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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
The opening scene of Grist Mill Road is harrowing, twelve-year-old Patrick watches out of sight as his fourteen-year-old best friend Matthew shoots thirteen-old Hannah whom he has tied to a tree forty-nine times with a B.B. gun. I emphasize their ages because there are significant differences between twelve and fourteen, especially when Patrick is a young twelve and Matthew is an old fourteen.
As the contemporary narrative opens, Patrick and Hannah are married. Patrick has just lost his job and is struggling to find another. He is also haunted by guilt for failing to stop the shooting, an irrational guilt as it’s unlikely he could have succeeded. Moreover, he confronted Matthew, was attacked by him, feared Matthew would kill him, played dead to survive, then got up, his head bleeding from a massive blow, untied and brought Hannah to safety and saved her life. Still, his failure to say something during the shooting feels like a failure, though if he had, Matthew might have shot him, too. Hannah has no idea that Patrick witnessed the shooting and refusing to discuss what happened, gives Patrick no opportunity to tell her. Being weak-willed and deferential, he keeps his secret and feels more guilt.
They might have still managed to muddle through life more or less successfully even though Patrick loses his job and has fixated on the boss who fired him and falls into depression. But then Matthew comes back into their lives and all hell breaks loose.
Told through narratives by each of the three principals, Grist Mill Road is suspenseful and interesting on many levels. The writing is descriptive, in particular in creating a sense of place in the Finger Lakes, describing the land and how it came to be. The natural history is the best part of the book for me.
In many ways, Grist Mill Road is a successful thriller. The prose is better than competent, sometimes extraordinary. The plot is new and intriguing. It considers important themes about trust, empathy, and responsibility, but it took everything to keep from throwing it across the room in disgust. There are a couple reasons for this. There are three narratives, those of the men are fully realized and complex. Hannah’s is shallow and often driven more by her cop friend than her. Hannah seems to have no agency at all. She is only half-realized.
More seriously, Matthew shot Hannah forty-nine times and yet, we are told we “don’t know what she did” and asked to hold her partially culpable for his action. So what exactly could someone do or say that would inspire the cold-blooded forty-nine separate shots. Shooting her once? Hitting her? That says impulse and rage. Forty-nine is cold-blooded and vicious. It is considered. No, there’s no “but she” about it and that we are asked to “but she” a thirteen year old girl to forgive shooting her forty-nine times is appalling. I don’t mind being asked to feel empathy for Matthew. I feel empathy. I understand the pain he might have felt. Feeling empathy for him should never require that I accept the culpability of his victim. I found it completely offensive to be asked.
I received an e-galley of Grist Mill Road from the publisher through NetGalley.
Grist Mill Road at Macmillan | Picador
Christopher J. Yates
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/01/11/9781250150288/
As the contemporary narrative opens, Patrick and Hannah are married. Patrick has just lost his job and is struggling to find another. He is also haunted by guilt for failing to stop the shooting, an irrational guilt as it’s unlikely he could have succeeded. Moreover, he confronted Matthew, was attacked by him, feared Matthew would kill him, played dead to survive, then got up, his head bleeding from a massive blow, untied and brought Hannah to safety and saved her life. Still, his failure to say something during the shooting feels like a failure, though if he had, Matthew might have shot him, too. Hannah has no idea that Patrick witnessed the shooting and refusing to discuss what happened, gives Patrick no opportunity to tell her. Being weak-willed and deferential, he keeps his secret and feels more guilt.
They might have still managed to muddle through life more or less successfully even though Patrick loses his job and has fixated on the boss who fired him and falls into depression. But then Matthew comes back into their lives and all hell breaks loose.
Told through narratives by each of the three principals, Grist Mill Road is suspenseful and interesting on many levels. The writing is descriptive, in particular in creating a sense of place in the Finger Lakes, describing the land and how it came to be. The natural history is the best part of the book for me.
In many ways, Grist Mill Road is a successful thriller. The prose is better than competent, sometimes extraordinary. The plot is new and intriguing. It considers important themes about trust, empathy, and responsibility, but it took everything to keep from throwing it across the room in disgust. There are a couple reasons for this. There are three narratives, those of the men are fully realized and complex. Hannah’s is shallow and often driven more by her cop friend than her. Hannah seems to have no agency at all. She is only half-realized.
More seriously, Matthew shot Hannah forty-nine times and yet, we are told we “don’t know what she did” and asked to hold her partially culpable for his action. So what exactly could someone do or say that would inspire the cold-blooded forty-nine separate shots. Shooting her once? Hitting her? That says impulse and rage. Forty-nine is cold-blooded and vicious. It is considered. No, there’s no “but she” about it and that we are asked to “but she” a thirteen year old girl to forgive shooting her forty-nine times is appalling. I don’t mind being asked to feel empathy for Matthew. I feel empathy. I understand the pain he might have felt. Feeling empathy for him should never require that I accept the culpability of his victim. I found it completely offensive to be asked.
