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Pabby and Shae, teens with special needs, hoping to expand their experience outside Footprints of Hope foster care center arrive at Prairie Winds Golf Course on the east side of St. Louis.

Innocence and youthful enthusiasm get caught in an undercurrent of sinister events. Civil injustice prompted by an unethical attorney arrives in the form of a bogus insurance claim. Alcohol and greed taint a dishonest judge. An Internet dating site feeds an affair. Shady police work attempts to stain the reputation of head pro, J Dub Schroeder. As the court spins out of control an ethics board investigation and
an edgy game of instant messaging tempt the hands of fate.

Savant-like tendencies, dementia and flying falcons intertwine with Native American customs, thoroughbred racing and a trip up the river road to Lighthouse Point.
A retired barrister hints about a corrupt underground society. Can revealing a dark secret settle PABBY’S SCORE?

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2012

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About the author

James Ross

141 books119 followers
I'm a cancer survivor who had something to say. One story has become several novels from fictitious Prairie Winds Golf Course high atop the Mississippi river bluffs just east of St. Louis.

My stories are character-based with the genre being realistic fiction. My writing style utilizes the use of dialogue from an eclectic cast of characters. Aside from the recurring regulars roughly 20 new personalities are introduced per story.

There will be a Midwestern flavor, solid themes, social issues, and a few lessons in life learned from the golf course which reflect my roots.

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Kathleen.
1,410 reviews35 followers
May 14, 2012
In the latest installment of what's happening at Prairie Winds Golf Course, the quirky golfers welcome two special needs teenagers, Pabby and Shae, along with their caretakers Aieshia and Carla. The golf course is participating in a summer youth program, "Teens In Need," in association with the Footprints of Hope orphanage. Pabby and Shae are borderline autistic with savant tendencies (the ability to memorize and recite facts). The intention of the summer program is to attempt to socialize the teens with the public. Both Pabby and Shae have special abilities: Pabby knows everything about animals, but he is scared of little animals; and Shae knows everything about geography (state info). The golfers welcome and interact with the teens and their caretakers, they even teach Pabby how to read horse racing forms!

The summer proves to have some interesting events happening on the east side of St. Louis. The owners of the golf course, brothers JW (J Dub) and Curt Schroeder are sued by Frankie "Booby Tat" Mastralacci and his shyster attorney, Tanner Atkins, who make a bogus negligence claim against them. An ethics complaint has been filed against the attorney's firm: Atkins, Blum and Charles, and the Illinois ARDC (Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission) is investigating them for ethic violations in an estate case. Meanwhile, Pam Porter, the administrator of Footprints of Hope orphanage is having an affair with Farley Bend, an elected 4th District Alderman on the orphanage's grounds, while her husband, Judge Buchanan Porter engages in unethical (partial) behavior in his court decisions and is friendly with the law firm.

So come inside Prairie Winds Golf Club and see what happens next in Pabby's Score!

Pabby's Score is a humorous sports fiction novel that has an interesting mixture of suspense and drama. This entertaining storyline has subplots that are intriguingly interwoven and provides a lot of twists and turns that engage the reader as they turn the pages. This is definitely a very busy novel, but it is fast-paced and easy to keep up with. There are a lot of characters, I had to write their names down so I could remember who was who, but I must say that the author does give the readers quirky characters that are just plain fun to get to know. I really enjoyed getting to know the lovable golfers: Capt. Jer, Dr DV, Lemuel, YouWho, Scottie, Fred, BT, Elia, Paul, Paco, Pork Chop, Uncle Woo; and the golf course owners and staff: J Dub, Curt, Julie and Bow Tye. The characters' antics are very entertaining, their dialogue will keep you laughing. I really loved how they welcomed and embraced Pabby, Shae, Aieshia and Carla into their little group.

Within the pages of Pabby's Score, the author provides a wide range of social issues to keep the readers engaged: special needs children, dementia, alcoholism, greed and corruption in the police and justice system, lurid affairs and internet dating services. I was intrigued with this author's writing style, the social issues were like puzzle pieces that when woven together provided a really fascinating puzzle of a story.

Pabby's Score is the fifth novel in the Prairie Winds Golf Course series, but each novel can stand alone. I found this novel to be an entertaining read, I will have to go back and read the first four novels in the series! I would recommend Pabby's Score to anyone who likes to read sports fiction with a twist of mystery and suspense!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event.

