A Simple Vote Could Mean Deadly Consequences
There's no trouble like a road...
In all the years Joe Esterhouse has served on the board of supervisors for Wardsville, North Carolina, never has a single piece of paper caused so much trouble. But after he reads it aloud at a meeting, this quiet little community will nearly be torn apart.
It's a simple invitation to complete the long-delayed Gold River Highway project but behind it are the reek of corruption and the shadow of something even more dangerous. With millions at stake in land and development deals-and millions to be lost for those in the road's way-everyone has something at stake.
As neighbor turns on neighbor, the weight of the decision falls on the members of the Wardsville board. Their vote will determine the fate of the project and the future of the town. But when someone may have gone as far as cold-blooded murder, is anyone safe?
Reviews
"In his savvy sophomore suspense novel, former indie bookseller Robertson (The Heir) uses multiple points of view to set up a seemingly innocuous story line-the proposal to build a road-that will keep readers glued. Octogenarian Joe Esterhouse has served enough decades on the Jefferson County, NC., Board to smell a rat, and something disturbs him about a proposal to bring Gold River Highway over the mountain into tiny Wardsville. Board members are dying and nothing is what it seems on the surface. Self-interest threatens to override the common good, and what is truth and what is perceived to be truth become nebulous. Robertson creates some of the most engaging characters and relationships encountered in faith fiction: Joe is a genuine sage, and other characters are no less captivating. Although the rapid-fire point of view changes are reminiscent of a novice stick-shift driver (and threaten whiplashlike confusion early on), once readers get the rhythm they will be compelled along. This top-notch offering features genuine humor, clever writing, a surprise ending and a strong portrayal of evil's power that doesn't succumb to cliched violence. It deserves a wide audience. (Apr.)" --Publishers Weekly
"Paul Robertson starts his small town tale by slowly and quietly introducing the reader to it main players, and as you come to know and care about these folks, you start to sense something bad is happening within the community. As is common, I think, with many small towns, what is seen on the surface is not what the place is truly about. The steady forward pace is just right for you to get to really know each character, and some of their enjoyable ideosyncrasies. Mr. Robertson's descriptions and dialogue speak with authority... he knows small towns and regular folk. He builds his characters to the point where I truly cared about how the tale would end." --Jae Anderson, 1340MagBooks.com
Paul Robertson's second novel, Road to Nowhere, is, get this, about a road. Yes, you read that right. And yes, it is a novel and not a commentary on pork barrel politics, though politics get fair play in the storyline. Not only that, it's a novel about a road--and murder, suspense, and intrigue--that is at turns funny, engaging, and thoroughly engrossing. It's a novel about a road that I could not put down until I had completely devoured it!
... I read Robertson's first novel, The Heir, last year ... and enjoyed his clever writing and smart wit so I was excited about reading this his second novel. Road to Nowhere did not disappoint. --Lisa Spence, 5MinutesforBooks.com