Desperation Road

Publication Date: 23 February 2017

Goodreads Description

For eleven years the clock has been ticking for Russell Gaines as he sits in Parchman penitentiary. His sentence now up, Russell believes his debt has been paid. But when he returns home, he discovers that revenge lives and breathes all around him. Meanwhile, a woman named Maben and her young daughter trudge along the side of the interstate. Desperate and exhausted, the pair spend their last dollar on a room for the night, a night that ends with Maben holding a pistol and a dead deputy sprawled in the middle of the road.

With the dawn, destinies collide, and Russell is forced to decide whose life he will save—his own or those of the woman and child.

My Review

It's been a long time since I've been so utterly and totally enthralled by a book within the first few chapters. This story really does get off to a rocketing start. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. By the time I had read the first ten percent of the book it felt like so much had happened. It was totally action packed and I thought I was going to be in for a roller coaster of a ride. Unfortunately the pace does slow down significantly after that.

This book follows the story of Maben and Russell, who don't meet each other until more than halfway through the book. There are lots of other characters as well and I must say, the character development in this book is excellent. I felt that I got to know the characters, that I understood their feelings and their actions. But the book in general seemed to me to be a little slow and after the rollicking start it got off to, I found this a little disappointing. This is definitely a character driven story and although it is very well written, be it a little bit different with its long sentences and infrequent use of commas, I didn't find it exceptional. I kept on waiting for something dramatic to happen but alas, I turned the last page to a fairly sedate ending.

So, does that deserve 3 stars you may ask? Well, the fact of the matter is that this is a haunting and dark novel, it's well written with prose that is powerful and strong, that paints a picture in the readers mind and even though it's slow, I did keep turning the pages. By the end of the read I realised that I did like it but it hadn't blown me away. I had wanted to love this novel and so I waited patiently for the wow moment to hit me over the head, the moment that would have made this a 4 star read. That never materialised and hence my 3 stars.

My rating: * * *

Many thanks to the author Michael Farris Smith, the publishers Oldcastle Books and NetGalley for my copy.