He drove when he was drunk. He killed a man. That is Russell's story.

After eleven years behind bars he just wants to be left alone to get on with his life. But that isn't likely to happen.

Maben is on the run. She is always running from someone or something. Has been for years. Years of not knowing where she is going or what she is doing. She runs from one disastrous situation straight into another, always believing that the next step would be better, always winding up in a tighter squeeze.

It is inevitable that their paths will cross - again.

Brutal and grim, but at the same time powerful and beautiful.

Thank you to Little Brown and Co. via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I love brooding tales set in the steamy Deep South. Stories of troubled people whose destiny seems set from page one: there will be trouble, it’s just a case of where and when. This is such a tale. Russell has just been released from Parchman Penitentiary where he’s served eleven years for vehicular homicide. He’d been enjoying a late night drive around the back roads, close to his home town in McComb, Mississippi. He’d had a drink too. And when his vehicle crashed into a parked truck a boy was killed. But his time has been served and now Russell is going home to see if it’s possible to pick his life back up again.

At the same time, another previous resident of McComb is also making her way back to the town, with her young daughter Annalee. Maben doesn’t intent to stay long but there’s a homeless shelter there - at least there used to be – and she needs somewhere for to hold up for a day or two. Will the two paths cross? Almost inevitably.

I loved the way the characters were fleshed out. I really warmed to Maben, a troubled girl who’s made some wrong choices and suffered from bad luck too. She wants to take care of her daughter – no, she needs to take care of her daughter, it’s the only thing that makes the struggle to pull through worthwhile. Her story is heart wrenching but she’s tough, a survivor. Russell has always been a touch reckless. He’s been scarred by the knocks life has dealt him but at least he’s happy to be free again. He means well but he’s really got no plan, no direction. He’ll drift along for a while and see which threads he’s able to pick up from his past life.

This book just sizzles with atmosphere and tension. The problems just keep piling up and it’s never clear how it’s all going to play out. There were times whilst I was reading this that I caught myself whispering ‘no don’t, don’t’, I was so caught up in it. The ending was dramatic, surprising and not surprising all at the same time. It was, in my view, brilliantly done. If I don’t read a better book this year, I won’t be surprised. Simply brilliant.

You are never stronger...than when you land on the other side of despair.”
― Zadie Smith, White Teeth.

Russell Gaines is back home after spending 11 years in Parchman Penitentiary, and he believes he's paid his debt to society - he just wants to get on with his life. Others don't agree with him. Revenge has a long memory, and for those who live with it, it's an all consuming beast that has to be acknowledged. The small Southern town of McComb, Mississippi, with its explosive mix of bourbon, guns and drugs, mean it's a particularly dangerous place for revenge to make it's home.

Meanwhile, Maben and her young daughter Annalee are walking the interstate, they're desperate and tired like only the homeless can experience. Maben decides to give her daughter a break and spends her last few dollars on a motel room. This night though will end in disaster, with Maben in possession of a pistol, and a deputy dead at her feet.

In the funny way that fate works, Russell and Maben's paths cross in a most spectacular fashion. Both of them have a past they're desperate to leave behind, but with the odds stacked against them, the future's not looking too good.

Where do I begin with this one. It's not really a thriller, and neither is there a mystery to be solved. Apart from the first few chapters, it's not a fast paced, action packed storyline either, so why then did it grab me and not let go till the very end? Well for one thing the narrative was quite simply beautiful. The author writes with a clarity that damn near touched my soul, recognising (as he does so eloquently) human frailty and emotion in its many forms. It was very much character led, and the characters, though flawed/ damaged were superbly portrayed. Michael Farris Smith is a master wordsmith, and had me hanging on to every one of those words. I didn't want it to end, but I couldn't read it fast enough! Don't miss out on this one, it's a wonderful read!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Oldcastle Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review*

It's been a long time since I've been so utterly and totally enthralled by a book within the first few chapters. This story really does get off to a rocketing start. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. By the time I had read the first ten percent of the book it felt like so much had happened. It was totally action packed and I thought I was going to be in for a roller coaster of a ride. Unfortunately the pace does slow down significantly after that.

This book follows the story of Maben and Russell, who don't meet each other until more than halfway through the book. There are lots of other characters as well and I must say, the character development in this book is excellent. I felt that I got to know the characters, that I understood their feelings and their actions. But the book in general seemed to me to be a little slow and after the rollicking start it got off to, I found this a little disappointing. This is definitely a character driven story and although it is very well written, be it a little bit different with its long sentences and infrequent use of commas, I didn't find it exceptional. I kept on waiting for something dramatic to happen but alas, I turned the last page to a fairly sedate ending.

