Full Measure-and brother's bonds

     Okay readers, I just completed reading Full Measure, a new novel due out in the coming fall  by T. Jefferson Parker. Fantastic read! Patrick is a marine recently home from his deployment in Afghanistan, and expected by his family to help run their avocado growing operation,

and take over the helm from his aging father. Unfortunately, upon his arrival he learns that a fire in the town has destroyed much of the crop's trees and it is going to be a long battle to save any of the farm. While trying to adjust back to civilian life, Patrick is also tasked with overseeing his brother, who looks up to Patrick, and continually keeps getting himself into trouble with people in the town, especially the mayor. When it turns out that the fire was deliberately set, suspicion sets in and Patrick's brother winds up being in the middle of the firestorm. His brother buys a gun and begins hanging out with the local white supremacists in the town, while looking up to Patrick, taking his stories of battle as his own. The novel is a fast paced read, and I think really helps the reader to understand from Patrick's perspective the anxiety and stress that faces soldiers returning to life after serving in battle. Along with illustrating the problems that farmers can face with banks, crop failures, and investments, the novel is truly about family, and the bonds that holds families together. 

Full Measure, T. Jefferson Parker, St Martin's Press, New York. October 2014. Isbn: 978-1-4668-5299-0