I love thrillers and mysteries. I might be a wuss when it comes to horror movies, but scary books I can handle! Bring on the corpses!
The Road of the Dead, however, I didn't love. At all. Maybe I just don't like Kevin Brooks's writing style? I have also read Candy and Being by this author and both of those books just left me saying "meh." The interesting thing to me is that I keep picking up books by Brooks... maybe I WANT to like his books and writing style but I just can't?
The Road of the Dead takes place in England, mostly in the swampy countryside. The setting of the book contributes heavily to the mood of the story. In this tale of grief and revenge, Ruben and Cole's sister is murdered while visiting her friend in a small town in rural England. The police will not return her body to the family for burial until the murder is solved, so Cole and Ruben decide to travel to her murder site and solve the mystery themselves. Ruben's character is fairly interesting (he is clairvoyant... what the heck is with all these mind-reading books I have been reading lately?!), and we spend a lot of time in his head. However, the other characters in the book are one dimensional and almost like caricatures rather than engaging people.
Although I wasn't a fan of this book, I would still pass it on to teens. I think they will like the thriller-ness of this tale, and they might also be enticed by the mystery. Fans of Plum-Ucci's Body of Christopher Creed, Lois Duncan's books, or all those teen slasher flicks might enjoy this book.
1 comment:
I really liked this book and Candy, but not Martyn Pig, Being, or Kissing the Rain. Teens who like mysteries do love this one, so it's worth having. I do understand your objections.
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