The idea of this appealed to me so much but something in the book just struggled to pull me in. 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

This was a slow and steady but solid read. The book was a bit dark and gloomy, but regardless, recommended.

An intelligent, original, memorable and well written thriller. I haven't read anything by the author before but will look out for his other books.

I really enjoyed this story! It had me gripped from the first few pages and the suspense created was brilliant!

I loved the plot and the layout of the story, the characters are very well developed and their interaction really helps carry the plot forward. There was just enough detail in the book to keep me fully engaged.

The writing style was very good, I enjoyed the pace of the book and was able to read it in a few hours, I started reading this one at bedtime and before I knew it I was over 75% through so carried on and finished it in the early hours of the morning, as by that time I really needed to see how it ended!

4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!!

Book Review - ‘Grist Mill Road’ by Christopher J. Yates ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and Christopher J. Yates for the chance to read this novel.

In the summer of 1982 Matthew, Hannah and Patrick go into the nearby woods to play. Suddenly Hannah is tied to a tree and Matthew is shooting her with a BB gun. Patrick cowers nearby watching, but frozen in terror and unable to stop his friend.

26 years on and Hannah is blinded in one eye as a result of the incident. Patrick is Hannah’s hero who saved her life that day and now also her husband. She insists they never speak about the incident, but the story isn’t what people think and all three of them are keeping secrets. Now, something will bring the trio back together and turn all the couple thought they knew about the events of that fateful day and their life together upside down and change things forever…..

The synopsis of this book had my interest piqued and the opening chapter where Patrick (Patch) describes his recollection of the crime was gripping. The book is narrated by all three main characters and is told in the present day and flashbacks to 1982. Patch is the main narrator, particularly for the first half of the book, and it’s him we get to know the most, the others remaining almost as much of a mystery to the reader as they are to him. He is filled with anxiety and regret, still trying to make up for that day when as a 12 year old boy he didn't act quickly enough to protect the woman he loves. This spills over into his everyday life and he seems to lose grip on what is morally acceptable behaviour more and more as he sinks into his own distorted and paranoid reality. It is only when we get into the parts narrated later by Hannah and Matthew that we discover the truth of what happened and how what seems a simple case of an evil boy terrorising a young girl is actually a complex web of events, secrets and lies.

What made this book a 3 star rating for me rather than a 4 is that Patch is a difficult character. I warmed more to Matthew than him, and when you have more sympathy for the evil kid and most minor narrator it impacts how much you can enjoy the book. I also thought Patrick’s craziness went a bit too far, especially towards the end. I did think Hannah and Matthew were very well written characters and loved how they remained mostly ambiguous, only revealing their true selves as the book reached its climax.

This book was very dark and shocking. From the opening pages, we are taking to the past, it is the summer of 1982, we are introduced to three children, Patrick (Patch/Tricky), Matthew and Hannah and a damn right awful event that links them all together.

Why did it happen? Why didn’t anyone do anything to stop it? Are they alive??

When you get over the first shock, you are hurtled to the future and you are instantly shown how one part has panned out. I was gobsmacked, to say the least! I was not expecting this! This outcome of their lives was a strong move by the author.

The book flits back and forth between that fateful day and the present day taking on the points of view of the characters from that day. We are given the gruesome details of what happened at the start with why it happened to be played out throughout the novel.

With most stories, things are not what they seem. And as the revelations start to ramp up, can anyone come away from it unscathed?

You really do have to go into this story blind (no pun intended!) otherwise too much information will ruin it, I have seen some reviews on this book already and they have given too much away and that will spoil it for you. All I will say is, the lines are not clear-cut as to who is redeemable and who isn’t redeemable. The secrets stack up and things ride high on the intensity level, even when the most basic of things are being done, you are waiting, anticipating when the revelations will hit the fan.

It is a slow burner, of which is very heavy on the detail side however it fleshes this trio out, making you care what actually happens to them. This is a dark, shocking but very compelling story.

I could not get into this book and I found the writing style hard to read. The no quotation marks made it really difficult to keep conversations straight and I was constantly having to reread them.

Grist Mill Road opens with a pretty graphic scene involving Hannah being shot repeatedly with a BB gun. If you don’t like graphic violence then definitely skip this one. The book then switches between 1982 and 2008 and between the 3 characters. Some chapters are written in the first person and others in the third and it just didn’t seem to flow very well. I also found the 2008 chapters so boring that I either zoned out or ended up skim reading. I didn’t connect with any of the characters which in turn made it difficult to care about their story. It’s such a shame because the synopsis sounded so interesting. Don’t think I’ll be reading more from this author in a hurry

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

August 18th 1982 - A horrendous crime is committed in a clearing among the craggy rock cliffs and glacial ponds of Swangum mountains, ninety miles north of New York City. What starts out as a innocent day of fun and laughter for Hannah,Matthew and Patrick (Patch) turns into a day of horror that results in Hannah losing her eye,Matthew going to jail and many lives being irreparably damaged because of one senseless act of violence.

