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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
Thank you to Picador for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
I'm shocked that I hadn't heard more buzz about GRIST MILL ROAD by Christopher J. Yates before picking it up. This was my introduction to Yates and I will definitely be grabbing his debut novel - and all future ones. I know this probably won't be for everyone, especially if you're looking for a nail-biting thriller. This is a story that dives into the lives of three people that are tied together because of one horrific event in their childhoods, and how it has changed them as adults.
It's 1982 in Roseborn - Matthew, Hannah, and Patrick (aka Patch or Tricky) are in the woods and their lives are forever changed by one horrific and violent act.
It's now 2008 in New York - twenty-six years have passed and they're all still dealing with the repercussions of that fateful day in August 1982. How will Patch and Hannah deal with Matthew now that he has resurfaced? How are their lives going to intertwine once more?
I feel that it's better to not go into too much detail with this one. We jump between perspectives and timelines. This is a multi-layered story that brings the reader through the events in 1982 and in 2008. We get to see through the eyes of Matthew, Hannah, and Patrick as they give their individual account of what happened and why. Each character was well-developed and I loved how Yates peeled back all of the layers so we can see what makes them tick. There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to the act of violence they experienced in their teens and I wasn't expecting most of the elements that came into play.
Overall, if you want a beautifully written and multi-layered story, then GRIST MILL ROAD is one you should have on your list. I definitely wouldn't classify this one as a thriller, but more of a contemporary fiction with a hint of mystery (if that's such a thing). It won't have you on the edge of your seat, but you'll find yourself reeled in by the events and characters and become completely absorbed.
I give this 5/5 stars!
I'm shocked that I hadn't heard more buzz about GRIST MILL ROAD by Christopher J. Yates before picking it up. This was my introduction to Yates and I will definitely be grabbing his debut novel - and all future ones. I know this probably won't be for everyone, especially if you're looking for a nail-biting thriller. This is a story that dives into the lives of three people that are tied together because of one horrific event in their childhoods, and how it has changed them as adults.
It's 1982 in Roseborn - Matthew, Hannah, and Patrick (aka Patch or Tricky) are in the woods and their lives are forever changed by one horrific and violent act.
It's now 2008 in New York - twenty-six years have passed and they're all still dealing with the repercussions of that fateful day in August 1982. How will Patch and Hannah deal with Matthew now that he has resurfaced? How are their lives going to intertwine once more?
I feel that it's better to not go into too much detail with this one. We jump between perspectives and timelines. This is a multi-layered story that brings the reader through the events in 1982 and in 2008. We get to see through the eyes of Matthew, Hannah, and Patrick as they give their individual account of what happened and why. Each character was well-developed and I loved how Yates peeled back all of the layers so we can see what makes them tick. There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to the act of violence they experienced in their teens and I wasn't expecting most of the elements that came into play.
Overall, if you want a beautifully written and multi-layered story, then GRIST MILL ROAD is one you should have on your list. I definitely wouldn't classify this one as a thriller, but more of a contemporary fiction with a hint of mystery (if that's such a thing). It won't have you on the edge of your seat, but you'll find yourself reeled in by the events and characters and become completely absorbed.
I give this 5/5 stars!
I was sent an A.R.C. of Grist Mill Road in exchange for my honest opinion.
***Possible Spoilers***
I had never heard of Christopher J. Yates before receiving this book and I question how I have missed this amazing author thus far. Once I started Grist Mill Road, I could not put it down. Yates draws you in from the beginning as he tells the story of Patch, Hannah, Matthew, and what exactly happened in the Swangum mountains that hot August day in 1982. This tale will have you so wrapped up that you will feel like you are honestly there watching as Hannah is tied to that tree. The thing that fascinated me about this book is how Yates divided it into three parts telling the story from each person's perspective allowing you to put all of the pieces in place. While Patch and Hannah's tellings of that day are amazing; Matthews part was so touching and had me entranced the entire time I was reading it. My heart reached out to him and I wanted his redemption. With this amazing read, Christopher J. Yates has become one of my insta-buy authors for any future books he may write. If you are looking for a gripping and touching thriller I highly recommend you pickup a copy of Grist Mill Road when it hits shelves in January 2018!
***Possible Spoilers***
I had never heard of Christopher J. Yates before receiving this book and I question how I have missed this amazing author thus far. Once I started Grist Mill Road, I could not put it down. Yates draws you in from the beginning as he tells the story of Patch, Hannah, Matthew, and what exactly happened in the Swangum mountains that hot August day in 1982. This tale will have you so wrapped up that you will feel like you are honestly there watching as Hannah is tied to that tree. The thing that fascinated me about this book is how Yates divided it into three parts telling the story from each person's perspective allowing you to put all of the pieces in place. While Patch and Hannah's tellings of that day are amazing; Matthews part was so touching and had me entranced the entire time I was reading it. My heart reached out to him and I wanted his redemption. With this amazing read, Christopher J. Yates has become one of my insta-buy authors for any future books he may write. If you are looking for a gripping and touching thriller I highly recommend you pickup a copy of Grist Mill Road when it hits shelves in January 2018!
Let me start with saying that as someone who reads a lot of mysteries and thrillers I didn’t think that this fit those genres to well. At one point the author mentions how Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood more as literary fiction rather than true crime. I feel that he may have been going for the same here, for me this is more literary fiction than mystery. I think that may have made it a little harder to enjoy the book as much as I could have, I think I kept waiting for more mystery. It seemed more of an exploration of perspective, personal truth and how we communicate what we fear to those we love. Perhaps if I wasn’t waiting for the mystery to get more intriguing I would have enjoyed this more.
I did really enjoy the characters development, they were a little weird and complex and early on I enjoyed getting to know them. There were times that some details were drawn out, way to much information about concrete and rocks, I like cooking but even some of the food blogging was a little to detailed. As everything progressed it just got a little sadder and less mysterious, perhaps because I was having a hard time seeing any of the main characters as the bad guy. Yes bad things happened but hard to see anyone as truly evil.
There were a few ah ha moments as things fell together and overall it was an enjoyable read. I would say just don’t go into this expecting a thriller or even much of mystery.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan-Picador for an ARC of Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates.
I did really enjoy the characters development, they were a little weird and complex and early on I enjoyed getting to know them. There were times that some details were drawn out, way to much information about concrete and rocks, I like cooking but even some of the food blogging was a little to detailed. As everything progressed it just got a little sadder and less mysterious, perhaps because I was having a hard time seeing any of the main characters as the bad guy. Yes bad things happened but hard to see anyone as truly evil.
There were a few ah ha moments as things fell together and overall it was an enjoyable read. I would say just don’t go into this expecting a thriller or even much of mystery.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan-Picador for an ARC of Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates.
The opening of this book had me hooked right away, dark, and at times, hard to read, but I wanted to know what happened and why! Most if the book was good-suspenseful, kept you interested and wanting to know more. What are they hiding? But the ending! Ugh!! Ruined it for me. Could have gone so many ways, but feels like it was a quick wrap up with no creativity. Sad a really good book is now just okay due to how it ended. 3.5⭐️
this book was really good at first but really fell off the rails toward the end for me. i dunno, i wanted more from it but eventually i gave up!
Book Review - ‘Grist Mill Road’ by Christopher J. Yates ⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and Christopher J. Yates for the chance to read this novel.
In the summer of 1982 Matthew, Hannah and Patrick go into the nearby woods to play. Suddenly Hannah is tied to a tree and Matthew is shooting her with a BB gun. Patrick cowers nearby watching, but frozen in terror and unable to stop his friend.
26 years on and Hannah is blinded in one eye as a result of the incident. Patrick is Hannah’s hero who saved her life that day and now also her husband. She insists they never speak about the incident, but the story isn’t what people think and all three of them are keeping secrets. Now, something will bring the trio back together and turn all the couple thought they knew about the events of that fateful day and their life together upside down and change things forever…..
The synopsis of this book had my interest piqued and the opening chapter where Patrick (Patch) describes his recollection of the crime was gripping. The book is narrated by all three main characters and is told in the present day and flashbacks to 1982. Patch is the main narrator, particularly for the first half of the book, and it’s him we get to know the most, the others remaining almost as much of a mystery to the reader as they are to him. He is filled with anxiety and regret, still trying to make up for that day when as a 12 year old boy he didn't act quickly enough to protect the woman he loves. This spills over into his everyday life and he seems to lose grip on what is morally acceptable behaviour more and more as he sinks into his own distorted and paranoid reality. It is only when we get into the parts narrated later by Hannah and Matthew that we discover the truth of what happened and how what seems a simple case of an evil boy terrorising a young girl is actually a complex web of events, secrets and lies.
