BlogTour-‘Grist Mill Road ‘by Christopher J Yates

About the book….

Hannah and Matthew were just playing a game. A little way from home.
But now he is tying Hannah to a tree. And she has never been so terrified.
Patrick is there too, hidden, watching. He can’t move.
He can’t take his eyes off Matthew’s gun.

Years later, miles away in New York City, living adult lives they never would have imagined, the three will meet again. With even more devastating consequences.

Hi! I am super thrilled to be asked to contribute to the ‘Grist Mill Road’ Blog tour….it’s the perfect day for anyone thinking of something for the weekend to consider this book, TGIF!

In ‘‘Grist Mill Road’‘, Christopher J Yates takes 3 childhood friends, puts them -and you as the reader-through a trauma that resonates throughout the rest of their lives.

Starting with a shocking act of violence, Patrick (known as ‘Tricky’ to  to his best friend Matt and later on,’Patch’ to his wife), Hannah and Matt, children who have grown up on different sides of the same town, collide and seal their future in blood, guilt and vengeance.

Flipping both timeframes and narratives, the incident itself appears straight forward and shocking. Patch is the principle narrator to start with followed by Hannah and finally Matt. As the story rockets to its tragic, and inevitable, yet not predictable conclusion, what you think you knew at the beginning is completely turned on its head.

Grist Mill Road is more than a place, it is a state of mind and as a reader I found it very easy to relate to the small mindedness and the roles a town like that allocates to those ‘born on the wrong side of the tracks’. You are never really allowed to forget where you came from, no matter how hard you work to distance yourself from who you were and where you used to live.

I was genuinely surprised to find out that Christopher J Yates was British , his creation of Grist Mill Road has a really authentic Americana feel to it which you would associate with someone who has been resident in the U.S for many years, or was even born there.

Nobody likes spoilers so I am trying very hard not give away the plot. The three friends, as  they narrate their presents and reflect on the past , simultaneously unwind the truth of that fateful day as they tie their present day selves into greater knots.

It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel, it reminds me ,tonally, of ‘The Body’ from ‘Different Seasons’ by Stephen King. The truth is not always what it appears to be and long shadows are cast by old sins. Hannah, Patch and Matt all had the same experience but each of them only saw a part of it. Together they made something happen that was ultimately blameless and so sad. When I reached the end I turned back to the start and began again. As the reader, you were piecing the narratives together to make sense before the characters did to ultimately understand they were both blamed AND blameless.

It is a crime, a thriller, a story of friendships built and destroyed, of growing up but not necessarily growing older.

I am so grateful to Headline Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review.

About the author…

Christopher J. Yates was born and raised in Kent and studied law at Oxford University before working as a puzzle editor in London.

He now lives in New York City with his wife and dog.

Links-http://www.christopherjyates.com/

Twitter @CJ_Yates @headlinepg