I received an e-galley of Grist Mill Road from the publisher through NetGalley.
Grist Mill Road at Macmillan | Picador
Christopher J. Yates
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/01/11/9781250150288/
When it comes to the plot and content of Grist Mill Road, this novel is one of those books that is hard to describe without revealing spoilers.
The novel opens with a horrific act that binds three adolescents - Patrick, Hanna, and Matthew - together and further proceeds with how the act has impacted their lives moving forward. Each of the three characters reveals the story in alternating past and present chapters, which not only reveals what happened but how and why the disturbing incident occurred.
From reading the novel, the narration is done by not one, but three unreliable narrators which added to the enjoyment of the discovery of what truly happened between the three teenagers on that terrible day in the woods.
For this reader, ninety-five percent of the novel was headed for a five-star, knock out review. The plot was original, the characters wonderfully developed and the story compelling and interesting. As the story was revealed, the reader is pleasantly teased and led astray and just when the reader thinks the plot is known, a new kernel is added that sends it spinning in a different direction.
Unfortunately, the ending to the novel was a disappointment. There is a glaring plot development that goes completely unexplained and another one that created an ambiguous nature to the motives of one of the character's in such a manner that it derailed the story enough to lessen the impact of the ending for this reader.
Still, the novel is recommended for fans of Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos.
The novel opens with a horrific act that binds three adolescents - Patrick, Hanna, and Matthew - together and further proceeds with how the act has impacted their lives moving forward. Each of the three characters reveals the story in alternating past and present chapters, which not only reveals what happened but how and why the disturbing incident occurred.
From reading the novel, the narration is done by not one, but three unreliable narrators which added to the enjoyment of the discovery of what truly happened between the three teenagers on that terrible day in the woods.
For this reader, ninety-five percent of the novel was headed for a five-star, knock out review. The plot was original, the characters wonderfully developed and the story compelling and interesting. As the story was revealed, the reader is pleasantly teased and led astray and just when the reader thinks the plot is known, a new kernel is added that sends it spinning in a different direction.
Unfortunately, the ending to the novel was a disappointment. There is a glaring plot development that goes completely unexplained and another one that created an ambiguous nature to the motives of one of the character's in such a manner that it derailed the story enough to lessen the impact of the ending for this reader.
Still, the novel is recommended for fans of Dennis Lehane and George Pelecanos.
Umm this absolute bollocks the bio on the back is wrong ( patch or Patrick) is not hidden, he watches yes but he is not hidden as Matthew tells him to come forward what the hell. Also it’s so very generic and just dear god awful... and boring also the guy is a total wet blanket and Hannah just doesn’t feel real... gahhhh shoot me now
I want to say this is the best mystery-suspense-thriller that I've read in a while, but I feel like I'm doing this novel a disservice by placing it into that category which brings to mind books that are often plot-driven, formulaic, predictable, and all too often not thrilling at all. I've read far too many ho-hum thrillers. I guess Grist Mill Road is more of a suspenseful literary mystery, but "labels are for soup cans," after all.
I see some reviewers saying that most of the novel moves slowly or that it was boring at first. I was sucked into the story immediately. The characters and setting come alive and I think the story had a great balance of characterization and plot. I liked the multiple narrators with distinct voices and perspectives. This story does not progress at a breakneck pace, ultimately racing towards a big reveal. It's messy, gritty, and multi-faceted. The story slowly reveals itself in a very well-crafted and well-paced manner.
After I stayed up late to finish the book (which doesn't happen often anymore) I was so pleasantly satisfied with the story. Was this really a 5-star read? Really, really? Yep. There are so many things I enjoyed about this novel and I really found no flaws. Well done, Christopher J. Yates. I'm now looking forward to getting my hands on the author's first novel [b:Black Chalk|23395105|Black Chalk|Christopher J. Yates|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430317656s/23395105.jpg|23984793].
I see some reviewers saying that most of the novel moves slowly or that it was boring at first. I was sucked into the story immediately. The characters and setting come alive and I think the story had a great balance of characterization and plot. I liked the multiple narrators with distinct voices and perspectives. This story does not progress at a breakneck pace, ultimately racing towards a big reveal. It's messy, gritty, and multi-faceted. The story slowly reveals itself in a very well-crafted and well-paced manner.
