A review by mudder17
Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens

5.0

Wow, I was expecting a typical mystery and thriller novel and this was way more than that. The story is narrated by an older Boady Sanden, who recalls the summer he was 15 when many events occurred that have shaped who he is now. He grew up in the Ozarks in the small town of Jessup, Missouri and when the story begins, it's apparent that he and his mother struggle to make ends meet while his mother seems to go through the motions of living, ever since they lost his father to an accident. Boady is a below-average student who dreams of dropping out of school, finding a job, and making it out to the big cities. Included amongst the mysteries: a black woman disappears, along with thousands of embezzled funds, a neighbor with a cloudy past, a "secret" white supremacist group called Corp creating fear and intimidation, a sheriff who may or may not be on the right side of the law, bullies in school who may have a link to Corp. So many questions that lead to an incredibly rich story that invokes a love for the town and its people while unearthing the ugliness of human nature. I'm not 100% sure I agree with Hoke on everything he said about racism, but it gave me a lot of food for thought. Kevin Stillwell narrated this book and he was absolutely perfect for this. It's the first book I've listened to him and I would enjoy listening to other books by him. I was drawn in right from the very beginning and I had a hard time putting it down when I needed to do other things! By the end, I had tears streaming down my face. If you're a fan of historical fiction with mystery, especially books by William Kent Krueger, you should definitely read this one. This is going on my favorites shelf for sure.