The Bargain

One Man Stands Between a Destitute Desert Town and Supernatural Destruction

By: Aaron D. Gansky

Narrated by: Josh Goodman

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Connor Reedly will do anything to appease Nadine, his dying wife. Her cancer is voracious, relentless. So when she asks to see her sister Aida Mitchell in Hailey, California, a destitute desert town, he reluctantly agrees. When she asks him to meet Mason Becker, a friend of her sister, he unwillingly complies. Mason offers him $250,000 to write 10 articles in eight days, insinuating if Connor agrees, Nadine will be healed. Connor assumes Mason is psychotic, but it's a risk he feels he must take.

Who is Mason, really? Where did he get the money? What was the purpose of these articles? If Mason refuses to answer these questions, Connor promises to walk out on the project. It is then that Mason reveals the truth of the situation - a truth that, at first, sounds far-fetched. A truth that will shake Connor to his very core. It will capsize his deepest held convictions; it will rattle his blackest skeletons; it will threaten his very life.

©2014 Aaron Gansky (P)2014 Aaron Gansky

Wow! Was this different!

Reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah and to some degree Nineveh, Hailey, California and it’s citizens will be destroyed unless Connor Reedly, a big time reporter, accepts a bargain to write ten articles in eight days. After he interviews these citizens the articles would highlight his or her good qualities, hoping to find just 5 righteous. If he accomplished this task he would earn $250,000, the town would be spared and his wife Nadine, who is dying of cancer, would be healed. Of course he didn’t believe any of it. As a nonbeliever Connor thought Mason, the man who knew this must be done, was crazy, but as his wife's death was very near, he’d do anything if there was even a remote possibility his wife could survive.

The town of Hailey was a challenge for Connor as the stories he listened to were not particularly about righteous people. "Finding righteousness here is a lot like finding diamonds. You gotta go through the blackest coal to find them, but most of the time all you get is messy."

The town of Hailey boasted a host of characters with bent natures, idiosyncrasies and negative inclinations. Some suffered debilitating guilt and even some heroism, some wretched, some heart rending. One character was a modern day Hosea.

This book might not work for everybody due to semi-graphic stories and some violence, teen pregnancies and drug use, but the stories are realistic and God shows His hand in many of the stories. This might be more of a guy's book, but a woman with four brothers, a husband and three sons might enjoy it. 😉

The faith element in this story was refreshing. Several people were sure they were going to hell because of mistakes, and some felt the good deeds they've done earned them a place in heaven. The gospel of expected perfection from a holy God who paid a debt we never could, offered a new life in Christ through faith resulted in some unexpected fruit.

Mr. Gansky’s writing is creative and captivating. For a first book? Excellent!! I liked it.

Narrator? Excellent!

Can a compilation of misfit characters save the day?

This is a great story of the redemption of a town. Highlighted by the interrelation of the townspeople of Hailey who may be watching their town die. Personal vignettes of many of the characters reveal that there is goodness in those who seem bad. That goodness gives hope to a town that seemingly had none. A must read!

The Bargain

Very good story about how God got a hold of a reporter's soul to save a small town from destruction. A takeoff of Sodom and Gomorrah.