Virtual Book Tour Event: On Monday, May 14, 2012, in association with Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Publicity Tours, author James Ross participated in a virtual book tour event with an Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews. http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
271 reviews3 followers
April 3, 2012
This is the first book I read from Mr. James Ross, and definitely will not be the last. In a very well written book, Mr. Ross creates a rich environment, full of characters that you learn to love during the development of the story. The plot of this story is simple and easy to follow. Two special-need teenagers (Pabby and Shae) are hanging around at Prairie Wind Golf Course, part of a summer youth program in an attempt to learn how to socialize (they are autistic at a certain level). The regulars at the golf course interact with them and their caretakers (Carla and Aiesha). They have special abilities. Shae knows every information related to countries, states etc and Pabby knows everything about animals, although he is very afraid of the small ones. During their stay at the golf club, some events happened. An unethical attorney tries to sue the owner of the golf course (J.W.Schroeder) claiming his client got hurt while playing golf there. To make things worst, the administrator of the orphanage where Pabby and Shae live is the wife of a judge that has questionable behavior, being not impartial when dealing with cases from our unethical attorney's firm, as he has a relationship with another attorney from that firm. And the story goes on, full of twists and plots. You will love how the special ability of Pabby will be developed into use for benefit of the regulars of the golf club. It is a very entertaining book, easy reading, and took me around 16 hours to read the whole book.
I recommend this book to the permanent library of all readers that love a good plot, with mystery and drama and very "rich" characters, like the regulars at the golf club (Pork Chop, Uncle Woo, T-Berry and many others).

This book was written by James Ross and it was published in October 2011 by Nightengale Press. The author was kind enough to provide me a copy for reviewing, through Pump Up Your Book. Thanks, Dorothy Thompson!
Profile Image for Ruth Hill.
1,115 reviews646 followers
June 16, 2012
I will admit that I have never read a book like this before. I was initially drawn to the book because it features two kids with autism. But it is so much more than that! This book tackles corruption, secret societies, murder, and much more. It is really a quick read (even though it is over 400 pages). The chapters are short and manageable, and the story is fairly easy to follow.

For me, Pabby and Shae are the bright spots in this book. I enjoyed reading about them and all the disabled kids at their home. I found them charming, and I loved the fact that they would share their vast knowledge any time they wanted to. I love the fact that they were so trusting and uninhibited. I was cheering for Pabby when things were really going well for him.

I was horrified to read about lawyer corruption and the secret society. I will not put spoilers here, but don't think that the last 100 pages will be a pleasant read. I couldn't put the book down during that last 100 pages. It was the most intriguing part of the book for me!

There is profanity throughout the book (but not as much as I thought there might be), but I was more offended by all the sex in the book. Thankfully details were limited, but I read enough to sicken me. And perhaps that is the author's purpose. I was glad that the major online sex portion of the book turned out as it did. That actually surprised me.

For me, the book pointed out how many sick people there are in the world. I often live in a bubble and don't even realize what kinds of things are going on. This is one of those books that I am glad I read even though it was not always a pleasant experience. If you like to read about government corruption, this is the book for you. Although I know nothing about golf, I did not find that to be an issue in understanding the book.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.
Profile Image for Theresa.
71 reviews5 followers
March 27, 2012
Pabby's Score
by: James Ross

I won this from a Goodreads/First reads giveaway

A lot of this story is based around 2 teenagers that are autistic savants. Pabby is a savant with animals and Shae is a savant that knows everything about countries, states etc. Pabby's skills come in handy after awhile in the story.

The owners of the gulf club get into a law suit when a golfer (maybe a little tipsy) because he turns over his golf cart and files an injury suit. This can cost them the whole gulf club. The attorneys are not honorable and will do anything to win the case, even if it's illegal.

There is also an affair taking place between the administrator of Footprints of Hope and an slderman on the grounds of the orphanage. The administrators husband is a prominent judge and is cozy with the law firm handling the case.

There is a lot going on in the novel, but easy to keep up with. This is a very enjoyable book and I highly recommend it.
Profile Image for Dan Panke.
340 reviews4 followers
April 29, 2012
It's always nice to kick off the golfing shoes and sit back to read a James Ross novel. Pabby's Score is James Ross' fifth book and it continues using the same Prairie Winds Golf Course characters established in his previous novels.

With Pabby's Score James takes on more challenging subjects of society. Getting to know Pabby and Shea, two teens with special needs, brings out strong feelings for characters and more than likely to a reader as well. On top of this you can add in a corrupt police force, dishonesty in the judicial system, and an Internet dating service. Can things get any more diverse?

Pabby's Score provided me with a few unexpected surprises I'll refrain from being a spoiler and keep you waiting for the December 2011 publication.
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