OF BUCK'S FIRST NOVEL "THE MIRACLE MAN" AT WWW.BUCKSTORM.COM!
Buck Storm is a critically acclaimed, award winning author and musician. His novels have made friends around the world.
Buck Storm is a critically acclaimed, award winning author and musician. His novels have made friends around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 15, 2017
Doc and Paradise search for the rainbow's end. Instead of finding a pot of gold, they find each other, better than gold. They deserved a happy ending. I recently read a couple downers, one about druggies and the second about a kid in the foster child system, so Truck Stop was a welcomed relief with its upbeat prose. So nice not to read a bunch of cussing. I'll have to read another book by Storm.
December 16, 2016
Enjoyable read. Touches on the old time glamour of Hollywood and has a Hollywood perfect ending.
December 1, 2016
I loved this book! Buck hit a homer right over the Green Monster! Good story line, a book hard to put down.
May 17, 2017
This book has its share of interesting characters. To say the least, the characters keep the book moving and keep it interesting. It's a book that you can put down, but you want to get back to it, kind of like a soap opera. Jesus is a plastic figurine that was purchased in a truck stop by the main character. You guessed it. He talks with her. Their conversations are mostly comical, but thought provoking. This is a relaxing read that you will enjoy. I thought "The Miracle Man" was a better book. You might enjoy it, too.
May 14, 2017
Truck Stop Jesus by Buck Storm was satisfying and enjoyable on so many levels: rich characters, laugh-out-loud humor, fun surprises, sound spiritual thread, multiple settings, and most especially the author's voice and lyrical prose. Love, love this book. One I will read again.
June 23, 2017
I Loved This Book
Truck Stop Jesus by Buck Storm is a wonderful read. He has a way of writing that draws you in and you feel like you're tagging along with his characters. I'm always ready to read another one of his books. I highly recommend it!
Truck Stop Jesus by Buck Storm is a wonderful read. He has a way of writing that draws you in and you feel like you're tagging along with his characters. I'm always ready to read another one of his books. I highly recommend it!
August 30, 2017
I was slow to get into this book It just didn't grab me. At page 57 I wanted to stop, but since I'm not a quitter, I kept reading. By page 97, it finally grabbed me and had me laughing out loud. I ended up enjoying the storyline!
November 10, 2017
Enjoyable!
It seemed that with every turn of the page there was a new adventure. The characters and the setting for this story was realistic and well-written. I definitely recommend this book. I will be looking for more by Buck Storm.
It seemed that with every turn of the page there was a new adventure. The characters and the setting for this story was realistic and well-written. I definitely recommend this book. I will be looking for more by Buck Storm.
January 30, 2020
Page Turner!
I loved this book, beginning to end! Great action, mystery, love and Jesus! It's a sweet reminder that He's with always, if we'd just stop and listen for that still small voice!
I loved this book, beginning to end! Great action, mystery, love and Jesus! It's a sweet reminder that He's with always, if we'd just stop and listen for that still small voice!
June 24, 2017
Great Book
What characters, storylines so well written. I will keep it in mind for people who need a push to follow Jesus. Thanks Mr. Storm for the book.
What characters, storylines so well written. I will keep it in mind for people who need a push to follow Jesus. Thanks Mr. Storm for the book.
February 9, 2018
Excellent book, thoroughly enjoyed it. Fun dialogue between the two main characters. I didn't want the story to end.....
June 28, 2019
An adventure soaked in beautiful imagery of the open West, stormy seas and peoples hearts.
May 22, 2023
What if Donald Westlake or Gregory MacDonald wrote about faith as well as wacky crime? That's Truck Stop Jesus. Not too preachy, with super colorful characters on both sides of the conflicts.
April 23, 2025
Another fantastic book by Buck Storm!!! I love his characters and his story has depth, humor, and character growth.
March 2, 2017
What do you want?
I enjoyed this book. The adventures of Paradise, an actress waiting for her big break, and Doc , a baseball player that lost his big break. I recommend this book. Loved the Characters well most of them. Some not so much but they were not meant to be likable. We all need to answer the question, what do we want?
I enjoyed this book. The adventures of Paradise, an actress waiting for her big break, and Doc , a baseball player that lost his big break. I recommend this book. Loved the Characters well most of them. Some not so much but they were not meant to be likable. We all need to answer the question, what do we want?
December 29, 2016
Not my usual, but couldn't put down. Hilarious read!
