Mad River Road

There were some nice things in this book. My favorite aspect was that JF includes a variety of women characters whose differences are credible and interesting, especially when more than one appears to be in jeopardy. Also, the concept of Mad River Road itself - a neighborhood of dumpy rentals for down-on-their-luck single mothers for the most part - was intriguing and provocative. I welcomed the ambivalent nature of the women - none perfect, but scarred by their pasts in credible ways, like the threat of addiction, weaknesses, exhaustion.
On the other hand, the villain was pretty 2-D and lacking in motivation (a major pet peeve of mine). His violence was utterly uninteresting. The ending fizzled a bit - there wasn't enough of a defined show more journey for Jamie, merely a moment of strength that allows her to kill him.
Finally, I have a feeling that when omnicient narration is used with so many viewpoints, the chance for real depth with individual characters is lost, and that's something I miss.
I guess if this were JF's first novel I would look forward to seeing more, but with 17 under her belt I would have hoped for better. show less

Jamie Kellog made a big mistake, one that could prove to be fatal. After learning that her boyfriend is, in fact, a married man and after years of not being the favored daughter of a judgmental mother, Jamie throws caution to the wind and picks up a handsome stranger in a Florida bar. Brad is thoughtful, passionate and almost too good to be true. He convinces Jamie that what she needs is some time for herself away from her stressful life and she impulsively agrees to a road trip with Brad to visit his young son in Ohio. While the trip starts out as a fun, spontaneous lark it soon turns into a terror filled nightmare with a violent man who is not quite who he claims to be.

In Dayton, Ohio, on Mad River Road, two young single mothers, Lily show more and Emma, have formed a new friendship that includes their two 5-year old boys. Neither of these woman are completely honest, both seeming to cover up tragedy and danger from their pasts. Brad is headed to Mad River Road to confront one of these women and seek revenge on her for fleeing with his child after she had him thrown in prison for domestic abuse. A bruised and terrified Jamie is along for the ride and dreads what she will have to do to keep herself alive.

The suspense in this book was amazing and it really was difficult to know which of the two women Brad was coming for. My problem with the story was the unbelievably cruel male character of Brad; he is sickeningly sadistic to women and that was very difficult to read. The mystery was a good one, though. show less

Women can become easy victims if they are emotionally bankrupt enough. I had urge to wring one of the character's necks for their stupidity.This is my favorite Joy Fielding book so far. Virtually every twist and turn was more a jerk and a spin. Very suspenseful. The ending was a little too cut and dry for me. But definitely a good read.

Tense psychological thriller. Nasty psycho. Some upsetting violence, but also interesting relationships, characters revealed.

I really enjoyed reading this book with all the twist and turns in it. Kept me busy reading to the end. One of my favorites.

This was a good book. Lots of twist and turns. Kept me reading!!

The fates of three desperate women meet on Mad River Road. This fast-paced mystery gets points for being easy, light reading.