T. P. Jones

My Synopsis:

The Gamble (Loss of Certainty series - Book 2) by T.P. Jones

(For review from Phenix Publicity)

The town of Jackson, Iowa has lost a lot. One of the major industries in the area has closed the meat-packing plant that provided many jobs for Jackson's townspeople. They are relying on bringing in new industry and the new dog track that is being constructed to revitalize their community and get them back on track. Unfortunately, the reputation of their town has come to the attention of the country as well as future investors. Jackson's new mayor, El Plowman has decided to try to "recruit" young black executives to move to Jackson in order to promote racial harmony. But, this obviously isn't what most of the citizens of Jackson want.

The town's museum created a wonderful exhibit to honor the life of a black man in the community, but the exhibit was destroyed by vandals, brining up the long held views of a lot of the townspeople. Prejudice is alive and well in Jackson. Now, the mayor has decided to allow more contractors to bid on jobs for the dog track and unexpectedly a black contractor wins the bid. There are signs of trouble amongst the workers as they gear up for their new co-workers to begin. A famous Klu Klux Klan member will be speaking in Jackson and their is unrest in every corner.

In the midst of all the trouble, the city workers in Jackson continue to try to make their community work. To try to bring them together. But, are they only making matters worse? Will the dog track project see trouble with the new contractor? Will El's bid for mayor be successful? Will the spring floods threaten to destroy everything they've worked for? Is it all just a gamble?

My Thoughts:

At 500 pages, The Gamble is the second in a series of books about a small mid-western community, called Jackson. Author T.P. Jones has created the Loss of Certainty series to chronicle the struggle of the cities workers as they go about their lives and business of making the community survive and thrive. They have gone through the devastation of losing one of their top industries the meat-packing plant in the first book, Jackson. Now in the second book, The Gamble they face the ugly truth of racism in their community.

I know there a many small towns in the U.S. where this type of thing probably still goes on. The town I live in is small but we do have a University and that has provided us with a more diversified community. I am thankful that in my life time I have not had to see this type of mentality. One of the things that I found interesting in the way the author dealt with this subject was the idea that people can be prejudice and not even realize it or acknowledge it unless something happens to bring it to the forefront.

This novel is not what I would consider a stand alone book. At the end of the novel you are still left wondering what is going to happen to the town and the characters. But, there is an advantage to that, because you really look forward to that next book coming out so you can find out what happens. The characters in the book, were very well developed, you were able to see into their hearts almost. To see their losses of their own certainty in their lives. I liked this book a lot.

The Gamble is available now at your favorite bookseller.

I give this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!… (mere)

In this book, which is the 2nd in The Loss Of Certainty Series, the town is trying to recover from the meat packing plant fiasco. The townspeople aren't to happy that the chosen contractor of the dog track project is a black man. This causes much racism and the destruction of an exhibit at the museum that honors one of the few black members of the community. Tensions are already at an all time high, but now they threaten to destroy what is left of the town.

This book shows the destruction racism can cause. It doesn't matter where you come from or the color of your skin, we all need a place to live and a job to support our families. Racism is a very ugly thing.

I love the way the author makes the story so real. You know these people, you can visualize what they look like and can see the town. I loved this book as much if not more than the first one and can't wait to read the third and final book in this series.… (mere)

This is fiction at it's best. How many large businesses in the small towns across America are facing bankruptcy? This could be about your town. The characters are everyday hardworking people who are feeling the stresses of a declining economy and who face losing everything they own.

The book is long which I usually don't like, but I feel every page was needed to get the full impact of the message. The author did a huge amount of research for this book and his effort paid off. This is a very easy book to read because of the authors writing style, it seems like a much shorter book because you are so engrossed in what's going on, the time flies and before you know it you're at the end.

I highly recommend this series.… (mere)

Few would argue that American workers are facing a crisis of confidence today - or as T.P. Jones puts it, a “loss of certainty.” That jobs are disappearing is beyond dispute; layoffs and terminations can be easily counted and their staggering number makes national headlines every week. It is, however, more difficult for the average worker to buy into the government’s claims about the number of new jobs being created or saved during the same week that so many jobs have been lost. There is just too great a feeling of “smoke and mirrors” involved, especially when it comes to the easily manipulated “jobs saved” category.

"Jackson," book one in the "Loss of Certainty" trilogy, personalizes today’s economic headlines by placing the reader inside the heads of a group of Midwesterners who have spent their entire working lives at JackPack, one of Jackson, Iowa’s biggest businesses. The Jackson Meatpacking Company employs some 2,000 Jackson citizens who do the backbreaking work of slaughtering several thousands hogs a day and, tough as the job might be, most of them cannot imagine ever doing anything else. But times are changing.

Jackson Meatpacking’s physical plant is old and rundown and no one will loan the company the money it needs to modernize the facility. The company is already facing a slow death when its management suddenly learns that a fierce and well-funded competitor is moving into the region and will be buying hogs from the same farms counted on by Jackson Meatpacking for its own supply of healthy animals. As hog prices inevitably rise because of this new competition, JackPack’s daily losses will increase, and the company will be pushed ever closer to the day it has to shut its doors for good.

But no one is ready to pull the plug on the company, least of all its employees and the man who runs it. That man is the grandson of Jackson Meatpacking’s founder and, because most company stock is still in the hands of his relatives, he has a very personal stake in the success of the operation. Even at that, he is not the only one with everything to lose if the company shuts down, meaning that a very different group of people will have to find a way to work together if JackPack is to have any chance of surviving. This time the inherent distrust between white collars, blue collars and union leaders will have to be cast aside for the good of all. Add to this mix a young investigative reporter new to Jackson and the vindictive newspaper publisher who hired her for reasons of his own, and it is anyone’s bet as to what Jackson Meatpacking’s ultimate fate will be.

"Jackson" includes an interesting side plot involving the construction of a dog racing track that must largely be built during the coldest months of a long Iowa winter. This side story involves city managers, construction people, and numerous other characters that I suspect will play larger roles in the second book of the "Loss of Certainty" series.

T.P. Jones did an extraordinary amount of research in preparation for "Jackson" and the books that will follow, and it shows. His characters are everyday, real people faced with uncertain futures and they react to the stress of their situations just as hardworking people all across America are reacting to their own uncertain futures today. At almost 540 pages, "Jackson" is a long but easily read book because Jones uses a very fluid and straightforward style to tell his story, a story to which his readers will strongly relate.

Rated at: 4.0… (mere)