"The Breakthrough" is the third of the "Precinct 11" series of novels by popular Christian author Jerry B. Jenkins. This series features Boone Drake, the head of the Chicago Police Department's Major Case Squad. In this story, Boone Drake, who has already having lost a wife and son in a previous tragedy, now must deal with the kidnapping of his newly adopted son which occurs just after his new wife is rushed to the hospital in a coma with a life threatening head injury. So this is certainly a book which reminds you of the age old question of "why do bad things happen to good people?".

It was a nice story of a loving husband and father dealing with and overcoming adversity and apprehending the kidnappers, but to me it was more about the moral than a truly realistic, believable crime story. It just wasn't my preferred style of book, however I would recommend it to readers of Tim LaHaye, Joel Rosenberg, etc and those who seek and enjoy a Christian emphasis in their readings. ( )

After years of turmoil Boone seems to be back on track.

Precinct 11 Book III

I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS BOOK, FREE, IN EXCHANGE FOR ME HONEST OPINION.
I AM NOT SURE HOW JENKINS MANAGES TO DRAG ME TO THE EDGE OF MY SEAT TIME AND AGAIN, BUT HER DOES. HE DOES IT IN SUCH A WAY THAT I DIDN’T REALIZE HOW CLOSE TO THE EDGE I WAS –UNTIL I ALMOST FELL (FIGURATIVELY NOT LITERALLY ;)). IT’S NOT THE WRITING, WHILE IT IS WELL- WRITTEN, IT’S SIMPLE. SOMETIMES IT’S THE PATTERNS OF THE WORDS. ADJECTIVES AND THE SCENERY CAN CAUSE YOU TO GET LOST IN A BOOK. BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT PULLS YOU IN THE BREAKTHROUGH; IT GOES STRAIGHT FOR THE HEART. IT’S THAT MOMENT YOU RELEASE A BREATH NOT REALIZING THAT YOU’VE BEEN HOLDING IT.
BOONE DRAKE IS BACK AND ONE AGAIN TRAGEDY STRIKES. THIS TIME HE FACES SOMETHING I’M SURE HE NEVER THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE TO –HUMAN TRAFFICKING. AT THIS POINT, I HAVE TO SAY THIS IS WHERE MIXED FEELINGS BEGIN TO DEVELOP. HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS A VERY REAL ISSUE THAT IS OCCURRING RIGHT NOW ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES, AS WELL AS IN OTHER COUNTRIES. I DON’T LIKE THE WAY THAT THIS ISSUE WAS DEALT WITH IN THIS BOOK. IT WAS GLOSSED OVER, LOOKING BACK IT FEELS THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING WAS ONLY A VEHICLE TO GET BOONE FROM POINT A TO POINT B. (IT IS THE VEHICLE, BUT ANYTHING COULD HAVE BEEN THE VEHICLE. BUT I GUESS WHAT I’M SAYING IS THAT KID GLOVES WERE USED WHEN ADULT GLOVES WERE NECESSARY. ) I AM NOT SURE IF I’M SAYING THIS CORRECTLY, SO LET’S JUST SAY THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING PART DIDN’T SIT WELL WITH ME. ALSO, BOONE’S ABILITY TO JUST PICK UP AND GO AFTER WASN’T VERY REALISTIC. OTHER THAN THESE BITS, I DID ENJOY THIS BOOK.
THE SCARIEST THING FOR A PARENT IS TO REALIZE THAT A STRANGERS HAS TAKEN THEIR KID. WHAT ARE THE ODDS THAT THIS WOULD HAPPEN WHEN ONE PARENT IS FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIFE? I’M NOT SURE, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT CATASTROPHIC TRAGEDIES FIND THEIR WAY TO BOONE. HOW MUCH CAN A PERSON TAKE? BOONE FACES BOTH TRAGEDIES HEAD ON AND PUTS HIS HEAD IN THE GAME. HE PUSHES HIS EMOTIONS ASIDE SO THAT HE CAN DO WHAT HE DOES BEST – FOCUS ON THE DETAILS. YEP, BOONE GOES AFTER THE BAD GUYS AND ALL THE WHILE HE STILL LEANS ON HIS FAITH. OUT OF THE THREE BOOKS IN THE PRECINCT 11 SERIES, THIS IS THE MOST UNREALISTIC ONE. BUT I STILL ENJOYED IT AND STILL THINK IT’S WORTH CHECKING OUT. THE BEGINNING, NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, THE POINT BEFORE EVERYTHING STARTED UNRAVELING ARE MY FAVORITE MOMENTS.
AFTER IT STARTED UNFOLDING, I WAS DRAWN MORE TO BOONE’S SUPPORT SYSTEM. CO-WORKERS COMING TOGETHER. FRIENDS STEPPING UP. I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN JACK KELLER THIS TIME AROUND. I AM RELIEVED THAT JENKINS DIDN’T DO A CLICHÉD “BOW-ON-TOP” ENDING.

RECOMMENDATION: I STILL BELIEVE THAT THIS BOOK IS WORTH CHECKING OUT, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY FANS.
3 STARS *** ( )

This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/2012/08/the-breakthrough-by-jerry-b-jenkins.h...: Boone Drake is the youngest bureau chief in the history of the Chicago PD.Boone now has a new wife (Haeley) and a stepson named Max. Boone's life is finally settled, and his faith is steadfast, but he seems to continually peer around the corner, waiting for something bad to happen. He has already experienced more tragedy than most, and, with his faith sorely tested, I can almost understand how and why he finds himself unable to simply accept the good turn his life has taken.Trouble once again strikes close to home, and Boone is drawn to China in the hopes of untangling one small boy from a band of human traffickers.Opinion: "The Breakthrough" is the last in the Precinct 11 trilogy. I somehow missed "The Betrayal" (the second in the series), but DID read and review "The Brotherhood", the opening book of the series. I wish I HAD read the second book, because I definitely felt its lack while I was reading this novel. It would have been nice to have more background written into this one, especially since many of us find ourselves picking up a title out-of-sequence, and knowing what happened before is always helpful. In my case, knowing what happened before usually makes me want to go out and buy the previous title(s).I enjoyed the action in this one once Boone was in China, but felt that the China adventure was ended rather abruptly.I was slightly disappointed in this one - other than the action scenes, it felt rather flat and one-dimensional. For a reader new to the series, the characters would also likely fall flat, as we don't get a rounded look at them in this novel. I can't be certain, but I think that my experience with "The Brotherhood" is likely the only thing that kept me reading "The Breakthrough".Writing: 3 out of 5 starsPlot: 3 out of 5 starsCharacters: 3 out of 5 starsReading Immersion: 3.5 out 5 starsBOOK RATING: 3.25 out of 5 starsSensitive Reader: No problems with this oneBook Clubs: Iffy; I always think that the best books for book clubs are ones that provide lines of discussion not just about the book itself, but about themes within the book as well. Some of the themes that I think this book might open up: How does a Christian maintain a relationship with a non-Christian without stepping away from the tenets of their faith? The age-old: Why DOES God allow bad things to happen to good people? Maybe even a discussion about human trafficking. ( )