Hmm I’m not exactly sure what I think of this book. I do feel like I need to re-read to completely catch everything. There were so many characters, you need a glossary. Would be a great movie! Very clue type mystery and the ending was definitely satisfying. Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and John Fram for the electronic ARC. I did purchase the Audiobook to tandem read and the Narrators were good.

No Road Home reads like The Righteous Gemstones meets Agatha Christie meets Gillian Flynn and Dean Koontz, and it's an incredible sophomore offering from John Fram, after his thoroughly creepy and compelling debut The Bright Lands.

In his new novel, Fram takes us to the gates of Ramorah, a sprawling Texas compound owned by the Wright family, whose patriarch is a prominent televangelist. Toby Tucker has recently married into the Wright family, and he has come to Ramorah with his new wife Alyssa and his young queer son, Luca, to celebrate Alyssa's birthday. But a freak storm arrives along with them, cutting off the roads leading to and from of Ramorah, and that night, someone is found murdered on the roof of the mansion. Toby immediately comes under suspicion for the murder, and he must fight to prove his innocence while also protecting Luca from the Wright family's clutches at all costs.

No Road Home combines elements of ghost story, family drama, social horror, and psychological thriller in a gothic locked-room mystery with religious themes. There's a lot going on here, but somehow Fram makes it all work. At its heart, this is a book about a young father who will do anything to protect his son from both physical and emotional harm, and the relationship between Toby and Luca is relayed with so much tenderness. There are surprising twists and the mystery is well-executed, but it's Toby and Luca's deep love for and understanding of each other that anchors the narrative and makes No Road Home special and memorable.

The other thing that really worked for me was the setting. The atmosphere of Ramorah is so claustrophobic and creepy. Fram made the mansion feel like a character in and of itself, with the West Wing of the house giving strong Backrooms vibes.

I wanted more development of the secondary characters, and I wanted Fram to lean a little harder into the religious imagery and occult elements. Overall, though, No Road Home is a compelling mystery and a thought-provoking exploration of wealth and privilege, bigotry, and dysfunctional family dynamics with important LGBTQIA+ representation. Thank you to Atria Books for the complimentary reading opportunity.

This book was insane! Absolutely nuts! I love religious zaniness and add in a murder mystery, you can’t get much better than this. This book was definitely super outside of the box and cut zero corners.

No Road Home by John Fram is a mystery with a bit of a paranormal twist.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Atria Books, and in particular Aleaha Reneé for sending me a widget, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
 

 My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Toby Tucker has done his best to raise his rather sensitive 7-year old son Luca.  Toby lost his parents when he was young, and his sister Willow died less than a year ago.  Money is tight, but he'lll do anything to keep Luca safe.  When he meets Alyssa Wright, she is just what he needs, and they quickly marry.  He is about to be thrown into a world where religion, wealth and bigotry run rampant.

Alyssa's grandfather James Wright is a famous televangelist, who preaches the old-testament horrors, and prophesies -- which recently have become a little strange.   Mind you Alyssa's whole family, all involved in promoting the television program in one way or another, are  somewhat "quirky"....actually they are bat-sh** crazy.  They assume Toby will fit in, and that they can "fix" Luca.  Toby  quickly learns that Luca is more important to his new family than Toby is.  He also realizes that he made a big mistake bringing Luca to meet Alyssa's family, and he is wondering if he made a bigger mistake by marrying her.

When James is murdered, found stabbed through the heart on the roof of the family's mansion, suspicion turns to Toby. But the rooftop was locked from the outside....how could anyone even reach James.  Alyssa's brother Richard is determined to prove Toby's guilt. But the murder is not the only strange thing that is happening on the estate.  Warnings are being painted around the mansion...and they have everyone spooked.  Then there is an unexpected and horrendous storm that has wiped out their phone and internet.  The surrounding roads are flooded, and no one can leave, nor can they call the police to report James death, although it seems no one but Toby thinks they should report it anyway.

Meanwhile, Luca starts talking about this man in a black suit that he sees lurking around the house..


