Redemption Road

John Hart is an excellent writer. This book, about crimes possibly committed by a bad cop, had me pacing the room out of tension and suspense, and the ending was everything I could wish for.

Set in North Carolina, this isn’t just a when-will-they-catch-the-serial-killer book. The story explores larger themes, such as when revenge is justified and when it is counter-productive; if “justice” ever matters more than law; at what price would even the best of us compromise our values; and the fluid ways in which family can be defined. When is the path to forgiveness just too strewn with obstacles? What will it take, after the worst of circumstances, to start down the road to redemption?

I have to say that I had a pretty good idea of who show more the killer was in this book, but that didn’t matter at all; there was never any assurance of who would actually prevail in the end.

Evaluation: A superb thriller, at once both heart-wrenching and a testament to love and compassion. show less

4.5 stars!

This is a deep, dark and gritty read. So gritty you can feel it on your face. I loved it!

Redemption Road is an example of storytelling at its finest. Elizabeth is a suspended police officer under investigation for killing two men that were holding and raping a young woman over a period of two days. In my opinion, she deserved a medal. However, the way the men were killed was kind of torture-y, which is where the problems begin. From there on out, John Hart manipulates the mind of the reader, doling out crucial pieces of information as the story goes on. I had no idea where everything was going to end up and I love when that happens.

There are some very serious themes here involving religion, rape, shame, and torture. These show more are not themes I normally seek out, but once I began reading Redemption Road, I could not turn away. In fact, I was up until 1:00 AM this morning because I had to find out, I had to know what happened. The reason I deducted a half star was because, and this REALLY IS A SPOILER, (so please don't click it if you don't want to know), the ending was a happily ever after type deal and to me it was incongruous with the darkness and grit of the rest of the story. Even though what happened was exactly what I wanted and wished for these characters, I did not feel that the ending truthfully served the story.

Despite that one thing, I loved this book. I loved the characters in all of their beat up, dirty glory and I just wanted to hug all of them. And one of those long hugs too, where you cling to each other for a while, you know? Elizabeth, Adrian, Channing and Gideon-I'll be thinking of them all for a while, I know I will. If you read this book, you'll be thinking about them too.

Highly recommended for those readers that don't mind getting down and dirty. If you can handle the grit, the payoff is a big one.

*Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for this, my honest review.* show less

Some books, like this one, feel like the author is juggling story lines. Sometimes it’s an unmitigated disaster and then there’s this story. Former cop Adrian Wall is being released from prison early, after being convicted of killing a woman. Enamored with him, younger cop Elizabeth Black thinks he’s innocent. But she has her own nightmare to contend with, being investigated for torturing suspects in a kidnap and rape case. Their victim, Channing—daughter of one of the wealthiest men in town—has her own devils to contend with even though her torturers are dead. There is so much going on in this book, I’ve barely tapped the surface. And John Hart makes it look like child’s play, expertly and smoothly telling the show more interweaving parts of the many storylines. Practically unputdownable. And thankfully every loose end somehow finds a conclusion. So impressed and enjoyable, if that’s an appropriate way to describe such dark gritty novels. Be aware of multiple trigger warnings, including sexual assault, detailed descriptions of torture, kidnapping, murder, serial killings, child neglect, alcoholism, etc. I felt the torture scenes were the most graphic and gruesomely so. The assaults were not nearly as detailed, thank heavens. But if you can stomach all that, this one is worth the ride. show less

Parts of this book are like a sucker punch to the jaw that you never saw coming. Other parts are like standing on a track, watching a train come at you slow and steady and full of brute force, but being unable to move out of the way. It's intense and sad, forever dangling hope just out of reach.

This book is (or, at least, was) being marketed as a literary thriller. For me, it's more a complex, psychological suspense than thriller. The story has many parts, both woven together and branching off on their own. The pace is steady, but it doesn't have the speed typically expected of a thriller. We spend a lot of time with internal reflection and getting to know a variety of characters in depth. The writing style has a good rhythm and does show more have a literary feel. I wasn't bothered by genre expectations. I mention this only to warn readers who are searching for a specific type of book.