January 10, 2019
Trouble in Paradise
Truck Stop Jesus is a fun little novel that makes quirky fashionable thru the protagonist Paradise Jones. A little history blended in creates an interesting and plausible story. I am not really a romance reader but this one does not overwhelm and has enough adventure and mystery to keep the story moving. Fun read.
Truck Stop Jesus is a fun little novel that makes quirky fashionable thru the protagonist Paradise Jones. A little history blended in creates an interesting and plausible story. I am not really a romance reader but this one does not overwhelm and has enough adventure and mystery to keep the story moving. Fun read.
December 26, 2016
The premise sounded interesting, but I did not connect with the character. Perhaps it is because I read 3 really good books right before this one, but this book did not strike a chord with me.
February 1, 2017
Intriguing story
This was the second book by buck storm I read and he is an excellent writer. His characters are believable.
This was the second book by buck storm I read and he is an excellent writer. His characters are believable.
April 28, 2017
What an incredible hidden gem I discovered with Truck Stop Jesus. When I downloaded this from Amazon I wasn’t aware that it was considered Christian Fiction, not that it matters, but I also was not aware of what a fun and crazy adventure I was in store for! Paradise Jones is a wanna-be actress in L.A. that dresses like actresses from the old Hollywood days such as Lana Turner and Esther Williams. After her father dies and her creepy stepfather makes a pass at her, she attempts to get revenge and soon finds herself “on the lam,” fleeing L.A. Never having really known her father, she decides to head to his birthplace and her namesake, Paradise, AZ. Here she meets Doc Morales, an almost star in the Major Leagues prior to injuring his knee, his ex-rodeo star turned priest brother Jake, and a minister/cop named Paco. Between her stepfather hunting her down and the discovery of old coins, Paradise and Doc are in for a wild road trip!
Paradise was such a unique and independent character! She marched to the beat of her own drummer, dressing as she liked and able to match anyone in witty banter. Doc was appealing from the start, prompting images of Kevin Costner in Bull Durham. Burt, the gross stepfather that Paradise is running from, was just gross. The bounty hunters Hollister and Crystal started out just o.k. for me, but I ended up absolutely adoring them. Same with Lan, the old hidden Hollywood star, Doris and Hap from a tiny town along the way, Easy, Poppy, Cal, Leena, and so much more. There are no words to describe Buck Storm’s characterization. I loved everything about the story, but his character development is what really stood out. Each character was so well described and so different from each other, yet they all blended so well. This is an author that makes sure that you absolutely know all of his characters without a shadow of a doubt.
The plot was incredible and full of so many twists and turns the excitement never ended. While reading I knew that something was getting ready to happen or go wrong, yet I never knew exactly what it would be until it happened. There was non-stop action in this novel that was not overdone and did not even seem pre-meditated. I felt as if I was reading along as the author wrote, just letting things happen as they came to him.
I hate to make comparisons but Buck Storm’s characterization and storytelling remind me of James Anderson’s Never-Open Desert Diner. Every character and every action are quirky and unexpected, yet it all seems to make perfect sense. Hands down, this is my favorite read so far this year and it will forever hold a spot on my top 10 favorite books ever.
Paradise was such a unique and independent character! She marched to the beat of her own drummer, dressing as she liked and able to match anyone in witty banter. Doc was appealing from the start, prompting images of Kevin Costner in Bull Durham. Burt, the gross stepfather that Paradise is running from, was just gross. The bounty hunters Hollister and Crystal started out just o.k. for me, but I ended up absolutely adoring them. Same with Lan, the old hidden Hollywood star, Doris and Hap from a tiny town along the way, Easy, Poppy, Cal, Leena, and so much more. There are no words to describe Buck Storm’s characterization. I loved everything about the story, but his character development is what really stood out. Each character was so well described and so different from each other, yet they all blended so well. This is an author that makes sure that you absolutely know all of his characters without a shadow of a doubt.
The plot was incredible and full of so many twists and turns the excitement never ended. While reading I knew that something was getting ready to happen or go wrong, yet I never knew exactly what it would be until it happened. There was non-stop action in this novel that was not overdone and did not even seem pre-meditated. I felt as if I was reading along as the author wrote, just letting things happen as they came to him.
I hate to make comparisons but Buck Storm’s characterization and storytelling remind me of James Anderson’s Never-Open Desert Diner. Every character and every action are quirky and unexpected, yet it all seems to make perfect sense. Hands down, this is my favorite read so far this year and it will forever hold a spot on my top 10 favorite books ever.
May 16, 2017
This was a fun, easy read. A bit silly at times but with a good message. Enjoyed the ride.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews