Genre: Contemporary Fiction/ Adventure/ Suspense
Description:
"A road trip that begins in Denver becomes a race to Evergreen
when five [people] take a collision course to their respective destinies, and
Noah, Victoria, Thomas, Mule, and Ricky find themselves the target of an outlaw
motorcycle gang, an unscrupulous sheriff, Colombian drug smugglers, oil
industry enforcers, and EPA specialists. The asphalt between Billings, Montana,
and Evergreen, Colorado, is littered with bodies by the time they reach their
final destination."
Author:
"Grace Jelsnik lives in North Dakota with her husband of fifteen
years, their three children, two dogs, and three cats. Her novels emphasize
plot, each with an element of romance that takes a down-to-earth approach to
the natural give-and-take emotional interaction between two characters,
addressing the sparks that lead to heat, not the heat itself. Her targeted
audience is late teen and older, readers who enjoy suspense, mystery, and
snappy dialogue."
Learn more about Ms. Jelsnik on her Amazon Author page.
Appraisal:
This is the third novel from Grace Jelsnik I have read for review here
at Books and Pals. I don’t normally read contemporary fiction, but Ms.
Jelsnik’s voice and character development have me mesmerized. When BigAl asked
if I would be interested in doing a doubleshot review with him for Road
Trip, I jumped at the opportunity. Honestly, I didn’t expect to like this
book. Political intrigue and corporate espionage are NOT among my favorite
genres. I read to escape reality, which is why I lean towards fantasy,
paranormal, and romance novels. That is not to say that Ms. Jelsnik doesn’t
subtly weave a little romance into her stories, because she does. But she does
it in such a realistic way that it feels natural and logical.
Road Trip revolves around a hot political topic of
the environmental effects from hydraulic fracking. Noah Severson, a veterinary
doctor in Montana, notices the health of the area livestock is deteriorating
before his eyes. When Noah tries to alert the EPA of his findings he is met
with bureaucratic roadblocks and local authorities who are making big money
from the fracking operations. Armed with only his data, a camcorder, and a
disposable phone, he sets out on foot, after watching his house go up in
flames, to a rendezvous point given to him from a mysterious caller who claims
he can help.
Victoria Winslow is disillusioned with her life and decides to take a
road trip to ‘find herself.’ She drastically changes her appearance and leaves
with no plan or destination in mind. She sets out on her own to experience life
without any celebrity attachments. Her chance encounter and conversation with a
woman named Wanda helps Victoria by providing focus and direction from insights
Wanda shares about her own experiences and life philosophy. Victoria never
suspects how much this meeting will change the course of her road trip, as well
as her life.
Next, Victoria meets Thomas, a hungry thirteen-year-old runway, and
soon thereafter Thomas's younger brother, Ricky, who change Victoria's plans
yet again. Complicating matters even further is an English mastiff desperately
in need of a new home.
Then Victoria meets Noah in the most unexpected manner, and the
ensuing road trip turns into a journey of discovery and exposition for all of
these participants as they evade the onslaught of several nefarious
adversaries. This character-driven plot has numerous twists that keep Noah and
Victoria constantly aware of the danger they are in and the action is often
fast and furious.
I ended up enjoying this story a lot more than I anticipated. Ms.
Jelsnik has a unique way of weaving realistic individuals into extraordinary
situations and making them believable. Road Trip drew me in
and kept me riveted. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys
well-developed, intelligent characters wrapped in an exceptionally astute
story-line.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
Original review posted July 1, 2016.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I ran across no issues at all.
Rating: *****
Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words
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