Sutter's Cross by Dale Cramer

I now have read several of Cramer's books, but this was the first one he wrote. It is the story of several people who live in the small town of Sutter's Cross, Georgia, in the Appalachian mountains in modern times. The author goes to great lengths to describe the town and the people. Some of the people are go-getters with an agenda, while others are old-timers who want things to stay as they are. Web Holcombe is a man with an agenda to change the town to make it more tourist-friendly and to increase his own worth, while Jake and his wife Jenny just want to live life as it comes, without many changes. When Harley, a drifter, appears on the scene, everyone takes notice. The story centers around these three, but there are many others who have a part in this story.

This book was harder for me to read because of the many people and changes. Each chapter was about a new person until all had been introduced, then it told about the nuances of each person's life as it moved along, ponderously at times, it seemed to me.

It took me a while to get into this one because of the many different personalities, but I began to relate to them, and when I was finished I was glad I had stayed with it until the end, where it became more exciting and I could hardly turn the pages fast enough.

If you choose to read this book, be prepared for some exciting experiences as well as some heart-breaking ones. Dale Cramer did a marvelous when he wrote Sutter's Cross. I think he must have had to have a master plan to keep everything straight. It all ended well, thanks to his ingenious mind.