Scan barcode
jen_e_fer's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
jmorosini's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mattnixon's review against another edition
4.0
If you're looking for a fresh, exceptional literary mystery, hop in for a ride with debut author Samantha Jayne Allen and take a spin on Pay Dirt Road. Annie McIntyre is a recent college grad who's returned to her rural hometown of Garnett, Texas unsure of what she wants to do with her life and where she wants to go next. Garnett both embraces and suffocates her. A coworker at the local diner is murdered and Annie is drawn into investigating. Allen plots the mystery briskly and in surprising ways. With effortless prose full of sensual imagery, the author efficiently and evocatively brings Garnett and its inhabitants to life. What really elevates Pay Dirt Road into an exceptional piece of genre fiction is the main character and her story. In Annie, Allen has created a full, complex character whose personal experiences--as a young woman, as good but never the best in her endeavors--are the very strengths that help her in Pay Dirt Road. Her instincts and intuition are well-earned. Her empathy fuels her inquiry. For the reader, Annie's setbacks and stumbles hurt and his victories are earned and satisfying. Samantha Jayne Allen has written a terrific mystery and elevated the human dimensions and type of heroes available in the genre. Highly recommend.
mandylovestoread's review against another edition
4.0
I was seeing Pay Dirt Road all over Bookstagram and I needed to read it. A big thank you to Recorded Books and Netgalley for my advanced audio copy to listen to. Over 2 days I was immersed in this small town murder mystery and I loved it.
Set in Texas (which is somewhere that I have always wanted to go), a young woman goes missing and is later found murdered. Annie McIntyre teams up with her grandfather who is the town's PI to find the killer. Annie worked in the local diner with the victim and wants to find justice.
This is a slow burn but one that kept me interested all the way through. I loved the characters and the secrets they were all hiding. The ending was surprising and really well done. Crime fiction and murder mystery fans will enjoy this one.
Set in Texas (which is somewhere that I have always wanted to go), a young woman goes missing and is later found murdered. Annie McIntyre teams up with her grandfather who is the town's PI to find the killer. Annie worked in the local diner with the victim and wants to find justice.
This is a slow burn but one that kept me interested all the way through. I loved the characters and the secrets they were all hiding. The ending was surprising and really well done. Crime fiction and murder mystery fans will enjoy this one.
thebrunettebookjunkie's review against another edition
4.0
I loved Pay Dirt Road. I read it in one day and I never wanted to put it down. It was a solid mystery/thriller without any gimmicky tropes or crazy plot twists. While it kept me guessing, it gave off an easy going vibe, like a slow, southern drawl. I felt a kinship with Leroy. So many things about him reminded me of my own grandpa, flaws and all. It was also a very honest, portrayal of small town, southern life.
lattemommyreads's review against another edition
4.0
*3.5 stars rounded up*
The story may have been a bit predictable, but this is a solid debut mystery with a fantastic sense of place. I liked the characters we were introduced to in this novel, and I feel like we will be seeing more of them. I look forward to watching Annie’s character grow and mature into a PI under the tutelage of Mary-Pat and Leroy.
The story may have been a bit predictable, but this is a solid debut mystery with a fantastic sense of place. I liked the characters we were introduced to in this novel, and I feel like we will be seeing more of them. I look forward to watching Annie’s character grow and mature into a PI under the tutelage of Mary-Pat and Leroy.
booksandchicks's review against another edition
3.0
A small town mystery where a waitress goes missing. Our main character steps into place to help solve the mystery of her co-worker and friend.
I do love the Texas location and ambiance of this book. This is more of a character study of Annie, newly graduated from college and not sure what her plan is going forward.
I felt like the book was slow moving in the plot as it meandered through the story. I'm always more enticed by plot driven books vs. character study books, so I think it was a me thing.
Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media Recorded Books for the advance audiobook in return for my review.
I do love the Texas location and ambiance of this book. This is more of a character study of Annie, newly graduated from college and not sure what her plan is going forward.
I felt like the book was slow moving in the plot as it meandered through the story. I'm always more enticed by plot driven books vs. character study books, so I think it was a me thing.
Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media Recorded Books for the advance audiobook in return for my review.
leslico's review against another edition
4.0
Pay Dirt Road is an atmospheric small town mystery set in Garnett, Texas. Annie has just graduated from college and returned to her hometown to work as a waitress. When one of her coworkers goes missing, Annie works with her grandfather, a former sheriff, to look into her disappearance. I found the the storyline took awhile to get into, but could really feel the grit and personality of the town and its people. The narrator Sandy Rustin had great accents and really added to the ambiance of the story and the personality of the characters.
sssnoo's review against another edition
2.0
Pay Dirt Road, overall, was a disappointment. The blurb looked promising, but I struggled to stay engaged. Often, the main character would start down an investigative thread, then divert into a nostalgic remembrance that often felt random. Unfortunately, these interludes disrupted the reading experience more than enhanced it.
The writing fell flat too. There were a lot of dropped or missing articles that read as poor grammar. The author (I think) was trying to use regional speech patterns/dialect, but I couldn't tell for sure, and it didn't add interest.
Connecting with the characters was difficult. Some were promising, and just when I thought there would be more insight into motivation or personality, the author shifted topics, leaving me frustrated. Mary Pat, for example, was underdeveloped. Many (most?) of the lead characters were alcoholics or alcoholics in the making, and the amount of drunk driving amongst the "good guys" was too much for me. There was a lot of throwing back whiskies in red Solo cups and then hopping behind the wheel. Maybe this realistically depicts rural Texas? It seemed like the author was working on a mash-up of the old detective noir genre with millennial angst.
The mystery itself was unremarkable—bad oil guys, a lot of toxic masculinity, and no surprises.
I usually read a first-in-a-series mystery with some level of patience. It can take a few books to get the characters on track. So I'll usually read the next book before I bail, but I'll pass on the next in this series.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy of the book in return for an honest review.
The writing fell flat too. There were a lot of dropped or missing articles that read as poor grammar. The author (I think) was trying to use regional speech patterns/dialect, but I couldn't tell for sure, and it didn't add interest.
Connecting with the characters was difficult. Some were promising, and just when I thought there would be more insight into motivation or personality, the author shifted topics, leaving me frustrated. Mary Pat, for example, was underdeveloped. Many (most?) of the lead characters were alcoholics or alcoholics in the making, and the amount of drunk driving amongst the "good guys" was too much for me. There was a lot of throwing back whiskies in red Solo cups and then hopping behind the wheel. Maybe this realistically depicts rural Texas? It seemed like the author was working on a mash-up of the old detective noir genre with millennial angst.
The mystery itself was unremarkable—bad oil guys, a lot of toxic masculinity, and no surprises.
I usually read a first-in-a-series mystery with some level of patience. It can take a few books to get the characters on track. So I'll usually read the next book before I bail, but I'll pass on the next in this series.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic copy of the book in return for an honest review.
claudiaque's review against another edition
3.0
This was very much like a ‘pass the time’ comfort read to me. It was a fine mystery with at least fairly likable characters.
Our main character, a young 20-something fresh out of college, isn’t sure what to do with her life just yet, and finds herself involved in the family business of solving crimes. When a coworker of hers is found murdered, Annie finds herself pushed to solve it and finding a reason to stay in her small town that she thought she escaped from with a college education.
The setting of deep Texas was utilized well to create a kind of culture around it. I think there were a little too many side characters and time jumping around that made the story a bit confusing and muddled occasionally. I guessed the culprit (go me!) but that didn’t make it less interesting in this case since it was a fairly good turn.
I did like its voice and perspective around feminism in the south and problems with rape culture in a lot of the communities around it. Patriarchy was the real villain here and I can get behind that.
Overall, it was an easy listen and a decent way to spend a few hours. It felt like cable tv.
Thanks to Netgalley and RB media for a copy of this audiobook. Narrated by Sandy Rustin who did a good job but boy was it accented, often heavily.
Our main character, a young 20-something fresh out of college, isn’t sure what to do with her life just yet, and finds herself involved in the family business of solving crimes. When a coworker of hers is found murdered, Annie finds herself pushed to solve it and finding a reason to stay in her small town that she thought she escaped from with a college education.
The setting of deep Texas was utilized well to create a kind of culture around it. I think there were a little too many side characters and time jumping around that made the story a bit confusing and muddled occasionally. I guessed the culprit (go me!) but that didn’t make it less interesting in this case since it was a fairly good turn.
I did like its voice and perspective around feminism in the south and problems with rape culture in a lot of the communities around it. Patriarchy was the real villain here and I can get behind that.
Overall, it was an easy listen and a decent way to spend a few hours. It felt like cable tv.
Thanks to Netgalley and RB media for a copy of this audiobook. Narrated by Sandy Rustin who did a good job but boy was it accented, often heavily.