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"Don't be fooled by the novel's apparent simplicity: What emerges from the surface is a tale of extraordinary emotional power, one of longstanding pain set against the pulsating drumbeat of social change."
-Sarah Weinman, NPR.org
For twenty years, Celia Scott has watched her husband, Arthur, hide from the secrets surrounding his sister Eve's death. But when the 1967 Detroit riots frighten him even more than his Kansas past, he convinces Celia to pack up their family and return to the road he grew up on, Bent Road, and the same small town where Eve mysteriously died. And then a local girl disappears, catapulting the family headlong into a dead man's curve. . . .
On Bent Road, a battered red truck cruises ominously along the prairie; a lonely little girl dresses in her dead aunt's clothes; a boy hefts his father's rifle in search of a target; and a mother realizes she no longer knows how to protect her children. It is a place where people learn: Sometimes killing is the kindest way.
Winner of the 2012 Edgar Award for Best First Novel
Lori Roy was born and raised in the Midwest, where she was a tax accountant before turning her focus to writing. Roy lives with her family in west central Florida. This is her first novel.
Anonymous
Posted April 1, 2011
Bent Road is for the reader who wants to pick up a book and not put it down until the last page has been turned. Enjoy!!!
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is a gripping debut novel from an author to watch. Lori Roy tells a story in southern-gothic tradition of a family haunted by the past.
To escape the race riots of 1967 Detroit, Arthur Scott returns to Kansas, after fleeing his family homestead there twenty years before.
While his teen daughter settles into a new love and life in Kansas, his adolescent son, and grade school daughter struggle to fit in and belong.
Arthur's wife must come to terms with being a farm wife, as she struggles with Arthur's secret past and what drove him away from his home here so long ago.
Ms. Roy portrays a very real picture of farm life, country folk, and the secrets a family will go to all lengths to hide, even from each other.
The characters are believable, their struggles heartfelt. This is a haunting, memorable story. This author has much to offer, in a genuine way. I welcome her, and highly recommend her.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 13, 2011
Great book, couldn't put it down.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.l_manning
Posted April 16, 2011
What a fantastic book! It brings to mind the feelings evoked when seeing "American Gothic" in person. Sure, it looks like a simple painting, but underneath simmers an entire world of secrets and lies. It starts with a fairly simple premise: a family moves from Detroit to rural Kansas, the home of the patriarch Arthur Scott. While there he must face the past he ran away from and the present that may prove even more toxic.
The writing paints a vivid picture. I could see everything happen so clearly, playing like a movie in my head. Stick Kate Winslet in there, and you have an Oscar winner. It's gritty. It's real. Yet despite all the tragedy and heartache, there still lies a real sense of hope in the end. There's just the whisper of a chance that maybe this family will get past this, break the cycle, and make a better life for themselves and their community.
I highly recommend this book. Lori Roy was able to find the beauty in the stark reality of this family. I was left wanting to know more about their future and past. I will definitely look for more from this author.
Copy of this book won in a First Reads contest.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.RonnaL
Posted December 5, 2012
Great writing, not great story!!
This book was a conundrum for me. I read it because it won the Edgar award for the best first novel. Unfortunately, I felt it was more a statement on legalized abortions rather than a true mystery. Fortunately, the writing was descriptive and creative; unfortunately, I did not like---more like actively disliked---all the characters, even the children. This story was a lesson in bigotry, ignorance, meanness, and hatred. Hopefully, this talented author will choose a different storyline, with a few like able characters in her next book----fore, with this talent there needs to be many more future books!!!
Anonymous
Posted August 9, 2012
This book takes such a long time to get into. I finally found myself invested in some of the characters my page 140. The ending is pretty predictable. It is an easy read. Overall, not impressed.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.tarheelreaderbl
Posted May 12, 2012
So disappointed. After reading reviews, I was really looking forward to reading this book. But, ugh, how depressing. Honestly, it was one of those books where I just wanted to smack every one of the characters and tell them to straighten up. Could truly not recommend this to anyone.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 24, 2012
and harrowing.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.storm11
Posted April 1, 2012
This book reminded me of Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell. Dark but compelling. Full of developed characters and believable. My only complaint was the device of using particular words repeatedly. I know it was deliberate, but a few fewer "slipped" and "pressed" would have been less diverting. I found myself annoyed at times and it took me out of the story.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.martaann
Posted October 2, 2011
Ugh. After reading this, I never want to go to Kansas. Didn't think she did a good job developing the characters and it was such a dark and dreary book, that I, who love to read, had to force myself, to pick it up each day. Didn't live up to my expectations and felt ending was predictable.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 16, 2011
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Posted July 30, 2011
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Posted May 26, 2011
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Posted May 22, 2011
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Posted April 8, 2011
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Posted November 2, 2012
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Posted October 22, 2011
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Posted May 23, 2013
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Posted July 14, 2011
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Posted June 6, 2011
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Overview
"Don't be fooled by the novel's apparent simplicity: What emerges from the surface is a tale of extraordinary emotional power, one of longstanding pain set against the pulsating drumbeat of social change."
-Sarah Weinman, NPR.org
For twenty years, Celia Scott has watched her husband, Arthur, hide from the secrets surrounding his sister Eve's death. But when the 1967 Detroit riots frighten him even more than his Kansas past, he convinces Celia ...