Stray by Mark Matthews***

Hey everyone, sorry for the million reviews, I just want to get to these before I forget.

This one is another ebook I recieved on my Kindle.

Stray by Mark Matthews

Publisher: Unknown

Release Date: December 2, 2010

Pages: Unknown

Ages: 18+

Genre: Drug Addiction

Series: none

Therapist Tomas Cleaves is many years sober from his addiction but is now losing his mind. He is sure that the addicts he treats must have infected the womb of his wife. Add to that the occasional seizure and voices in his head, he may be more unstable than any of his clients. And with clients like Jason Boston Senior, the Ancient Heroin Wizard, who moves about the city's underground like the Merlin of smack. Tom is in desperate need of a client who can give him some hope. James White is one such client-a newly orphaned alcoholic bent on drinking again until he finds himself rescuing lost strays at the next door animal shelter. It is here that he meets the mystical nurse and animal control worker Rachel. Rachel cleans cages, rescues strays, but then has the unfortunate duty of putting some to sleep with a lethal injection. Can James escape his despondent life by helping her rescue the throw-away pets of the city? Follow the cast of characters through dog fighting dens, crack houses, abandoned farms, and experience the minds and hearts of addicts and those who would help them through a world where stray dogs and heroin addicts are killed by needles everyday. Stray illustrates the universal longing in all of us as we wander through the aid stations of society looking for a place that feels like home.

Whooo, sorry for the super long synopsis, I always write down the synopsis from either Amazon or the back of the book, this was from Amazon.

Anyways, I really enjoyed this book. It's been a few months since I've read it so I'm not crystal clear on all the details.

I did quite enjoy the characters though and how the author took the reader on this journey that not many get to go on. I was drawn to the cover when I first saw it. Not the cover I have shown you, the original one. The one I first saw on Amazon was of a young man, he looked to be maybe 20-25 and he had a needle in his hand. I thought that was very interesting. I don't have much experience with drugs or drug addicts, and I always enjoy reading about subjects I know nothing about so that I may learn and hear other people's aspects of certain events.

My favorite character in this book was Rachel. I'm a huge huge huge animal lover (I have 2 chihuahuas and 1 retriever mix myself) and I just loved the scenes that were set in the animal shelter. And I really felt her pain when she had to euthanize these poor poor creatures that did nothing wrong other then be around these horrible people that use and abuse these animals. I really don't know how people can handle euthanizing them, they must be so strong.

Overall, I highly recommend this story, although I don't recommend it for kids under 18 due to the graphic nature of the drug use and slight sex scenes from what I remember.

*Sidenote: I spoke with the author and he has just released a new book. It isn't a sequel to this one, but it sounds interesting none the less. It is called The Jade Rabbit. It is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

**Side Sidenote lol I found the original cover on Google images... enjoy! Also, there will be a new version of Stray that is "re-edited and polished a bit" and should be uploaded by Sept 15, 2011. Definetly go and check it out if you have a chance!

Isn't that such an interesting cover that just draws you in??