The Road Of The Dead

I have mixed feelings about The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks, while I loved the idea of it, the actual execution left a lot to be desired. The story of two brothers setting out for a small village on Dartmoor in order to speed up the release of their sister’s murdered body, was original and intriguing. They didn’t care about who killed her, they just wanted to be able to bring their sister Rachel’s body home to their mother for a proper burial. It turned out that her body was being held until the crime was solved so the half gypsy brothers set out to find the murderer. The brothers are very different from one another, where Cole is absolutely fearless, Ruben is the one who thinks things through. Ruben has also inherited the show more ability to experience members of his family’s sensations and can see events that affect them even when he is miles away. This strong connection to his sister allowed him to visualize her murder and his connection to his brother is going to enable him to help find a resolution to their difficulties.

Although they are warned off by the police, the brothers travel to the remote village of Lychcombe but the questions they ask only seem to stir up the locals and it soon becomes apparent that there are some very violent types who are opposed to any further investigation into the rape and murder of their sister. Of course they keep pushing and their efforts lead to pain and torture as they slowly uncover the secrets that will eventually lead to the truth.

While I found this story of vigilante justice plausible and interesting, there was a great deal that one had to accept at face value and not question. First and foremost, the paranormal twist felt forced and unbelievable as it took most of the mystery out of the story. I also thought that the characters could have been a little better developed as they all seemed one dimensional. While I enjoyed the many twists that The Road of Dead offered up, this isn’t a book that I can fully recommend to others. show less

I'm not sure how I felt about this book. The whole part of him being able to see situations that he was not involved in was kind of odd because that was pretty much the only supernatural thing in the book. But I guess, at the same time, it was kind of interesting to read about it. The book almost made me feel like there was more than just brotherly love going on between these two boys, though, but perhaps that's just my twisted mind.

It definitely entertained but not enough to make it a book that changed my life in any way nor did the characters even if I did like his older brother. I did, however, find some quite wonderful lines during my read and some of them really hit home. The plot did feel a bit dull at times, the story of show more brothers going to avenge someone who did their sister wrong feels a bit old by now, but it definitely delivered when it comes to action and I quite liked those parts as it was why I picked up this book in the first place. show less

This is an extremely violent book, so much so that I was quite disturbed my eleven year-old daughter loves it so much (she's the one who recommended I read it). However, it is a good book. I think it would have benefited from telling the story from Cole's POV instead of Rueben's (or multiple POVs) since the only reason for the Rueben's vague psychic abilities appeared to be for him to see things he wasn't physically around for. Even so, it was worth reading.

Gr. 9-12. Fourteen-year-old Ruben Ford is sitting in his father's junkyard when he knows--knows--0 that his older sister, Rachel, has been raped and murdered. Perhaps it is his Gypsy blood that gives him second sight; Ruben can see and feel things others can't. He knows, for instance, that his ice-cold brother, Cole, is going to get into--and cause--trouble when he decides to go to desolate Dartmoor, where Rachel met her end. Brooks' great strength is his talent for intense description; he makes readers see, feel, and smell all that Ruben does--most of it coarse, disgusting, and ugly. The author uses an interesting technique to heighten that effect. Psychic Ruben can see things happening miles away, so Cole's battles with those show more responsible for Rachel's death are literally seen through Ruben's eyes. However, as in Kissing the Rain0 (2004), Brooks has trouble tying up loose ends. Thus, the question of how Cole comes upon a key piece of evidence is brushed away with Ruben's comment, "Does it matter?" Readers have sat through a lot of brutality (albeit strikingly written brutality) to get that information, so the answer is, well, yeah, it does. show less

"One moment she was with me--sitting in the back of the Mercedes, looking around the yard--and then the moment suddenly cracked and I was with her, walking a storm-ravaged lane in the middle of a desolate moor. We were cold and wet and tired and scared, and the world was black and empty, and I didn't know why."

When Rueben's sister Rachel is murdered far from home, Rueben knows about it immediately. In fact, due to his psychic abilities, Rueben feels as if he had been there with her. When the police refuse to return Rachel's body to her family until the crime is solved, Rueben and his older brother Cole set off to solve the crime themselves. The more clues they uncover, the stranger the mystery gets. Kevin Brooks uses poetic language to show more tell his page-turning story. All of the loose ends seem to tie up a bit too quickly in the end, but the book is still well-worth the read.

Request this title from Howard County Library http://tinyurl.com/yrcdta show less

Ruben knew exactly when it happened. He was sitting in the backseat of an old Mercedes in his family's salvage yard when the feeling came over him. Ruben often left his own body and could attach himself to others. He could sense their thoughts and emotions. This is what happened when he felt his sister, Rachel, get attacked and murdered. He knew exactly the moment Rachel's life was taken from her. Even though he knew it had happened and knew the Dead Man killed her, Ruben didn't say anything to his family. He hoped he might be wrong. He realized he wasn't when the police contacted the family. The details were simple, Rachel, nineteen-years-old, was visiting an old school friend in the small village of Lychcombe on Dartmoor. After her show more visit was over, she left and made her way toward London to return home, but never made it. Her body was found the following morning strangled, raped, and battered. The most important thing to the family was to get her back. They wanted to bury her and put her to rest. After a trip to the police station to find out how long her body would be held, the family found out that the police would keep her until the case was closed; meaning the murderer had to be caught. The problem with that was, Ruben knew the murderer was already dead and buried and the case wouldn't be solved anytime soon. Ruben's older brother, Cole, wasn't going to sit around and wait. He planned to go to the village to find out what happened himself and he planned to go alone. He didn't want his younger brother going along to worry about. Ruben knew what Cole was thinking though and his mother wanted him going along to make sure Cole didn't get himself hurt. Cole's temper tended to get him in trouble. He took after his gypsy, bare-knuckle fighter father who was sentenced to a prison term for killing someone. Even though their mother was worried about Ruben and Cole going away to look into the murder, no one could foresee the trouble in store for them once they started digging into Rachel's murder. As soon as they arrived in the village they knew they weren't welcome. Secrets were everywhere and didn't want to be dug up. Secrets that involved the entire village. Secrets that would lead them to pain, torture, death, and eventually the truth. Kevin Brooks doesn't let us down. He has provides another heart-pounding, deeply emotional story with strong characters. THE ROAD OF THE DEAD is a great place to start if you haven't read any other books by this creative and unique author. show less

Ruben Ford has always felt things. Other people's thoughts, other people's feelings... It makes him different, but he's never minded it, really. Until the night he's alone in the backseat of a car in the rain, and alone in the dark on a deserted moor with his sister Rachel, about to be dead.

The police don't seem to know what they're doing when it comes to investigating Rachel's death. Ruben's brother, Cole, has taken to assaulting the press, and his mother just wants to be able to bury her daughter. With their father in jail, the boys knows it's up to them.

Cole sets his mind to going out to where it all happened, and following in Rachel's footsteps. Ruben sets his mind on going with him, with or without Cole's approval. Along the way show more they uncover a great deal--about themselves, about their past, about life, and the conspiracy of events into the middle of which their sister just happened to fall. show less