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whimsicalyme's review against another edition
4.0
I just finished Pay Dirt Road by @samallenwrites and I need all my mystery & thriller lovers to read this book!! Set in a small Texas town and following the death of our MC’s friend Victoria. Victoria’s a single mother and waitress at the diner diner where Annie works.
Our MC Annie is a recent college graduate returned home to figure out what she’s doing with her life. Annie is drawn to investigate the case by her grandfather, a retired sheriff turned PI and alcoholic. As Annie investigates I appreciated her stops, starts and blunders. She grows as a person and investigator throughout the book and I enjoyed it!
There are plenty of red herrings but I found this novel engaging and atmospheric. The small Texas town is filled with the same societal issues we see everywhere including alcoholism, domestic violence/abuse of women, political and environmental issues. An oil company is drilling and buying up land, could the land Victoria inherited from her grandmother be the reason for her death?
Pay Dirt road isn’t a fast paced thriller, it is a slow build mystery that’s character driven and atmospheric, a solid start to a series! I can’t wait to see what Samatha Allen has in store for us next!
Pay Dirt Road goes on sale April 19! Thank you @minotaur_books for my advanced copy of the book to review.
Our MC Annie is a recent college graduate returned home to figure out what she’s doing with her life. Annie is drawn to investigate the case by her grandfather, a retired sheriff turned PI and alcoholic. As Annie investigates I appreciated her stops, starts and blunders. She grows as a person and investigator throughout the book and I enjoyed it!
There are plenty of red herrings but I found this novel engaging and atmospheric. The small Texas town is filled with the same societal issues we see everywhere including alcoholism, domestic violence/abuse of women, political and environmental issues. An oil company is drilling and buying up land, could the land Victoria inherited from her grandmother be the reason for her death?
Pay Dirt road isn’t a fast paced thriller, it is a slow build mystery that’s character driven and atmospheric, a solid start to a series! I can’t wait to see what Samatha Allen has in store for us next!
Pay Dirt Road goes on sale April 19! Thank you @minotaur_books for my advanced copy of the book to review.
memull17's review against another edition
3.0
Pay Dirt Road tells the story of Annie, a recent college graduate feeling adrift who suddenly becomes involved in the family business when a waitress from her diner job goes missing.
Nothing stood out or really wowed me about the story or the case they were solving. It felt like something was missing or wasn’t share about those involved and the ending wrapped up quickly.
This book is on the shorter side so it didn’t take too long to read. I would recommend this to someone looking for a lighter mystery set in a small town.
Thank you @minotaur_books and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
Nothing stood out or really wowed me about the story or the case they were solving. It felt like something was missing or wasn’t share about those involved and the ending wrapped up quickly.
This book is on the shorter side so it didn’t take too long to read. I would recommend this to someone looking for a lighter mystery set in a small town.
Thank you @minotaur_books and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.
abigailgross's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mehva's review against another edition
5.0
This was a beautfully written, at times, a profound book. It was also a slow burn, almost painfully slow esp in the beginning as we were aware of what could happen and how it would affect her. It is a love story to family and the land and to life.
jjcerts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
bre88's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Drug use, and Rape
swalk's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully written thriller, the author has a fantastic way captivating the reader with excellent character building, emotion and gorgeous descriptions that really immerse you into Garnett County.
The book had a nice pacing - a slow burn, but the descriptions and relationships kept me interested, so I thought it worked very well with the writing style letting you settle into the environment and characters.
The narrator worked really well with the atmospheric nature of the story, I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be looking out for future books from Samantha Jayne Allen.
The book had a nice pacing - a slow burn, but the descriptions and relationships kept me interested, so I thought it worked very well with the writing style letting you settle into the environment and characters.
The narrator worked really well with the atmospheric nature of the story, I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be looking out for future books from Samantha Jayne Allen.
gretel7's review against another edition
2.0
I would love to have seen Annie in a better defined and determined leading role.
tessa_talks_books's review against another edition
4.0
What's it about (in a nutshell):
Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen is a dark and thrilling mystery in a small Texas town. Annie is a recent college grad who took a job as a waitress in her hometown while she figured out what was next. When a coworker is murdered, she joins her Private Investigator grandfather on the dangerous path to find a killer and, along the way, her own adult self.
