The Grace of Guilt

by Gareth Young

When fifteen-year-old Jessica Jackson’s crush on her pastor's son leads to rape, she finds herself pregnant and alone, rejected by both family and church as an unrepentant sinner. And when fellow-church member, Simon Cassell’s homosexual relationship with his high school friend is discovered, he is beaten by his father and ostracized. Meanwhile, middle-aged Dwight Cook is struggling with the economic failure of his business, the town hardware store, with estrangement from his wife and oldest son, and with uncontrollable lust for a female employee half his age.

The outcasts’ struggles with underserved guilt intensify when a lynching brings the FBI to the rural North Carolina town and both church and family members are implicated, and when a tormented loved one commits suicide.

The Grace of Guilt follows the destruction of three families and their quests for redemption, and examines the old prejudice of the new South.

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 30, 2009

Reviews

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.
This book pulled me in from the very first page. At first I was a little unsure of what I got myself into when it had a lot of preachiness in it but as the story progressed I began to see the necessity of that in order for the story to unfold the way it did. I really liked how the author had all of the characters in the story interwoven in the story. I felt like I was in that town watching all that was going on with these families. I found myself thinking that some of the happenings were not real believable because of the cultish type religion and backwoods thinking, but then realized that this could very well happen and probably has somewhere!

The only part that I felt was kind of an after thought to throw in and didn't find necessary in the story was the involvement of the one FBI agent at the end of the story. I didn't feel that it brought anything to the story and the story could have had just as nice an ending without that addition.

[Larry Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace of Guilt is a gripping, thought-provoking story of sinners cast out of their small, Southern community by an unyielding local pastor but who ultimately find redemption and acceptance among themselves, imperfect souls whose compassion and grace elevates their religious experience beyond the dogmatic teachings of the Church. The characters are fully-developed and defy stereotype, flawed yet sympathetic and well-meaning, like most of us. The rich plot is laden with jarring images of religious bigotry and hate but in the end leaves the reader marveling at the healing power of faith. Gareth Young pulls no punches in this courageous, engaging novel.

[Laura Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review posted on Amazon

[Britney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will not be reading this again.