Review of Cold Crash
On Sunday, 26 August I did a reading in my home town Kannapolis, North Carolina. Stan Carpenter of the Independent Tribune reviewed my book and came to the reading. It can be read here: http://www.independenttribune.com/community/northwest-cabarrus-graduate-s-first-book-a-hit/article_45c1a69b-957f-5eb9-96a3-a19fb9709e71.html, although it isn't accessible from Europe. The text of the article is below.
Northwest Cabarrus graduate’s first book a hit
Stan Carpenter/Special to the Independent Tribune Sep 2, 2018 Updated 2 hrs ago
Cold Crash
By Jennifer Young
Many great authors of mysteries and historically accurate novels have came out of the
mountains of western North Carolina and now Jennifer Young of Kannapolis seems poised to
enter this club while representing the Piedmont .
Jennifer is a University of North Carolina graduate who lives in London where she teaches
creative writing. Her debut novel, Cold Crash, is now available.
The book, a historically accurate telling of England in the post war years of the 1950s centers
around her main character Maxine, a young lady who still mourns the loss of her brother, a
pilot in the Korean War. The main character is an Anglo-American, her mother being a U.S.
citizen.
Jennifer, the author, does a credible job of creating the details of upper crust London returning
to more normal times. She gives us a look into a family losing a child to war while trying to
proceed in life, an enormous challenge for anyone. Maxine, an attractive and independent
woman, leads a busy life as a well educated archeologist and pilot. Within the novel the writer
has interwoven a couple of back stories that keeps you wanting to turn the page.
The novel takes you throughout the United Kingdom with detail and vivid description. Whether
it be describing the moors of England or the stark beauty of Scotland, or even describing ladies
fashions in the early 1950s the author does a wonderful job of painting pictures with words.
The cold war truly began in The U.K. with Russian spies and espionage being part of life in the
U.K. and the character nds herself being in a dangerous and possibly life threatening position
after inadvertently hearing a conversation being spoken in Russian. Max discovers a plot that
possibly threatens the Homeland, the details of which I'll leave the reader to discover.
Interestingly, to this reader this first book leaves an opening for the author to write a
subsequent book as a sequel or possibly as a series.
No good mystery tale would be complete without a brewing romance and we see that being
established in this rst novel. There's plenty of detail and action aplenty whether it be below
the sea in Max's archaeological pursuits, in the air above the United Kingdom, or the streets of
London I believe this book is worth a read.
Young appeared in Kannapolis on Sunday, Aug. 26, at Kimball Lutheran Church for a reading
from Cold Crash and to sign books. Jennifer, a graduate of Northwest Cabarrus High School
says she devoted ve years to the writing of this novel.
The historical accuracy of Cold Crash was made possible through utilizing her husband’s
training as an archeologist and her own through research. The event was attended by about 45
people many of them clutching copies of the reviewed book. One of the attendees was Pam
Brawley, Jennifer's 12th grade English teacher at Northwest. She said she was excited to see
one of her students doing so well. This book is presently available from Amazon.
Stan Carpenter is a retired executive from a large industrial firm. He lives in Cabarrus County.