What I Enjoyed:
The setting is described to perfection. Every detail put me there in a visceral way that could be almost claustrophobic. And the people in this town were people that I grew up with. People who stayed in the same small town they grew up in and found their place within this town as adults, often following in their parent's footsteps. There are certain commonalities between small towns, and this novel describes them to perfection.
I loved the atmospheric feel of this story, whose pace was brought up by the many thrills of the dangerous investigation into Victoria's death. The slower pace of the non-action scenes changes to a true page-turner when Annie and her grandfather, Leroy, begin their investigation. The first-person narration helps keep the pace at a comfortable speed as the reader experiences the dangers from Annie's inexperienced perspective.
I love the family theme of this story, too. Annie comes from a long line of men and women who investigated crimes for a living. She can even trace her roots back to many greats grandmother who was a member of the Pinkerton Agency. This makes things challenging for her as she tries to decide her future direction, knowing that her father's expectation is that she stay far away from the dangerous path of past family members.
Characters:
Annie is at a crossroads. A recent college grad, when jobs were scarce, she decided not to enroll in law school. She is knee-deep in figuring things out when her coworker goes missing, and she is thrown into the life that her father had always tried to keep her far away from. Annie shows tremendous growth in this story as she figures out who she is as an adult and what career path she wants. I found her character so well-developed that she is instantly relatable and intricately layered to reflect any past scars.
Reminds Me Of:
The atmosphere and tone felt like a hard-boiled mystery. Still, the uniqueness comes from the young female detective in training to take her grandfather's role.
Friday Night Lights meets Mare of Easttown
What I Wish:
I sometimes wished that the pace would speed up a bit more, but then it would. But, the stretches in between did feel a bit long in the middle.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a modern version of a hard-boiled mystery with an unexpected detective, you will want to pick up Pay Dirt Road.
Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen is a dark and thrilling mystery in a small Texas town. Annie is a recent college grad who took a job as a waitress in her hometown while she figured out what was next. When a coworker is murdered, she joins her Private Investigator grandfather on the dangerous path to find a killer and, along the way, her own adult self.
What I Enjoyed:
The setting is described to perfection. Every detail put me there in a visceral way that could be almost claustrophobic. And the people in this town were people that I grew up with. People who stayed in the same small town they grew up in and found their place within this town as adults, often following in their parent's footsteps. There are certain commonalities between small towns, and this novel describes them to perfection.
I loved the atmospheric feel of this story, whose pace was brought up by the many thrills of the dangerous investigation into Victoria's death. The slower pace of the non-action scenes changes to a true page-turner when Annie and her grandfather, Leroy, begin their investigation. The first-person narration helps keep the pace at a comfortable speed as the reader experiences the dangers from Annie's inexperienced perspective.
I love the family theme of this story, too. Annie comes from a long line of men and women who investigated crimes for a living. She can even trace her roots back to many greats grandmother who was a member of the Pinkerton Agency. This makes things challenging for her as she tries to decide her future direction, knowing that her father's expectation is that she stay far away from the dangerous path of past family members.
Characters:
Annie is at a crossroads. A recent college grad, when jobs were scarce, she decided not to enroll in law school. She is knee-deep in figuring things out when her coworker goes missing, and she is thrown into the life that her father had always tried to keep her far away from. Annie shows tremendous growth in this story as she figures out who she is as an adult and what career path she wants. I found her character so well-developed that she is instantly relatable and intricately layered to reflect any past scars.
Reminds Me Of:
The atmosphere and tone felt like a hard-boiled mystery. Still, the uniqueness comes from the young female detective in training to take her grandfather's role.
Friday Night Lights meets Mare of Easttown
What I Wish:
I sometimes wished that the pace would speed up a bit more, but then it would. But, the stretches in between did feel a bit long in the middle.
To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a modern version of a hard-boiled mystery with an unexpected detective, you will want to pick up Pay Dirt Road.
kmd31's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5