I don't know how much of a surprise the twists will be for most readers. I figured out the killer's identity pretty much right away. I kept hoping I was wrong, and the author does try to guide readers in different directions, but it all collided exactly where and how I expected. I found parts a little overblown, with everyone having major, life-altering secrets, and all the corruption at every turn.

The characters are compelling, broken individuals. They are intriguing to follow, as some relationships blossom and others fall apart. Characterization is absolutely the author's strong point here.

Overall, this is a fascinating story of human resilience, and the healing power of friendships and love.

*I received an advance ebook copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.* show less

In author John Hart’s latest thriller set in North Carolina, there’s a whole lot going on and it’s all exciting. First, there’s Elizabeth Black, a cop under investigation for excessive force after pumping eighteen bullets into a pair of criminals who kidnapped and repeatedly raped 18-year-old Channing. Then there’s Adrian Wall, excop, just getting out of prison after 13 years for the murder of Julia Strange. Her son, Gideon now fourteen, hunts him down intending to kill him but instead gets shot himself.

All of these characters are irrevocably tied together by these tragedies. Elizabeth was the only one who believed Wall was innocent despite all the evidence against him and she still does. She’s become almost a surrogate show more mother for Gideon since his father couldn’t cope with his wife’s death and turned to the bottle for comfort. Elizabeth and Channing are held together both by the kidnapping and rapes and by a secret they share regarding it but they have more in common even than this. In fact, their bonds are stronger than the one between them and their parents – which brings me to one of the motifs running throughout the book, parents who are emotionally absent or who are incapable of coping with the horrors that have impacted the lives of their children, leaving their children vulnerable to even more tragedy.

Then another woman is murdered in exactly the same way as Strange and Wall is under suspicion again and he and Channing soon find themselves running from the FBI as well as the local law. But they are not the only ones after Wall. The Warden of the prison and several of his guards believe that Wall has information they want and they are more than willing to kill for it.

Phew! Like I said, there’s a whole lot going on here and that’s just a taste of this wonderfully addicting story. With all of these storylines crossing, recrossing, and slamming into each other, it’s amazing it never gets away from the author or ceases to grab the attention of the reader but it doesn’t on either count. It is well-plotted, extremely well-written with compelling and sympathetic characters. It is about love and family, forgiveness and redemption but most all, it is just one hell of a Southern Gothic thriller. show less

This book, man. This book. Holy cow.

Now, I'm gonna say right up front (with no spoilers), of course there's a mystery as to who the real killer is, and right from the get-go, there was really only one person I didn't want it to be, because, to me, it's too cliche, too obvious. And dammit, it was that character.

So, for that reason, normally, I'd knock a star off, maybe even two. But the rest of this book is just a gorgeously-written masterpiece. As I stated a few days ago, I got about a quarter of the way in and knew I wanted to read everything else this guy wrote. His handling of characters, his effortless writing, his astute observations, all of it...just...wow.

Seriously, there's some writers of fiction, then there's some masters. John show more Hart? This guy's a master. show less

Wow. John Hart's [Redemption Road] is the best of his five mystery novels, which is saying quite a bit after [The Last Child] and [Iron House]. In RR, we get Hart's first female protagonist. Liz Black is a damaged cop, with a long list of troublesome and intriguing relationships: with her parents, with the child victims of two crimes, with a cop who was convicted of murder, with her partner and boss at the precinct. All come into play as Liz works on resolving an investigation into her most recent case, in which she rescued a teenaged girl who had been abducted by two men, and put 18 bullets into the two men in the process. At the same time, more killings emerge that resemble the one for which her former colleague had been show more convicted--right after he is released from prison.

Very few things turn out to be exactly as they are initially portrayed in [Redemption Road]. Hart shows a masterful command of pacing his revelations, giving us one explanation now and another, which takes us deeper into a character's pain and psyche, later. The main characters are beautifully drawn, strengths and flaws included. Secrets are exposed at just the right time. The writing is strong and yet lyrical in places. The style, dialog, and actions all serve to reinforce the characters.

I am tempted to ask Mr. Hart not to wait so long to give us his next book, but if this is what five years gives us, I'll try to curb my impatience and just say thanks.

Full disclosure: St. Martins sent me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. show less