A huge thank you to Manic Readers and to Jenie P who did the review.          

Manic Readers Review (4.5 of 5 stars)

                    Cathedral Street

                       by L J Hippler

Three brothers grow up in a dysfunctional and abusive environment.   Each has their own personality and their cruel, abusive father affects each one differently.  Their protector is gone when their mother dies at a young age.  The brothers manage to grow up and get out of their father’s house.  They build lives for themselves even though the effect of the abuse follows them throughout their daily lives.  Jerry joins the military and becomes a pastor.  Buddy becomes a husband and father but has a secret that haunts him.  Tommy never quite overcomes the loss of his mother.  The cruelty of the father prevents the boys from having caring relationships but also serves as the bond that ties them together. 

Cathedral Street is a well written book with a lot of character development.  The characters are affected differently by their childhood upbringing.  The destructive actions of Jarvis carries through to the lives of his children.  This gives the reader a realistic view regarding how abuse affects people differently.  I enjoyed the book but the ending was unexpected.  It appears there will be another book to follow and I will be anxious to read it.