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.

This book got crazy really fast. Family dramas often start off slow and then get more interesting. Weirdly, this one did the opposite. It started to lag. There were some surprises, which keep this review from being on the lower end of the stars. I found the whole family to be hard to connect with. They weren’t anyone I’d want to be around very much.

Atria eARC
This book was full of mystery, intrigue, and a sinister family lurking behind their fame of having a televangelist preacher as the patriarch. There were creepy scenes, truly awful characters, and dark plot twists that I didn't see coming. I liked how Fram slowly unveiled the layers to this story that kept me wanting to turn the pages from beginning to end. I thought I had things figured out many times to turn around and learn that I was so wrong. He knew how to shock the reader without it seeming like it didn't fit the story. I really enjoyed this and will go back and read his debut that I missed.

This book kept my attention from the very beginning. At no point did I feel like I knew what the resolution was going to be. It was a hell of a ride

This book will be living in my head for a while. It’s impossible to read No Road Home and not get attached to Toby and Luca. Just like John Fram’s last book, The Bright Lands, No Road Home gave me all the feels, and, when I got to the knock-my-socks-off ending and read the author’s note, I realized that the amount of his own heart he poured into this book is what made it so utterly spectacular. In a summer full of bombshell new releases, No Road Home stands at the top of the list. It’s just that good.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this thriller by John Fram. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Toby is newly married to Alyssa, and they are moving from California to Texas where her family lives. But Alyssa has kept many secrets from Toby about herself and her religious family. Her grandfather is a big TV evangelist and the family mansion is full of locked doors and winding passageways. Toby is adamant about protecting his young son, Luca, who is quiet and sensitive. Once a storm moves in and cuts off all communication, things really take a turn.

This had such a gothic horror feel to it, and the author did a great job making the creepy mansion and approaching storm a big part of the story. I always like a locked room mystery and this one had me questioning everyone. The real story spools out slowing until the twisty ending, and it's filled with characters you will dislike, bigotry, religious fanaticism, greed, but also hope, with Toby's protection of his son. It's a lot to keep up with, but definitely a good, twisty, atmospheric thrlller!

I really loved this premise but felt a bit bogged down by the execution. We had quite a few characters to keep straight and the length was a little too long in my opinion.

I do think Toby and Luca were fantastic main characters with complicated inner lives and motivations. Toby had just lost his sister when Alyssa swoops in and sweeps him off his feet. The only problem is her family is a famous televangelist business and they have plans for Luca. I do think the backstory and reveals were surprising enough and loved the lengths Toby would go to for Luca. There was just a LOT going on and this felt too long for the type of story this was.

I really loved The Bright Lands by this author and although this is quite different, some of the things I loved about that book are present here.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one has classic gothic tension and dread amidst a locked room murder mystery and is centered on a single father meeting his wife's creepy evangelical family for the first time. The author absolutely nailed the setting and tone! There was a bit more ick and creep than I usually like in my books, and the ending seemed very rushed and confusing. All in all, a compelling and fast read. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this one.

Rating: 3.5* of five

Fun, unbelievable Gothic suspense tale. I liked it best when Dad-mode was engaged, and Toby was fiercely defending Luca and his right to exist from fundy jerks. I was completely appalled that Toby would've gotten himself and his son tangled up with these assholes in the first place. Still, suspension of disbelief and all that...but that's what happened to my fourth and fifth stars.

The half-star I put back is down to the Texas-ness of it: the freak storm resembles one I experienced in my own decades in Texas, the supernatural-adjacent events also rang my atmosphere bells, and Author Fram's characters each have voices I relate to. In fact, I have relatives who sound like Aly's entire clan. I fully delighted in this Dad-beast, protective story's object, too. Luca's predicament is achingly familiar, and I liked the ending.

A tele-evangelist family hides many dark secrets and will do anything to maintain their outward image and legacy. All goes south on a birthday weekend at the family estate. Who will make it out alive?

There is so much to unpack in this very long and windy book. Most of the characters left me with an icky feeling. The kid Luca was endearing. Marie was fine. The rest all had their hidden agendas and were not particularly likeable, and many were loathsome. Some of the details didn't quite add up for me as well (I've been to many a Cracker Barrel.... it's not really a general store where you can get keys made and such). I didn't mind the supernatural element to the story, but it definitely made for a much longer book and didn't really need to be there. The ending, while revealing all, did not leave me with a good feeling either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC,

Thank you Netgalley, John Fram, and Atria Books for the ebook. This was a heavy and dark story that took me by surprise. There were many twists and turns and had definite Murder Mystery vibes. I really couldn't believe all the twists that came out. Not for the faint of heart.

3.5 stars

"How could anyone be decent in a family like this? When the bedrock of their entire fortune was a glorified theft?" The Wrights are a deranged family, and they delivered a twisted story! I went back and forth on this novel - there were parts I loved and others didn't work as well for me. Still, this book was a wild ride and much different than anything I've ever read!

What I liked: The central theme of acceptance was amazing! I loved how this was represented between Toby and his son Luca (and other characters that I will not mention to avoid spoilers). Toby guarded his son's self-worth so closely and challenged anyone who didn't respect him. I enjoyed the exploration of each character's backstory and what drove them. Revenge was served to everyone who deserved it! Creepy vibes were felt, and I was into the story overall. The ending had a few twists that genuinely surprised me.

What didn't work for me: Too many characters. The names Jerome and Julian were too close and I often got them mixed up. The second half went a bit off the rails and some of the storylines and details were confusing, so I lost interest (though the ending was pretty satisfying!).

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for an ARC of No Road Home in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to the publisher for inviting me to read this title early!

I was really hopeful for this one but it just didn’t work for me very well, but I think it’s an issue of taste rather than actual book quality. I didn’t really like Toby and found a lot of his internal dialogue and the little sprinklings of how handsome and great he was annoying and he just got under my skin in a way that I couldn’t shake.

The rest of the cast also felt like cartoonish in how awful they were and it wasn’t engaging enough for me to get really into the story or the mystery.

It has great ratings otherwise so I’m sure it’s a me issue!