Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates
Synopsis:
A twelve-year-old Patrick sat back and watched as his
friend, Matthew, fired 49 rounds from a BB gun at a young girl, Hannah, who was
bound to a tree less than a hundred miles north of New York City in the summer
of 1982.
This senseless, childhood crime ties these three people
together 26 years later in traumatic memories in this whydunit. Patrick and
Hannah are now married after reconnecting as adults with the promise to never
speak of that day. Patrick spends his days blogging about a fantasy restaurant
and its menu while Hannah is now a crime reporter. The appearance of Matthew
just as Patrick hits a low point in his life fuels his fear of Hannah finding
out about having not stepped in to stop her shooting and losing her to his
one-time friend.
Each person is hiding a piece of that day as they tell their
stories from that day. The rising tension finds the three back in that spot of
their shared childhood for a chilling confrontation.
Mystery Elements in Grist
Mill Road:
·
The book involves many faceted layers about the
plot and its characters that come together until the crime reaches its
conclusion.
·
Characters’ personal lives as delved into deeply
along with those of secondary characters.
·
The setting in the New York mountains and
surrounding woods is filled with geographic details. The reader gets a sense of
the surroundings.
·
There’s a strong sinister tone in the adults’
memories of their shared childhood moment.
·
Characters sometimes converse through texts and
e-mails.
·
The pace is helped by the appeal of the
characters and what has and will happen to them.
Read-Alikes:
·
See What I’ve
Done by Sarah Schmidt
o
Character-driven
o
Multiple perspectives
o
Compelling
·
All Is Not
Forgotten by Wendy Walker
o
Unreliable narrator
o
Character-driven
o
Disturbing crime
·
Girl in
Snow by Danya Kukafka
o
Character-drive
o
Multiple perspectives
o
Disturbing crime (against teens)
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