Jameel McGee lives in Benton Harbor, a backwards, crime-ridden town in Michigan. Located across the water from a ritzy white tourist town, Benton Harbor is inhabited primarily by blacks and is policed by an almost entirely white force. Racial tension is high in the town, but Jameel's greatest wish is to open a car wash in a nearby area and put his exceptional work ethic to good use. Unfortunately, he also has a penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in several arrests despite doing absolutely nothing wrong. When Jameel's ex-girlfriend contacts him to bring over the son he's never gotten to see, he rushes to the grocery store to stock up on supplies to make a good impression. Because of his record, he's unable to drive himself and hitches a ride with a cousin who happened to be going the same way. Unbeknownst to him, his cousin had set up a drug deal and was delivering the goods. When he comes out of the store, he's immediately approached by Officer Andrew Collins, who accuses him of setting up the deal. Despite blatant evidence to the contrary, Jameel is arrested and charged with drug possession with intent to distribute. Shocked that he's managed to get himself into yet another situation like this, Jameel fights back against the charges, but the false testimony of the corrupt cop and the biased judicial system result in a 10 year stay in federal prison, all for a crime he didn't commit. He won't get to see his son and he certainly won't be able to open a car wash now. Angry and hurt at the injustice, Jameel swore that if he ever saw Collins again, he'd kill him. While in prison, though, Jameel underwent a serious transformation; he found God, and with it, he lost a lot of the hate he harbored towards Officer Collins. After serving 3 years of his 10 year sentence and being told that all of his appeals had been rejected, Jameel is released from prison.
Andrew Collins always knew that he wanted to be a police officer, and that's exactly what he did. When he graduated from the police academy, he submitted dozens of resumes but eventually ended up in Benton Harbor. With all of the drug activity in the town, Officer Collins saw an opportunity to gain his peers' respect, so he made it his goal to take down the big names on the street. Somewhere along the way, a case came up where he had to make a decision; lie to incriminate someone he knew was guilty or let them go free. Believing the ends justified the means, he chose to tell a little white lie. Once he had done it the first time, it became easier and easier to twist the truth to get bad people off the streets. Before he knew what was happening, he was embezzling money meant for confidential informants, keeping drugs from busts to plant on suspects, lying to obtain search warrants, and falsifying reports. With this newfound power, it was easy to label Jameel McGee as a major drug lord, even without evidence tying him to the actual drugs. But he had promised an arrest that day, and there was going to be one whether there was a guilty party or not. After this incident, things started going south for Officer Collins; his stash of drugs was found by a superior and the falsified reports were brought into question. As if that wasn't bad enough, his partner in crime threw him under the bus to save his own skin. Now, instead of taking bad guys off the street, Andrew is a bad guy, one facing serious charges and a lengthy prison term. Thanks to months of cooperation with the FBI, he spends only 18 months in prison, but his case has another side-effect; the charges against people arrested by Andrew are dropped, resulting in the early release of Jameel McGee.
When Andrew and Jameel next meet, a lot of things have happened. Andrew has gotten involved with a local church and now holds a regular day job, going home every day to his wife and daughter. After 3 years in prison, Jameel has had to start over, struggling with finding a job thanks to his record, but more involved in his son's life. The situation comes to a head when they encounter each other at a local church function. Jameel remembers the promise he made while he was still in prison and struggles to give the situation over to God. Andrew prepares himself for a beating when the unthinkable happens; Jameel and his son walk away. After this, life moves unexpectedly for both men. Soon, Jameel is homeless and unable to work and Andrew is the manager at a cafe run by the church. As they both struggle to define their new lives, they find themselves being drawn together in miraculous ways. Guided by the power of God and forgiveness, the two men are able to come to terms with their past and each other.
I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in return for an honest review. Even though this really isn't in my normal vein of reading, I found this to be a roller coaster ride from start to finish. The blurb on the back says it all: "It reads like a gripping crime novel... except this story really happened". The novel honestly addresses the racial and power divides in towns like Benton Harbor and demonstrates how faith can bridge even the greatest gaps. I love how the chapters alternate between Jameel's and Andrew's narratives because you get to see both sides of the story. It did seem to drag on a little sometimes, but being that it's a narrative, I guess that's not totally unexpected. Overall, this was a great, motivational read!
Pros:
- Intense, thrilling read
- Based on a true story
- Demonstrates the life-changing power of faith
- Sometimes a little too much detail
- Emotional roller coaster (not necessarily bad, but here we are)
- I can't actually think of another con, so I'll just make it look like there's something here