What made this book a 3 star rating for me rather than a 4 is that Patch is a difficult character. I warmed more to Matthew than him, and when you have more sympathy for the evil kid and most minor narrator it impacts how much you can enjoy the book. I also thought Patrick’s craziness went a bit too far, especially towards the end. I did think Hannah and Matthew were very well written characters and loved how they remained mostly ambiguous, only revealing their true selves as the book reached its climax.
Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and Christopher J. Yates for the chance to read this novel.
In the summer of 1982 Matthew, Hannah and Patrick go into the nearby woods to play. Suddenly Hannah is tied to a tree and Matthew is shooting her with a BB gun. Patrick cowers nearby watching, but frozen in terror and unable to stop his friend.
26 years on and Hannah is blinded in one eye as a result of the incident. Patrick is Hannah’s hero who saved her life that day and now also her husband. She insists they never speak about the incident, but the story isn’t what people think and all three of them are keeping secrets. Now, something will bring the trio back together and turn all the couple thought they knew about the events of that fateful day and their life together upside down and change things forever…..
The synopsis of this book had my interest piqued and the opening chapter where Patrick (Patch) describes his recollection of the crime was gripping. The book is narrated by all three main characters and is told in the present day and flashbacks to 1982. Patch is the main narrator, particularly for the first half of the book, and it’s him we get to know the most, the others remaining almost as much of a mystery to the reader as they are to him. He is filled with anxiety and regret, still trying to make up for that day when as a 12 year old boy he didn't act quickly enough to protect the woman he loves. This spills over into his everyday life and he seems to lose grip on what is morally acceptable behaviour more and more as he sinks into his own distorted and paranoid reality. It is only when we get into the parts narrated later by Hannah and Matthew that we discover the truth of what happened and how what seems a simple case of an evil boy terrorising a young girl is actually a complex web of events, secrets and lies.
What made this book a 3 star rating for me rather than a 4 is that Patch is a difficult character. I warmed more to Matthew than him, and when you have more sympathy for the evil kid and most minor narrator it impacts how much you can enjoy the book. I also thought Patrick’s craziness went a bit too far, especially towards the end. I did think Hannah and Matthew were very well written characters and loved how they remained mostly ambiguous, only revealing their true selves as the book reached its climax.
This book was a refreshing literary suspense novel. I wouldn't put it in the thriller category like so many other books to have come out in the past two years. I loved the slow burn of the novel. It worked beautifully in this case, with nothing feeling slow but everything building and building until the last 100 pages when so many questions are answered. What a fantastic book to kick off 2018!
The story starts in 1982 where three friends Matthew, Patrick (who has 2 nicknames, Patch & Tricky), and Hannah are in the woods where an extremely violent crime occurs between them. And then in 2008, we have the re-telling of the event from all three adult perspectives, whose lives are forever defined by this tragic moment (It’s amazing as adults how we perceive things differently). You also have the build-up to when their paths will cross again, and it’s defiantly anxiety inducing. The story is character driven; it exposes the coming of age feelings of jealousy, resentments, sexual longings and confusion.
Honestly, I am having mixed emotions about this book. “Grist Mill Road” started off with a really gruesome bang and I was just soaking up every word and page, with complete excitement, but then something happened and it lost its momentum. I felt like it became bogged down at times with information that was just not relevant to the story. But then it would pick back up, so it was a lot of back and forth for me. There is also the absence of quotation marks which was a little confusing for me at first, until I got in the hang of it. The ending was defiantly a, Huh? What. The. Heck! Overall, Yates spins a well-written, riveting tale that is incredibly gloomy at times with some really dark themes.
And just a side note; I loved Matthew so much. At the beginning you think there is no way you can have empathy for any character but Matthew definitely stands out for me, and my heart broke for him so much.
Thank you to Netgalley, Picador and Christopher Yates for an advanced copy.
Honestly, I am having mixed emotions about this book. “Grist Mill Road” started off with a really gruesome bang and I was just soaking up every word and page, with complete excitement, but then something happened and it lost its momentum. I felt like it became bogged down at times with information that was just not relevant to the story. But then it would pick back up, so it was a lot of back and forth for me. There is also the absence of quotation marks which was a little confusing for me at first, until I got in the hang of it. The ending was defiantly a, Huh? What. The. Heck! Overall, Yates spins a well-written, riveting tale that is incredibly gloomy at times with some really dark themes.
And just a side note; I loved Matthew so much. At the beginning you think there is no way you can have empathy for any character but Matthew definitely stands out for me, and my heart broke for him so much.
Thank you to Netgalley, Picador and Christopher Yates for an advanced copy.
