bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
Based on the books I've been reading lately the American South seems a dangerous place to live. It's practically teeming with crazed killers, bogeymen, bigots, murderous bullies, and in this case, murderous bulls. The story takes place in rural Georgia in the 70's and is for the most part told by Kyle, a young boy caught up in a sinister game with a, well, crazed killer. It's very dark and so full of casual violence (by bulls and bullies) that the more elaborate violence inflicted on the killer's victim doesn't seem so shocking. Kyle's relationship with his sister Grace is nicely depicted, though Kyle himself isn't a very memorable character. He comes to life in his interactions with his family, which I wish been given more room.
This one didn't quite grip me, but I wouldn't mind reading something else by the author. For those who like their Southern noir very, very noir.
This one didn't quite grip me, but I wouldn't mind reading something else by the author. For those who like their Southern noir very, very noir.
moonpiegeorge's review against another edition
5.0
This book was as good as I expected. Mr Jerkins follows up his fabulous debut (A Very Simple Crime) with a fast paced thriller that kept me turning the pages as quickly as my eyes could soak up the words. I suspect that Kyle and Grace will be in my thoughts for quite some time.
ava_catherine's review against another edition
4.0
Kyle, a ten-year-old boy, who lives in rural Georgia in 1976 causes a woman to run off the road to avoid hitting him on his bike. Kyle runs from the accident instead of helping the woman, which sets the events of the book in motion. Riddled with guilt, Kyle is vulnerable. Kyle, his little sister, Grace, and the old man, who is stroke victim, across the street are the main characters. The children are repulsed and scared of the old man across the street. The author uses a very clever device to reveal the mystery in the book. Kyle is a very well rounded character with moral questions he must try to answer. I like the book and recommend it if you like mysteries and crime novels.
maureenmccombs's review against another edition
3.0
This book is dark and disturbing from start to finish. This is a review that I may have to revisit after I have mulled this book around in my head for a few days. The striking similarities between some of the details in this book and the horrific Hi-Fi murders that occurred in Ogden, Utah in 1974 have thrown me for a loop and I can feel that I am a bit too hung up on that fact to assess the remaining qualities of this book. I will say this is a very fast read.
mokorba's review
3.0
This was a pretty disturbing book. It was also a but descriptive for my taste. It started getting better towards the end. Interesting story line, just too descriptive and not warm and fuzzy.
chriswolak's review
5.0
Fabulous suspense, coming of age novel with a creepy, dark core.
At the End of the Road is Grant Jerkins's second novel and there is nothing of the sophomore slump about it. Set in rural Georgia on the cusp of the coming suburban sprawl that's ready to explode out of Atlanta, At the End of the Road is the story of ten year old Kyle and how radically his life changes one day in 1976 after he causes a car accident and then doesn't help or get help for the injured driver. When Kyle returns to the scene of the accident, there's no trace of the driver or the car, which had rolled on its side.
A series of events unfold and Kyle's secrets build and turn into lies. He eventually starts to believe his lies, to some extent, and then they start to take a physical and deeply emotional toll on him and on his little sister Grace. At one point I started to wonder if Kyle wasn't right in the head, but then I recalled what it's like to be a ten year old with a big problem, one that you've never had before and know adults would freak out about and then who knows what will happen to you. You'd be beyond in trouble. And it is 1976. I'm not sure how well this novel would work set in 2011, in an America that is much more sophisticated about crime, technology, and communication. It would be doable, but it would certainly be a different novel.
Kyle lives on Eden Road. You can read this novel as just a good, well-written suspense story, or as an origin story for a life of drugs and alcohol addiction, or even, yes, as a retelling on the story of the Garden of Eden.
I was ten years old in 1976 and even though I grew up in an urban environment, I could relate to Kyle in many ways. I remember the popularity of Wonder Woman, shopping at Zayre, and the dangers of playing with matches and Drano. His childhood is pretty standard: siblings who either ignore him or become his best buddy, parents who aren't really paying attention to their kids because they're wrapped up in their own pain or routine, the casual violence of children running free, neighborhood bullies, and mean neighbors who construct believable social facades for the adults around them.
