“What Beauty There Is” by Cory Anderson was an excellent, fast-paced thriller about small town, rural crime and the clutches of poverty.

Jack Morton’s dad is in prison for stealing money from meth dealers, but the money was never found. His mom, addicted to opiates, and he is only responsible person left to take care of his younger brother. Their money is drying up and he does the last thing he’s ever wanted to do, go see his dad in prison to get information for where the money is hidden.

Ava Bardem, a 17-year-old schoolmate of Jack’s is drawn to him after he stands up to a bully in her defense. What Jack isn’t aware of is that her controlling and cold father, Victor is after the same money. Jack and Ava’s unlikely pairing becomes a perfect storm in their unsuspecting lives of a horrifying terror.

This novel by Anderson was non-stop action, with Jack as narrator, but every chapter opened with a brief perspective of Ava looking back in retrospection. This was a very entertaining book with great character development and descriptive scene setting.

I really enjoyed this book.

Get a copy of “What Beauty There Is” by Cory Anderson from Amazon here.