So, does that deserve 3 stars you may ask? Well, the fact of the matter is that this is a haunting and dark novel, it's well written with prose that is powerful and strong, that paints a picture in the readers mind and even though it's slow, I did keep turning the pages. By the end of the read I realised that I did like it but it hadn't blown me away. I had wanted to love this novel and so I waited patiently for the wow moment to hit me over the head, the moment that would have made this a 4 star read. That never materialised and hence my 3 stars.

My rating: * * *

Many thanks to the author Michael Farris Smith, the publishers Oldcastle Books and NetGalley for my copy.

Thank you.
Enjoyed it.
Will purchase copies for family and friends.

I thought this was an excellent book. It is very well written, insightful and gripping.

Desperation Road tells of two apparently unconnected lost and half-broken souls whose stories emerge gradually. They are Maben, a youngish woman, wandering with her young daughter, and Russell who is newly released from prison. How their stories converge and intersect emerges slowly and compellingly. The book is set in Mississippi, with a fine sense of place and oppressive heat. It is hard to give a sense of the plot without saying more than I would like to have known before starting, but it emerges that Russell has just been released from prison and that Maben is driven to a desperate act to save herself and her daughter. From there we get a powerful, building sense of menace for both of them as things close in around them. We also get some wonderful portraits of compassion and decency, an examination of difficult moral choices and some thoughtful observations on the nature of guilt and of redemption.

The prose is excellent. It is quietly, almost hypnotically compelling at times. There is a deceptive simplicity to it with no similes but a lovely rhythm, somehow, which changes to suit the mood. It has a quiet, unsensational tone; sometimes dreadful things are hinted at or explicitly told which have real impact when narrated in a quiet, matter-of-fact but rather beautiful way. Although it's not really poetic, its powerful, realistic voice felt a bit like some song lyrics by people like Jason Isbell or Bruce Springsteen.

Michael Farris Smith is both clear-eyed and compassionate in his view of his characters, and I felt that I had read something haunting and important here, as well as being completely gripped by the story. In short, I loved this and I can recommend it very warmly.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

This book draws you right in to the swamps, heat and atmosphere of small town Mississippi. A young, single mother and her child, an ex con with flaws to their characters and a dark story line.. A complex tale but well worth reading to the end. Many thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

Superb atmospheric moral novel about a recently released prisoner returning home and becoming involved with a woman and her daughter who have a terrible secret. Violent yet tender this is beautifully written with an ending that satisfies. Recommended.

Michael Farris Smith has written an effortlessly erudite, complex and lucid novel of consequence set in the ravaged town of McComb, Mississippi. It tells of the travails of lives brimful of pain unraveling under the relentless and searing southern heat. It displays a bone deep understanding of Southern traditions and people, and in the narrative I could hear the timeless musical laments of jazz and blues singers such as Robert Johnson, Leadbelly and Bessie Smith. It is the story of Russell, released after 11 years of imprisonment and Maben, and her daughter, Annalee, fleeing a unspeakable scenario that results in a fatal shooting. Their paths cross, and certain actions and possibilities come into play. The focus is on the themes of alcohol and drug addiction, love, loss, regrets, redemption and dreams that slip away beyond reach.

The tone is set when upon reaching McComb, Russell is welcomed by a vicious beating by Larry and Walt, the brothers of the man he killed. Russell sees that in the eyes of some people, no amount of atonement will suffice, not even the loss of his precious relationship with Sarah. Larry is exploding with visceral rage and hate ignited by the self hatred within him, driven to destroy all that he touches. Russell finds some solace in his father, who has begun a relationship with an ex-slave, Consuela, after his wife dies whilst Russell was still in prison. Maben struggles to find a place of rest and work and escape the consequences of her actions. She is slowly and inexorably sliding to a place where she is hanging by a thread and seeing nothing that can alleviate a desperate ending. Then she meets Russell, who upon hearing her tale, hopes to find redemption. Connections between the two of them become clearer later on.

The expressive prose has a finesse and vitality that seamlessly ensnares the reader. The sharply drawn characters weave their way into your consciousness as real and authentic people. I imagine that as the author has a preacher for a father, that the themes of judgement, forgiveness and justice were points for constant discussion which then went on to inform this novel. There is certainly great symbolism in the concrete statue of the Virgin Mary in the book. I felt faint echoes of the biblical story of Job's suffering whilst I was reading. It is the author's ability to bring humanity to every character, irrespective of what they may have done that marks this as an outstanding and superb read. Highly recommended. Thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.