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Grist Mill Road A Novel Christopher J Yates 9781250150288 Books

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Grist Mill Road A Novel Christopher J Yates 9781250150288 Books

Grist Mill Road was a book that was favorably reviewed in the NYTimes Book Review. The reviewer accurately pointed out that the opening sequence of events in the book sets up what could be a very interesting story and snags the reader's interest from the very first page.

In my opinion, however, somewhere around half way through, the story and the author's ability to write narrative fell apart. There is a point at which the wife of the protagonist finds out that her husband witnessed the initial event. . .an item the reader knows from the beginning. From that point on, the fairly implausible unraveling of their marriage, his life, her sensibility and most of the story line, collapses into a muddled heap of chapters going back and forth between the origins of the story and 2008 when the climax occurs.

One glaring weakness, to me, was the utterly unexplained relationship between the wife, who is a crime writer, and a NY City cop who is peculiarly devoted to her. He seems to be completely bereft or charm or interest and yet he becomes her self-appointed protector for the remainder of the novel.

Like many other popular pieces of fiction, I think this story had a lot of potential but it was completely squandered in the second half of the book and left me feeling like I had wasted the time.


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Grist Mill Road A Novel Christopher J Yates 9781250150288 Books Reviews

To be honest, I strongly disliked the book. It's a dark cave full of irredeemable characters created by an author who loves his own talent for over description. There's not one character you can appreciate, though you never really get to know them either. They're like cardboard cutouts who are impossible to invest in. And in the end, you're glad you didn't invest in any of them. I skimmed the last half and was relieved when it was over.
Yates delivers again with an intriguing novel that I couldn't put down. The complexity of the characters, separate and alternating storylines , and a climactic end where everything that was till then separate in both space and time come together to keep you thinking back to how it all transpired. I have never changed my opinion about characters so greatly from start to finish of a book. Makes me want to go back and re-read this novel as we as Black Chalk.
One summer day in 1982, Matthew shoots Hannah over 40 times with a BB gun while their friend Patrick watches. This horrific incident will bind the three of them together for life.

Years later, in 2008, Patrick and Hannah are married. They haven't heard from Matthew in decades, nor have they spoken much about what happened when they were kids. But when Matthew comes back into their lives, the secrets and truths from the past float to the surface.

At one point, one of the characters (Patrick, I think) explains his belief that it's not necessarily lying if you simply leave out information. Starting with Patrick's first-person narration and then progressing to Hannah's and finally Matthew's, it's clear that all three of these unreliable narrators are doing just that telling their truths, but leaving out important details.

I was fully on board with Grist Mill Road for a while. I liked the changing perspectives and the slow unraveling of secrets. Unfortunately, though, the final twists just weren't strong enough or even sensible enough to justify what the author was going for. The impact was clearly meant to be more emotional than it was, but the plot points that led there just weren't all that convincing. (Do I really believe that Hannah/Matthew/Patrick did X for Y reason? No.) It became more jumbled and less believable as it went on.

Twisty thrillers that are truly excellent are few and far between. Grist Mill Road is better than a lot of its competition, so if you enjoy this genre you'll probably like it. I had high expectations, though, and they weren't met.
If you are looking for a well-written page-turner, look no further. This literary mystery by Christopher J. Yates had me in its grip from the first page. There are horrendous scenes that require a strong stomach as well as tender scenes of love and friendship. I scratched my head as new information was revealed with each chapter and I wondered how the denouement would play out. While this is a mystery, it is also a book about love, friendship, loyalty, family and betrayal.

The first sentence of the novel reads "I remember the gunshots made a wet sort of sound, phssh phssh phssh, and each time he hit her she screamed". Twelve year old Hannah is tied to a tree as 13 year old Matthew repeatedly shoots her with a BB gun. Twelve year old Patrick covers his ears but can hear it all though he does nothing to stop it. Hannah ends up losing an eye. The book is told from different perspectives - Matthew's, Patrick's and Hannah's. It goes back and forth in time from 2008 to 1982 when the crime occurred. The big question is not what happened but why it occurred. The novel had me guessing until the end.

Matthew is bigger than his classmates because he was left back one year and is a year older. He comes from a poor home and is regularly abused by his drunken father. Patrick is from an affluent background and he has a father with political aspirations. He and Matthew become friends and Patrick less Matthew take the lead in their friendship. Hannah comes from a very wealthy family and is portrayed as rather naive for her age.

We know early on that by 2008 Hannah and Patrick are married. They NEVER discuss what occurred that day in 1982 and the reader wonders what the reality of it is for each of them. Patrick has lost his job and is doing a food blog. He is obsessed with the ex-boss who fired him and takes to stalking him. It appears that Patrick is unraveling. Hannah is a journalist who reports on criminal news. She inherited a lot of money when her parents died so money isn't an issue. Matthew has done well for himself. After serving time in jail for the crime, he has ended up wealthy.

While I found myself mesmerized I was very disappointed with the ending. The pace of the book doesn't let up and I was turning pages late into the night. I especially liked Matthew's characterization but felt that Hannah's and Patrick's were weaker. All said, this is a very intelligent and well-written novel.
Grist Mill Road was a book that was favorably reviewed in the NYTimes Book Review. The reviewer accurately pointed out that the opening sequence of events in the book sets up what could be a very interesting story and snags the reader's interest from the very first page.

In my opinion, however, somewhere around half way through, the story and the author's ability to write narrative fell apart. There is a point at which the wife of the protagonist finds out that her husband witnessed the initial event. . .an item the reader knows from the beginning. From that point on, the fairly implausible unraveling of their marriage, his life, her sensibility and most of the story line, collapses into a muddled heap of chapters going back and forth between the origins of the story and 2008 when the climax occurs.

One glaring weakness, to me, was the utterly unexplained relationship between the wife, who is a crime writer, and a NY City cop who is peculiarly devoted to her. He seems to be completely bereft or charm or interest and yet he becomes her self-appointed protector for the remainder of the novel.

Like many other popular pieces of fiction, I think this story had a lot of potential but it was completely squandered in the second half of the book and left me feeling like I had wasted the time.