On Bent Road, a battered red truck cruises ominously along the prairie; a lonely little girl dresses in her dead aunt’s clothes; a boy hefts his father’s rifle in search of a target; and a mother realizes she no longer knows how to protect her children. It is a place where people learn: Sometimes killing is the kindest way.
I wanted to talk to you about an American novelist that I’ve discovered last year : Lori Roy. Her first novel, presented to you today, was love at first sight ! I’m just done reading the second one, and it confirms all good I think about her.
Detroit, 1967 – for 20 years, Celia Scott has watched her husband, Arthur, hide from his family and the mysterious death of his sister, Eve. But when the racial riots frighten him, he convinces his wife to pack up their family and return to Bent Road, Kansas where he grew up on.
His decision doesn’t please his kids : Elaine, 17 y.old, fears she might die of boredom and Daniel, a shy teenager can’t get over losing all his friends. Only Evie, the youngest one, whom imagination rules her life, is excited to meet her family on her father’s side.
Reese, Arthur’s Mom is still around, an old, cold and bossy woman. Her oldest daughter, Ruth lives over there with her husband, Ray – whom she married shortly after her sister’s death. Ray was actually the boyfriend of Eve before her passing. Ray and Ruth have no children. But their neighbors, the Robison, have a cute daughter, Julianne – same age as Evie. But a few days, after the Scott have moved back, Julianne disappears…
Her missing brings back the ghosts from the past – Eve’s mysterious death. The winter has settled in, and Celia can’t help feeling depressed on these isolated lands. She regrets her city days, the cultural life of Detroit. The only time she leaves her home if for the Sunday Mass. Soon enough, Arthur finds out that his brother-in-law, a known alcoholic, beats his wife up. When she shows up one day with bruises all over her face, Arthur has made a decision : his sister is not going back to her husband’s. Despite the Churh disapproval or Ray’s anger.
Meanwhile, the kids try to have fun. Evie’s imaginery life is her only way out. One day, she finds her deceased aunt’s clothes, whom she was named after, in a closet and decides to try them on. Her brother, Daniel, has made one friend, Ian Bucher. A disabled kid, who loves hunted and is obsessed with a man has escaped from an asylum. He’s sure the guy is prowling around their farms.
“Don’t be fooled by the novel’s apparent simplicity: What emerges from the surface is a tale of extraordinary emotional power, one of longstanding pain set against the pulsating drumbeat of social change.”
You have here all the ingredients for a passionate “roman noir”. Because she definitely knows how to paint a vivid picture : I could see everyting happen so clearly in my head. Slowly but surely the tension grows ..It’s gritty and it feels so real. You jump from one character to another, and slowly the pieces of the puzzle start to make sense. An oppressive atmosphere that settles in – and you know, deep down inside that Ray won’t accept the situation, and what about little Julianne ?
Lori Roy knows it all when it comes to set up a thriller and uneasiness for her readers. I got scared along with the Scott’s family. I saw Evie play with her Auntie’s dresses and knew it was wrong, I saw Daniel hunting and shaking as pulling the trigger, and I saw Ray’s shadow moving slowing towards the farm…
You know what’s going to happen, all things blowing up to your face but you can’t help it, you can’t help them… A gripping novel, not to be missed !
Available in any good bookstore on online at Amazon.com.