After I stayed up late to finish the book (which doesn't happen often anymore) I was so pleasantly satisfied with the story. Was this really a 5-star read? Really, really? Yep. There are so many things I enjoyed about this novel and I really found no flaws. Well done, Christopher J. Yates. I'm now looking forward to getting my hands on the author's first novel [b:Black Chalk|23395105|Black Chalk|Christopher J. Yates|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430317656s/23395105.jpg|23984793].
w o w
i regret every minute of this reading experience.
i regret every minute of this reading experience.
Grist Mill Road was a book I had liked the look of on Netgalley so I was delighted to be approved to read it. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed the change of pace with this one.
The book jumps back and forward in time between Patrick, Matthew and Hannah and recounts a terrible event in 1982 versus how they are living their respective lives twenty six years later.
Character is key with this one. Each character has their own stuff going on, and I liked how the author managed to give the reader little bits of information on each throughout the book without actually giving away too much. The three characters are well-developed too, and they all have their own unique voices. Their pasts are intricately linked, and the author does a great job of tying it all together.
This is less of a whodunnit and more of a whydunnit. The reader learns early on what happened, and then gets all sides of the story as the book progresses. It takes a bit of time to get there though, but ultimately, the journey is well worth it.
Grist Mill Road is more thoughtful than your usual crime thrillers. It’s not as punchy, and it focuses on character development more than the actual crime itself. I really enjoyed the story, not least because it was a welcome change of pace from the norm for me.
Recommended for sure!
The book jumps back and forward in time between Patrick, Matthew and Hannah and recounts a terrible event in 1982 versus how they are living their respective lives twenty six years later.
Character is key with this one. Each character has their own stuff going on, and I liked how the author managed to give the reader little bits of information on each throughout the book without actually giving away too much. The three characters are well-developed too, and they all have their own unique voices. Their pasts are intricately linked, and the author does a great job of tying it all together.
This is less of a whodunnit and more of a whydunnit. The reader learns early on what happened, and then gets all sides of the story as the book progresses. It takes a bit of time to get there though, but ultimately, the journey is well worth it.
Grist Mill Road is more thoughtful than your usual crime thrillers. It’s not as punchy, and it focuses on character development more than the actual crime itself. I really enjoyed the story, not least because it was a welcome change of pace from the norm for me.
Recommended for sure!
An outstanding novel, amazingly written that will appeal to lovers of literary fiction as well as to lovers of psychological suspense. Grist Mill Road starts with the innocence of childhood and childish reactions to things they should not have to face. A terrible childhood crime changes the lives of three people. It changes them in ways they are aware of but even worse it affects their future in ways they can’t imagine. Especially since they are each hiding something very important about what happened leading up to that day. As their lives interesect twenty seven years later we see how each of the three has come to terms with what has happened, and a gripping plot with twists and turns takes this incredibly well written story to its ultimate conclusion.
A decently-written, slow-building, keep-you-guessing narrative that reminds you never to trust any story until you hear all sides.
Superb blurb:
I grew up ninety miles north and half a decade away from New York City in a big parchment-colored home standing right at the bend on Grist Mill Road, just before the junction with Earhart Place. Three miles east of our family abode, Grist Mill Road reaches its romantic end at a parking lot, having swept back and forth up into the Swangum mountains, a legendary area for rock climbers, so I’ve heard, but famous also for their ice caves, a day trip I’d recommend highly to anyone who finds regular caves just a little too cozy and dry. From the front windows of our house we could gaze up at the Swangum Ridge, a rock face presenting itself majestically across the horizon like a vast lower jaw, a set of uneven teeth in a yellowish shade I believe to be known as British White.
Superb blurb:
I grew up ninety miles north and half a decade away from New York City in a big parchment-colored home standing right at the bend on Grist Mill Road, just before the junction with Earhart Place. Three miles east of our family abode, Grist Mill Road reaches its romantic end at a parking lot, having swept back and forth up into the Swangum mountains, a legendary area for rock climbers, so I’ve heard, but famous also for their ice caves, a day trip I’d recommend highly to anyone who finds regular caves just a little too cozy and dry. From the front windows of our house we could gaze up at the Swangum Ridge, a rock face presenting itself majestically across the horizon like a vast lower jaw, a set of uneven teeth in a yellowish shade I believe to be known as British White.
As teenagers, Patrick, Matthew and Hannah are in the mountains, enjoying the first days of summer. By the end of the day, one of them has lost an eye. Reunited years later in New York, the three are forced to look at what really happened that terrible day.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Patrick (Patch) and Hannah narrate the first half, with Matthew joining in in the second half. Because of this, Matthew is the most mysterious of the three and yet he is central to the story. It’s hard to know who to believe.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Patrick (Patch) and Hannah narrate the first half, with Matthew joining in in the second half. Because of this, Matthew is the most mysterious of the three and yet he is central to the story. It’s hard to know who to believe.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.