Hold Strong by Robert Dugoni, Jeff Langholz and Chris Crabtree - Review
I am a huge FAN of Robert Dugoni! I am always enthralled by his work; his series (Tracy Crosswhite, David Sloane, Charles Jenkins and Keera Duggan) and his stand-out stand-alone novels. He is an exceptionally talented author with such a wide-ranging talent and skillset it defies my reality. For anyone, like me, who wishes they could write, Robert is the gold standard.
This month's review is Hold Strong written with co-authors, Jeff Langholz and Chris Crabtree. To my thinking, Robert and his partners have more than reached that gold standard bar. This book is such an exceptional work, I find myself in the same position as with Robert's book, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, I'm recommending it to every reader I know, posting it on social media, and talking about it until my friends and family are beyond tired of hearing me gab on and on . . . Nevertheless, I'm going to drone on a bit more in this review of what may make my Best of 2025 list!
First, I must say "thank you" to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC of Hold Strong. These two small words are simply inadequate to the priceless piece of work that Dugoni, Langholz and Crabtree have produced. However, thank you it is along with my review.
I have read many of Robert Dugoni's books, both his series and stand-alones. Without sounding like a crazed fan or a virtual stalker, I must admit I await his new books with all the patience I can muster. Not much! This book, Hold Strong, kind of snuck up on me and my brother read it before I had the chance. His one sentence response was, "I liked it, but it's not my favorite." I think The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell holds that place in his heart. So Hold Strong languished on my TBR for longer than it might have otherwise. However, over the course of five days, I placed myself in the boots/shoes of Sam and Sarah while reading this book. Great is the most inadequate, over-used, lacking word I can find to describe the experience, but it was all that and "a bag of chips" as they used to say.
I have read a lot of historical fiction about WWII. In fact, I recently read another book about this same time and events (the Bataan Death March), The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee, which I felt was a superlative work on these horrific events. While both were clearly done with great attention to detail and a monumental amount of research, Hold Strong was the stronger (no pun intended) book, in my opinion. I have never seen a book so carefully and completely annotated as this one. It gives a level of authenticity and credibility sometimes lacking in other pieces of historical fiction.
The pre-war story of Sam and Sarah, their war efforts and contributions were depicted with heart and reality. Neither was spared attention when the spotlight turned to their point of view. I enjoyed both perspectives. I also felt very connected to Sam's tank and POW compatriots. They all got the attention their service and, in some cases, deaths deserved. Each held their own in the book and all of them were heroes!
The depictions of Sam and his fellow POW's, the treatment and torture they endured may be hard for some readers, but we need to to keep our eyes wide open to their stories. Dugoni, Langholz, and Crabtree reminded me of this quote:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” attributed to Spanish-born American philosopher George Santayana.
I applaud all three of you, Mr. Dugoni, Mr. Langholz, and Mr. Crabtree for a job well done on what is clearly an underrepresented field of battle during WWII. Pat on the back, to Robert Dugoni, once again for a job well done. He keeps going to his well of talent and sharing the wealth with us.
If you are looking for what may become one of the best of 2025 or perhaps years going forward, don't hesitate to pick up this book. I'm not going to give you a money back guarantee, but I will say you won't be disappointed.
Great take on an exciting, and excellent book.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a bookclub that really likes historical fiction (not my preferred genre), and this book sounds like it might really work for me. I like the Tracy Crosswhite series alot, and I also prefer fact-based historical fiction, so your review is very helpful!
ReplyDeleteYou might also enjoy Dugoni’s Keera Duggan Series. I like them even better than Tracy’s.
Delete