Reiyen wrote:
For those of you who keep up with this challenge, I highly recommend the affordable "Finding the Core of your Story" by our own Jordan Smith.
https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Core-You ... B00AM24C5UThis book is a great resource for writing the exact kind of hooks or "elevator pitch" that you're trying to do with the first posts in this series.
And I swear I'm not Jordan Smith, so this is not self-promotion.
I can confirm that he is, in fact, not Jordan Smith, because I've met both of them in person.

But I second the plug for this book!
I think your set-up and your family backstory is all great! What I think the blurb itself is missing is action on Jack's part. The entire blurb right now is setting and backstory, and a hint that something bad will happen--but Jack isn't doing anything. Does he stumble across something? Make a mistake? Go off in search of the truth? What does he do that catalyzes the events of the book?