2008 - Twenty six years later,the trio are trying to move on with their lives but are still haunted by the terrible events that happened in that clearing when they were younger. They say your past will always catch up with you so it's inevitable that the trio will meet up again and each of them with have to come to terms with their actions,guilt and culpability for what happened so years ago.

The book opens with Patrick recounting his memories of how he reacted when he discovered Matthew shooting Hannah with a BB gun,some background information about Patrick and a short account of events leading up to the shooting. The story continues in chapters that flip back and forth between 1982 and 2008 and is voiced mainly by Patrick but there is also some chapters that are voiced by Hannah and Matthew. In the chapters set in 1982 we learn about the trio's life before the shooting,we learn that Hannah's family are rich and her mother is an annoying drama queen. Patrick's father is an assistant District attorney and Matthew's father was a drunken,sadistic bully. We learn about their school days,how the boy's became friends and their adventures in the Swangum mountains. The author's descriptions of the stunning forest trails and landscape were so vivid,you could close your eyes and imagine running along the trails or sitting on a rock and watching the sunset. The author had also added references to the pop culture and tv shows of the early 80s that conjured up memories of my own teenage years. There was also references to the prejudice and bigotry of the time something that unfortunately is still a sad part of society today even though we like to pretend that we are living in enlightened and accepting times. In 2008 the trio are still haunted by what happened twenty six years ago especially Patrick and Hannah who are both harbouring secrets from that day. Patrick's behaviour is becoming more and more erratic and paranoid,he and Hannah are now married but to me there appeared to be a lot of tension whenever they were together and Hannah seemed to prefer being at work rather than going home. When Matthew contacts Patrick and offers to help him set up the restaurant that Patrick has been writing about on his blog,Patrick is convinced that Matthew is trying to get at Hannah through him so he devises a plan that culminates in a fatal confrontation back at the clearing that has haunted their lives for so many years. My favourite character was Detective Mike McCluskey who was a close friend of Hannah's. I felt a lot of empathy for both Hannah and Matthew in the chapters set in 1982. The beatings that Matthew received from his nasty father were heart breaking and Hannah's mother treated her the same way as I was treated by my own mother.

It is a well written story,the characters were vivid and realistic,you don't find out the truth about what happened in the clearing until towards the end of the book. The descriptions of the landscape around the small town where the trio lived as youngsters were stunning and breath taking. It's not a fast paced story but it is a riveting,mesmerising read that held my attention throughout the whole book

It’s 26 years after a brutal torture act on a teenage girl, Hannah. She married her old friend, Patrick who saved her from that torture. They have couple of problems but building a life together. However, the torturer, Matthew begins to get involved in their life and eventually they end up facing each other

I enjoyed the first half of its story and I don’t say the rest disappoint me, but I wanted more. I was expecting some big secrets behind the brutal incident 26 years ago, though its situation behind it fell flat for me.

I found the narrative from three different characters were interesting. The one who was tortured and lost an eye, the one who ignored the happen and trying to forget it, and the one who paid the price in prison.
As their story intrigued me, I wanted to read more deep side about them.

The ending was ok but I don’t feel any justice was there.

I gave this book 3.0 stars

Twenty-six years ago Hannah had her eye shot out. Now she wants justice. But is she blind to the truth?

Three friends three secrets lies Told, Anger,Regret,Punishment and Revenge! when all three come together again after so long how will it end?

told in the then and now the story of three friends start in The year 1982 Hannah,Patch and Matthew are young and free plating in the woods but then one day a game goes way to far Hannah is tied to a tree and repeatedly shot with a pellet gun the Gun-man is her school friend Matthew as Matthew runs away he and patch come to blows Patch goes back to Hannah thinking she id dead but to his shock she is alive but only just she lost her eye in them woods why did this happen to her why did her do it can she remember and is she can is it the truth...

Twenty-six years later things have changed for all three of them but none of them have moved on secrets will come out the time has come to end all of this each one of them has things to say told in the view points of Hannah,Patch and Matthew we get to find out what really happened that day in 1982 the friendship they once had will come to a killer end but who will live and who will die??

okay before i started reading this book i read some mixed reviews good and not so good so i kept putting of reading it till one day i thought this is the day ill read it and i must say i'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner because i loved this book from start to end, the story had me gripped when you start reading this book you can't help but take sides but that will soon change because you don't no who you feel sorry for more is the bad guy really the bad guy is the good guy really that good nothing is what it seems in Grist Mill Road.. it is truly chilling and addictive and will have you on edge i loved it the reason i'm only giving it 4 stars is that i was hoping that Hannah and Matthew would forgive each other and have some scenes together in later years but we did not get to see that if we did then i would of give it 5 stars thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for my copy of the book i loved it ...

This novel was nothing at all what I expected. It’s more literary and completely different from any other thrillers I am used to read and I loved it. From the well-developed characters to the small-town atmosphere, from the author’s attention to details to the layered plot, I found myself completely immersed and captivated by this book.

The story has a unique structure. It alternates between the past, 1982, and the “present”, 2008. It also alternates between the three characters’ points of view, Patrick (also called Patch or Tricky), Hannah, and Matthew. But who are these three characters? Back in 1982, when they were barely teenagers, Patrick, Hannah, and Matthew were involved in a terrible “episode” to which the reader is introduced right from the first page. All three characters have to live with the consequences of what happened that day, but it’s not as simple as that, as the author unravels the truth of what really happened layer by layer, a truth that is much darker and more disturbing than I expected. Patrick, Hannah, and Matthew are very complex characters. They are flawed, realistic, and psychologically difficult to figure out. The choices they make in their lives, the secrets they keep, the lies they tell, the things they do, they completely took me by surprise.

I loved the author’s beautifully-written prose, although I found some of the descriptions a bit too graphic for my taste. The book is slow-paced but the tension is always high because nothing is what it seems. It’s a novel that demands your full attention and that deals with difficult themes like violence, abuse, and sexual desire. It’s a dark, gripping, and compelling novel and you will still be thinking about it after you finished reading it and I’d like to thank Jennifer Leech and Headline for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for providing me with an early copy of the book.

Any book recommended by Tana French ( a favourite writer of mine) and Krysten Ritter ( new favourite, her debut was superb) is going to ping my incoming book radar.
'Grist Mill Road' did not disappoint. It was genuine, heartfelt, absorbing and unwinds like a meandering country road across decades in the lives of three people-Patrick (known as Patch or Tricky), Hannah and Matt. The catalyst for their grownup lives has its roots in a childhood event that happens right at the beginning. It is appalling and horrific and sets the tone of the book but by the end what you think you understand turns out to be completely different.
The three friends' narratives show the difference between what is known, what you think is known and the truth of the matter. The answers are never simple and the effects are long lasting.
Lyrical, moving and bittersweet, I loved this book.
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review.

This book had received mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it.
The story flits between 1982 and 2008 and centres on something that happened in 1982 between three friends, Patch, Hannah and Matthew.
The repercussions are felt very strongly throughout the book and we learn how what happened affected all three of them.
As per the blurb for the book, Hannah was tied to a tree on that fateful day and in 2008 is still struggling to cope with the after effects.
I can’t say too much more as it will spoil the book for you but if you like an intriguing thriller, then this book is for you.
Thanks to Headline and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

A kind of homage to the Great American Novel, this centres on two boys who spend their summers pedalling furiously out to the Ridge and far away from their respective parents and their various forms of control- enjoying those long summer days doing whatever boys do between childhood and puberty. Girls too are discovering boys and then what that means when girls become rivals in school. Before you know it the book is one third done and you feel like you know these kids, this town and you know how this will play out. Think again, because this is no "twist you wont see coming" summer thriller but an intelligently crafted narrative of how little we really know of others lives, no matter how we think we do. Here is Hannah, the pretty girl who comes from money, Patrick the good boy, overwhelmed by his crazy cool friend and that friend himself, Matthew, big and wild and scared of nothing. And soon you find you don't know them at all.
read the whole review on the blog tour at www.booketybook.com

Grist Mill Road was a multi-faceted, curious beastie that tips the reader's expectations over in a well-thought out fashion. Starting out, I thought this would be a horribly dark tale - and felt a bit anxious going forward - but it quickly leveled out, having delivered its shocking payload up front. What follows is a dissection of the lives of three American teens growing up in rural New York in the 80s. We jump back and forth from that time to current day to reveal how Patch, Matthew and Hannah get to where they are.

I loved all the food blogging by Patch. It broke up the close examination of past events that formed him and really added interest in his character. Nothing is as it seems, in a book like this, and I felt empathy for both Matthew and Hannah's younger selves. The revelation of Matthew's new found love of nature and the general 80s vibe was so like my growing up years that it felt like going home again. We spend a lot of time building the structure of the past, and it can feel a bit lethargic at times, but the pay off was worth it. Things are not as you imagine and, though it is slower in developing, the end is thought provoking.

Interesting idea for a book,that didn't quite come off for me.I wanted to like this, I chose it because I liked the sound of it but I wasn't pulled into the story and found it a struggle to read.Some parts were pretty gruesome but I expected that and that didn't put me off,what did put me off was the modern day story, it just ambled along and I got bored with it.I love cooking but even the obsession with cooking in the book by one of the characters left me cold.I just didn't like the characters and was bored by them I am sorry to say.I ended up feeling disappointed more than anything by this book.Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC.

This is not a novel for the squeamish but although dark, it is particularly well written with plenty of twists.
The sort of plot I really enjoy and although it's not an easy read, it is disturbing in a kind of good way!

Excellent story line which was gripping from start to finish. Great characters. I would highly recommend this book.

This was really disappointing - the writing style was rambling to the point that I found I didn't know or evn care whose commentary (rather than whose narrative) it was. A real shame.