Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Piatkus
Publication Date: 8th Jan 2015
Pages: 448
MY REVIEW:
I received an advance copy of Redemption Road by Lisa
Ballantyne from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is said
review. This book is published by Piatkus.
Having never read anything by Lisa Ballantyne before, I
was drawn to this book on NetGalley by the blurb and the fact Lisa’s first
book, The Guilty One received such rave reviews. I expected good things. I got
good things but not the “wow” things I was looking for.
In 2013 Margaret Holloway is involved in a motorway pile
up. She is trapped in her car and only survives after being rescued by a
hideously scarred man she doesn’t know.
In 1985 George McLaughlin has come into some money. He
stole it. His family is known for being gangsters but George is the black
sheep. He appears to be the good one. He has only ever loved Kathleen. She left
seven years ago with their daughter to start a new life away from George. He
has decided he wants her back, and he wants his daughter back. In a turn of
events that no one could have seen coming, George ends up on the run with his
daughter but without Kathleen.
How do things turn out for George? Who is the mysterious
character who has rescued Margaret? Is there a connection?
OK where to start with this one? I was disappointed.
Really disappointed.
The writing in this book is really good. Ms Ballantyne
has a knack for drawing you into a story and giving you a real feel for the
characters. In this instance the stand out person for me was George. He is the
stereotypical gentle giant born out of a gangster family when he doesn’t have a
bad bone in his body and wants nothing to do with them. His childhood is
horrific but he still turns out a good one. Sort of. Circumstances lead him
astray and he ends up on the run through no fault of his own.
A couple of other characters did stand out like the
religious reporter whose antiquated beliefs and morals made me instantly hate
him and his attitudes. Margaret is a confused individual searching for answers
to years old secrets.
The story jumps from 2013 to 1985 and back again. Over and over. The most enjoyable parts for me were the older scenes with George. His character just shone through and you couldn’t help but feel for the big man.
The story jumps from 2013 to 1985 and back again. Over and over. The most enjoyable parts for me were the older scenes with George. His character just shone through and you couldn’t help but feel for the big man.
Apart from George, the rest of it was quite a let-down to
be honest.
Don’t get me wrong the actual writing is very good. It is
well structured, well put together. It’s very polished. It’s also very very
predictable.
I had this thing sussed from about thirty pages in. I
kept thinking to myself that I must be wrong. There must be some major twist
halfway through that would turn everything I thought upside down? Nope. Three
quarters of the way through? Nope. It was exactly as I had thought it would be.
From the very beginning. This disappointed me so much. Once I had it sussed, at
the beginning, there were no thrills. There were a few “why the hell would you
do that” moments but nothing to thrill me. Nothing to keep me rooted to the
pages. Nothing to keep me from eventually wishing the book was shorter so I
could move on to something else. I stuck it out. Purely to prove I was right.
To summarise: Good writing. Predictable plot and
ultimately this spoilt it for me. If this had been a two part drama on
television, I would not have bothered trying to remember to watch the second
part. Sounds harsh but a thriller should thrill and surprise you and kill you
with a huge twist. This unfortunately didn’t. For this, the stars come down.
General rating:
★★.5 Disappointing
Thriller rating:
★★ Not very thrilling.
You can buy Redemption Road here:
Book Synopsis:
The crash is the unravelling of Margaret Holloway.
Trapped inside a car about to explode, she is rescued by a scarred stranger who
then disappears. Margaret remembers little, but she's spent her life
remembering little - her childhood is full of holes and forgotten memories. And
now she has a burning desire to discover who she is, why her life has been
shrouded in secrets, and if it has anything to do with the mysterious man who
saved her life.
In a thriller that flits effortlessly between past and
present, this is a harsh, gritty yet ultimately uplifting journey of an
estranged father and daughter, exploring the strength of family ties and our
huge capacity for forgiveness.
Lisa Ballantyne was born in Armadale, West Lothian,
Scotland and studied English Literature at University of St Andrews.
She lived and worked in China for many years and started
writing seriously while she was there. Before being published, Lisa was
short-listed for the Dundee International Book Prize.
Her debut novel, The Guilty One was translated into over
25 languages, long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and
short-listed for an Edgar Allan Poe Award. The Guilty One was also the Autumn
2012 Richard and Judy Book-club Winner. Redemption Road is her new novel. She
lives in Glasgow.
You can see more of Lisa at her website.
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