My Opinions:
WOW, simply WOW.   This was a very atmospheric tale set in a family's religious estate in Texas, with a storm to beat all storms.

This is a new author for me, and I will definitely be watching for more books.

The plot was intriguing, and some of the twists were amazing.  Although a few were predictable,  others were totally unexpected.

There are a lot of characters, and initially I had problems keeping them straight, but it didn't take long to figure them out, as the author repeatedly identified them for me.  (Thank you Mr. Fram.) The characters all seemed to be either mentally ill, drug addicted, senile, or just crazy.  What a cast!  All of them had secrets, and all of them deserved whatever they got in the end.  Talk about a bunch of despicable people.  Definitely a dysfunctional family.  Okay, there were a few "good" guys, but even they had secrets.  Bottom line, the characters are what caused the tension in tis book. You really never knew what each would do next.  Mind you the storm helped create tension too.

Topics include murder, fraud, addiction, bigotry, religious fanaticism, incest, homosexuality, and  gender conversion camps.  However, the part that shone through for me....the intense love between a father and son.  With everything else that was going on, the love between Toby and Luca stayed strong, and the determination Toby had to keep his son safe was amazing!

Anyway, it's been a while since I've rated anything 5 stars, but this one deserved it!

Oh, what a tangled web we weave…

I’d be lying if I didn’t say some of this risked exceeding the bar of plausibility for a novel, and that’s not because of the supernatural element. (That was actually a nice addition to this locked room mystery.) It’s simply that there were so many unveiled secrets coming at me, and it seemed like a lot, almost too much, for one book. In fact, so much was revealed in the latter half that I briefly forgot that there was still an unsolved murder to contend with. It almost felt like everything had been resolved through the surfacing truths.

Maybe this was a good thing, though. Can you imagine reading a suspense novel and being so distracted by everything else that you’re pleasantly surprised when you’re reminded that you have no idea who the actual killer is? That’s how this worked out for me.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I think we’ll be hard pressed to find a reader who successfully solves that mystery ahead of time. Way to go, John Fram!

No Road Home definitely sticks its middle finger up at religious hypocrisy and holds it steady for a very long time. Some of its dirty little secrets did feel a bit cliche, but anything that bothered me was smothered by that excellent twist. Just know that there are some rather disturbing skeletons in these rich Christians’ closets, and this could prove triggering for some readers.

I am immensely grateful to Atria Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

John Fram's The Bright Lands was touted as being "shocking, twisty and suspenseful" and I will say that absolutely holds true for No Road Home. Similar themes of LGBTQ representation and hardships, secrets and religion are also heavily discussed in both books. In No Road Home a single father to a queer son marries the wealthy granddaughter of a famed televangelist. Toby has no idea what he and his son are in store for when they go to visit his new wife's family compound in Texas. Things keep getting worse as a freak storm cuts off the power and Toby and his son are stuck with the family when a murder happens. Things just get weirder from there. If you were a fan of The Bright Lands, you will love Fram's newest.

This book was a case of awesome premise, middling execution for me. I was really interested in reading about a man protecting his queer son from his new wife's televangelist family. Throw in a murder and a manor mystery and I was hooked.

Unfortunately, the book itself didn't totally work for me. It grabbed me in the beginning, but my attention faded in and out as the story went on. It didn't help that I never really connected to the characters in this one. I had to keep flipping back to the list in the beginning to make sure I had them all straight.

That said, this was a mostly entertaining read with some interesting concepts. I just wish it had all come together a bit better.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Enjoy the ride of No Road Home! It is a riveting story about a rich christian family that dupes the public to fuel their lifestyle. All HELL breaks loose on the Texas compound as the patriarch of this family is found dead.

This locked room mystery rages against the storm brewing inside and outside its walls. The family is in shambles, their bigotry exposed and a father is fighting to free his child from its grip after marrying their prodigal daughter. This slow-burn mystery incorporates elements of suspense and exposes the hypocrites of the pulpit.

The twists and turns made this a page-turner.