Except that in Kyle's neighborhood there's someone who is beyond mean.
I really enjoyed Grant Jerkins first novel, A Very Simple Crime, which came out last year. I was still a bookseller back then and regularly hand-sold copies of that book to mystery readers who were looking for something new. Most of them came back asking if I knew when Jenkins' next book would be out. Alas, the bookstore where I worked is no-more, but I hope those customers find At the End of the Road at their "new" bookstore or library because it's a really good read. It's been a long time since I gave a book a 5-star rating on Goodreads, but this one earned it for its smooth writing and understated storytelling.
If you're looking for something different, something that reads like a combination of Mark Twain, Stephen King, and a dash of Patricia Cornwell, At the End of the Road might be up your alley.
At the End of the Road is Grant Jerkins's second novel and there is nothing of the sophomore slump about it. Set in rural Georgia on the cusp of the coming suburban sprawl that's ready to explode out of Atlanta, At the End of the Road is the story of ten year old Kyle and how radically his life changes one day in 1976 after he causes a car accident and then doesn't help or get help for the injured driver. When Kyle returns to the scene of the accident, there's no trace of the driver or the car, which had rolled on its side.
A series of events unfold and Kyle's secrets build and turn into lies. He eventually starts to believe his lies, to some extent, and then they start to take a physical and deeply emotional toll on him and on his little sister Grace. At one point I started to wonder if Kyle wasn't right in the head, but then I recalled what it's like to be a ten year old with a big problem, one that you've never had before and know adults would freak out about and then who knows what will happen to you. You'd be beyond in trouble. And it is 1976. I'm not sure how well this novel would work set in 2011, in an America that is much more sophisticated about crime, technology, and communication. It would be doable, but it would certainly be a different novel.
Kyle lives on Eden Road. You can read this novel as just a good, well-written suspense story, or as an origin story for a life of drugs and alcohol addiction, or even, yes, as a retelling on the story of the Garden of Eden.
I was ten years old in 1976 and even though I grew up in an urban environment, I could relate to Kyle in many ways. I remember the popularity of Wonder Woman, shopping at Zayre, and the dangers of playing with matches and Drano. His childhood is pretty standard: siblings who either ignore him or become his best buddy, parents who aren't really paying attention to their kids because they're wrapped up in their own pain or routine, the casual violence of children running free, neighborhood bullies, and mean neighbors who construct believable social facades for the adults around them.
Except that in Kyle's neighborhood there's someone who is beyond mean.
I really enjoyed Grant Jerkins first novel, A Very Simple Crime, which came out last year. I was still a bookseller back then and regularly hand-sold copies of that book to mystery readers who were looking for something new. Most of them came back asking if I knew when Jenkins' next book would be out. Alas, the bookstore where I worked is no-more, but I hope those customers find At the End of the Road at their "new" bookstore or library because it's a really good read. It's been a long time since I gave a book a 5-star rating on Goodreads, but this one earned it for its smooth writing and understated storytelling.
If you're looking for something different, something that reads like a combination of Mark Twain, Stephen King, and a dash of Patricia Cornwell, At the End of the Road might be up your alley.
scotchneat's review
3.0
I get why this one is classified as a "thriller". There is a serial killer in it.
But the actual (usual) entrapmentsexdeath is almost incidental to the vividly real life of children growing up on a small road in a forgotten part of Georgia. The childhood scenes and interior life of Kyle are really well done. The scary paralysed man across the road is menacing, as is the bull in the pasture next door.
Definitely some disturbing scenes but nothing you haven't seen on HBO. I wonder what Jerkins could write if he didn't worry about plugging in the thriller stuff.
But the actual (usual) entrapmentsexdeath is almost incidental to the vividly real life of children growing up on a small road in a forgotten part of Georgia. The childhood scenes and interior life of Kyle are really well done. The scary paralysed man across the road is menacing, as is the bull in the pasture next door.
Definitely some disturbing scenes but nothing you haven't seen on HBO. I wonder what Jerkins could write if he didn't worry about plugging in the thriller stuff.
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