A review by novelbloglover
The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 

Book Review 

Title: The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters 

Genre: Historical, Drama, Retelling 

Rating: 5 Stars 

The Steep & Thorny Way is a retelling of Hamlet set in 1920’s prohibition America following a mixed race main character, Hanalee Denney. Hanalee’s father, Hank was killed in a car accident almost two years before the story begins and Joe Adder, the boy convicted of his murder has been released. Hanalee speaks with Joe and he claims that her father seemed fine until Doctor Clyde Koning turned up and her father died, however, Clyde is now her stepfather as he married her mother Greta, just over a year after her father died. Joe’s story fits with Hanalee’s existing doubts about Clyde but he also claims that Clyde has connections to the KKK which is worrying for her and coupled with the fact several people including her best friend, Fleur claim to have seen her father’s ghost has Hanalee wondering whether it was an accident at all. Obviously this fits pretty closely with the story it is based off so I am hoping that it isn’t a direct retelling and that there are some twists along the way otherwise this is going to be a little boring. 

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Hanalee ends up staying the night at Fleur’s because she doesn’t want to be at home and after Fleur confesses that she thinks she has seen Hank’s ghost as well Hanalee pays a visit to Mildred the next day. Mildred gives her a bottle of elixir that will allow her to see her father’s ghost and gives her instructions on how to use it so after her mother and Clyde head to bed that night she does exactly what Mildred said before heading the place where Joe hit her father with his car. There she waits and eventually her father’s ghost comes to her and they talk, he explains that Joe was right in what he said that he did hit Hank with the car but he was fairly ok after it and that it was Clyde who killed him before he sends her home. However, Hanalee doesn’t go home she goes to the barn where Joe is hiding and tells him that she believes him now she has spoken to her father’s ghost and Joe knows there will be no getting rid of Clyde unless they kill him which neither wants to do but it seems it must be done. After heading home and sleeping off the elixir the deputy comes to question her the next morning about Joe’s location and she lies saying he has left town since she trusts him now after he confessed to her that he was homosexual which at this time is a punishable offense and she makes her displeasure about her questioning and Clyde known before heading out. 

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Hanalee spends more time with Joe talking things through with him as she feels she needs more proof against Clyde before they try to kill him otherwise she wouldn’t feel right. Joe isn’t keen on waiting since he wants his revenge now and Laurence wants him out of the barn as soon as possible and this upsets Hanalee because she has been sweet on Laurence, Fleur’s brother for a long time but recently he is acting colder towards her and she knows it is because she isn’t white like him. Joe agrees to give Hanalee one night to test Clyde before they begin planning his death as she ends up doing this by choosing a bible story that is similar to what happened to her father and Clyde loses it. He end sup screaming and shouting at Hanalee believes that Joe is in his house and this seems to further her mother’s idea that Hanalee is sleeping with Joe which isn’t true and before Clyde can do anything to her Hanalee flees. While Clyde does chase her into the woods he doesn’t know they as well as her and she manages to retrieve her gun threatening her and telling him that she wants nothing to do with him and he should know the reason why. The tension and atmosphere is really ramping up as we get closer to the halfway mark and I can’t wait to see where it goes now. 

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Hanalee running to meet up with Joe since she doesn’t know where else to go and she knows he will also be in danger especially if he is found and the pair escape into the woods where they end up spending the night while they decide on what to do next. However, they are found by the Witten boys who they now know are associated with the KKK and they have to come up with a story on the fly about what they are doing together and they come up with eloping. This makes sense since everyone knows an interracial marriage wouldn’t be officially sanctioned in their state and it puts the rumours of Joe being gay to rest protecting them both in a sense. Despite getting the boys to leave Joe knows he has to take Hanalee home because they can’t run much further without supplies as they will starve or freeze to death and it leaves Clyde alive which isn’t what he wants. Putting herself back in Clyde’s path is the last thing Hanalee wants but she understands what Joe is trying to say but pleads with him to come up with another plan, a legal plan, that doesn’t involve killing Clyde and he promises to try. Back home she convinces her mother and the police that the eloping story is real and returned because she felt guilty and Joe is heading to Washington but Clyde is pushing her to leave her father’s death alone and Hanalee isn’t going to do that especially since she knows the truth now. 