Thank you, Atria Books

First off this story definitely rejuvenated my love for thrillers! As a season thriller reader I thought I had the whole book figured out and I was wrong when all my theories except for one and that was a minor one at that. 😑 From the moment I started this story I had this unsettling feeling which didn’t let up until the very end. The story had a slow pace but I wasn’t bored while reading and I loved the way everything played out, the twists that took me surprise. Well done, John Fram!!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

I'm a bit underwhelmed. I loved this in the beginning. The incorporation of a prosperity gospel ministry was right up my alley. The corruption and financial abuse that happens in the big tv churches is a topic I find very interesting. There was a supernatural element that intrigued me a lot. Somewhere along the way my opinion changed. It seemed too long. Too overwritten. Too many small details. I guess the ending was good, but not enough to save the book.

This is my first read from this author. I really enjoyed this book. Very atmospheric and dark story that kept me very engrossed.

A good quick read full of nutters. Just what the doctor ordered for summer evenings reading in one sitting. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

A young father will do anything to protect his queer son when he finds out that the new family he's entered into has darker roots than he could have ever imagined. This book spans multiple genres, including horror, mystery, and literary fiction with a main character to root for. There were a few great reveals and a satisfying ending. I'll read anything Fram writes!

A great mystery with shocking twists. Everything is not as it seems. Toby and his son, Luca, travel to his wife’s home. Finding help in unexpected family members and enemies in others, they fight for a way out.

Tobey, the single father of Luca, marries Alyssa, a Pediatrician and the youngest child in a prominent Televangelist’s family. Luca was born male but prefers looking female. He/she is 7. Luca is actually the birth child of Willow, Tobey’s sister, who had recently taken her own life. The family, Jerome, the Televangelist and patriarch, his children, their spouses and mostly adult children all live in the family mansion in rural Texas close to their Church. They are rich and enjoy the fruits of Jerome’s preaching. The weekend has been planned and everyone had ulterior motives for being there. When Jerome is found dead on the roof things begin to fall apart. The characters made me think of Jim Jones and others of similar persuasion. The plot is complex and engrossing. I found myself reading next chapters to learn what is going on. The ending, perfect. Thanks to Net Galley and Atria Books for an ARC for an honest review.

Thank you, Atria and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of No Road Home.

This book was okay. The first part was interesting and kept me wanting more, but the last half was a bit repetitive and slowed down quite a bit. While
I did enjoy it for the most part, it isn't one that I would recommend with a glowing endorsement. The chapters were short enough to keep me reading, but I just wanted more (or less pages) from the last part of the novel. Character development was... honestly, I don't know how I feel about the character development. I felt like I had too much information on some characters and not enough on others.

5 stars!

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book, and I essentially read the whole 400 page book in one sitting. This book reminded me of a David Ellis book, where I thought I knew what was happening and then at the end the mystery unraveled and everything was revealed to me. I also felt very invested in the characters. I found myself with increasingly strong emotions towards everyone, I was rooting for some people, hated others, and spent a lot of the book being like what's going on???

No Road Home follows Toby Tucker as he meets his new wife's televangelist family and secrets are unraveled. From the beginning, it's clear that something is not quite right with this family, but I had no clue just how messed up this family was. I absolutely fell in love with Toby and his son Luca, and I felt just as protective over them. I really liked John Fram's writing, and loved how he weaved together commentary about religion, gender identity, sexuality, mental health, and many other forms of prejudice. I will definitely be going back to read his other book, as well as looking out for what he releases in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This started out with such promise for me but it became so slow in the middle and I could wait for the end. I enjoyed the authors first book but for me the second fell short.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest opinion.
2.5⭐️

3.5 stars

I really like Fram's twist on horror. It's definitely genre bending and I like how it pushes the envelope. And it's queer. It's nice to have queer stories in the horror genre.

That being said, I preferred THE BRIGHT LANDS more than NO ROAD HOME. NRH started out great, but I think it ended up being a bit too long.

There were a lot of characters and it got confusing along the way. I am glad I read it, but not my favorite.