As we cross into the second half of the novel, after Hanalee’s confession about seeing her father’s ghost she is treated like something fragile which she hates considering it is the truth but she begins looking into the KKK connections a bit more. With her mother’s help they learn that Clyde isn’t connected to them at all but she knows people in the town are like the Witten boys. At a local picnic she runs into Mildred who explains her father is still haunting their house and she needs to do something about it before her mother hires someone to make his ghost go away for good which is the last thing Hanalee wants right now. After that she learns that Laurence is keeping Fleur away from him hurting both girls and in a confrontation with Hanalee he admits his connection to the KKK claiming it is to keep his family safe so they can’t be seen with her or associate with her. Shortly after this there are informed of a body matching Joe’s description having been found which sends Hanalee into a spiral. Strangely it is Clyde who pulls her out of this and she speaks with him, he tells her that Joe isn’t dead and it is too far for him to go in a short space of time and that if he comes back to tell him to put aside his anger and Clyde will help him get somewhere he will be accepted. This conversation leaves Hanalee confused until she speaks to her father again and he clarifies that when he blamed the doc, he didn’t mean doc as in doctor but doc as in the Dry Dock, a local restaurant. He explains that the clan where in the Dry Dock the night he died and they are the ones responsible for his death not Clyde which breaks Hanalee’s heart since Clyde has been trying to support her and get to know her all this time and she has thought him capable of murder. Her father encourages her to educate herself and brings the weapons of truth and justice back to help others like herself and Joe which she agrees to. 

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, I was liking how the story was slowly moving away from the Hamlet plot and developing the racial and social issues and I can’t wait to see where it goes in the end since Clyde mentioned Joe being a sacrifice in order to keep her and her safe. This means Clyde might have outed Joe as being gay to protect Hanalee from the clan since she is mixed race.  Through talking with her father’s ghost and her own detective work and fortitude, Hanalee finally uncovers the full story about what happened the night her father died and it changes the entire direction of the book in a good way. The book changed from being a standard Hamlet retelling to being something much more important and emotional. We get to see Hanalee and Joe’s friendship develop to the point where they are willing to each put their lives on the line for the other which is a very real possibility now that the KKK have painted targets on all of them from Hanalee for her race, Joe for his sexual orientation, the Deputy for his religion and Greta and Clyde to for simply associating with them and protecting Hanalee. Seeing the bond between Hanalee and Clyde developing was amazing even after he confessed knowing about how Hank died from that very night and how he lied in court and threw Joe under the bus to protect her because he loves and cares for Hanalee and wants to know her better. These moment literally made me tears up and I wanted more of them to the point I wouldn’t have minded if the book was 100 pages longer just to have them. 

As we cross into the final section of the novel, we get to see the final confrontation between Hanalee, Joe and the KKK where Hanalee proves she is willing to do whatever it takes in order survive but she isn’t willing to sacrifice her friends or family to do it. Seeing Hanalee risk her own life to protect Joe was beautiful and it really developed her character so much and those final moments she spends with her dad as he carries her home was amazing although Hanalee might have just hallucinated the entire thing but we don’t know. Seeing the ending and how the town fought back against the KKK especially after key members were dealt with and how they became stronger as a community for it was great. The final scenes of Joe leaving for Seattle with Hanalee and her family now including Fleur not far behind was great as it ends with so much hope even though they know the problem of the KKK isn’t limited to where they live but they have a greater chance of being accepted there. The only complaint I have is I wanted more bonding time between Hanalee and Clyde especially at the end, maybe a single scene where Hanalee explains that he can never replace her father but if she had to he would be it would have been so nice but overall this was an outstanding read and I highly recommend you all read it.