DNF

I gave this book a solid try on audio but I just wasn’t enjoying it. I found the writing pretentious and overly wordy and I couldn’t get invested in the mystery at all. The structure was weird and kept me confused in all the wrong ways. I’m sure this works for some people but not for me at all.

From the publisher: When a severed hand washes ashore in the wealthy enclave of Palm Beach, Florida, the lives of two women—a lonely writer obsessed with the unsolved murder of her mother’s best friend and a panicked wife whose husband has disappeared with their children—collide as the world shutters in the pandemic lockdown of 2020.

Drawing on an event from her mothers past, this author weaves a complex tale of obsession and deception that will keep you guessing until the very end. The pandemic itself is a major player in this story, with lockdowns still in full effect for portions. Once you pick up this book, you will not want to put it down until you unravel all the tangled webs you discover along the way.

When a hand washes ashore in Palm Beach, Florida the lives of two women collide just as the world is on lockdown due to the pandemic.

I had trouble getting into the book, finding myself zoning out and having to go back and reread parts. Pandemic books are either a hit or miss for me and I found this to be a miss. I will say it was a short read and for the right audience it can be entertaining.

Thank you NetGalley and Post Hill Press for the ARC, and giving me the chance to read and review it honestly.

I am torn about what I think about this book. The plot itself did not feel satisfying enough, but once I started reading the book, I kept going till I reached the ending. This latter part usually means the author has done a good job in putting forward whatever their intention was. So in order to balance the difference between appreciating the author's agenda versus not liking the final picture, I had to give it three stars out of five.
I am not a voracious consumer of modern-day thriller-like narratives. I was a few years ago, but my tastes have been skewing differently of late. I will blame my reaction to this book on that particular aspect of my reading habits of late.
Now, moving on to the book itself. It was one of those books that focused on the lockdown more than several of the others I have read based on that time. We have two different narrators, each with their own plan and issues.
One of them is scarred by an age-old crime that went unsolved, which affected the narrator's mother and the trauma sort of passed on. The second narrator is a woman who has a controlling husband who is starting to get on her nerves. There's a lot to unpack in this plot. Nothing stays the same. With more revelations, we look back on the previous scenes more clearly, and the story rearranges itself.
I was quite surprised by some of the twists. The narrators are so involved in their own thought processes that I was unable to look away and mentally predict the possible future twists I was to encounter, something I usually end up doing.
Overall, I may not have liked any of the people we encountered, nor was I satisfied with the explanation about the cold case, but still, I am glad I gave the book a shot.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

As the book opens, two brothers are at the beach when they find a hand. Their discovery dives right into a propulsive psychological thriller that I couldn’t stop reading.
Two women, “the writer” and “the wife” have mysteries to be solved. Noelle is the writer and has been haunted by a murder 75 years earlier. The wife is Linda and her husband and children have disappeared leaving her behind and distraught.
I love a book with multiple POVs, especially with short chapters driving the story. This was cleverly plotted and completely absorbing.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A gripping mystery that had me flipping the pages to find out more. I loved the characters and the settings are superbly presented.

This unique novel switches between the 2020 pandemic and the past loss of novelist's mothers friend. You become deeply involved in both stories and turn the pages quickly to find out what really transpired. Although, like you, I am tired of the pandemic, the mentions of covid protocol just made the story more real, rather than detract.

A slowburn psychology crime thriller that is rooted in a true crime story. It builds up its layers deftly to be peeled off by the readers to enjoy .every twist and turns of this book. Amazing atmosphere and characters that play their roles with ease. An amazing book to read to tantalize the the true crime buds in your mind.

[4.5 stars]

Reef Road is slow burn crime fiction that is much more layered than I expected! I recommend skipping the publisher's blurb (it gives away a plot point I would rather not have known in advance) and going in with the fact that this story is about how 3 elements connect: a severed hand that washes up on the Reef Road beach in Palm Beach, FL during the 2020 COVID shutdown, a thriller writer who’s haunted by the unsolved murder of her mother’s best friend when they were 12 back in 1948 Pittsburgh, and a woman living on Reef Road in Palm Beach who is married to and has 2 young children with a man from a wealthy Argentinian family. There is an actual crime in the author’s family history that loosely inspired this story. Like the writer in this story, the real crime haunted her family for generations…and this story goes into the generational trauma that can result from being close to an unsolved murder. It also gets meta with the crime fiction genre and incorporates some real life people and events (i.e. Dominick Dunne, Michelle McNamara, the Dirty Wars in Argentina). The COVID shutdown setting adds an eerie, desolate feeling and is critical to the plot. Some of the characters went a little over the top at the end, but overall a unique crime story in a genre filled with sameness.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

Thank you to my partner, NetGalley.. I appreciate the #gifted ecopy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily!

1. Slow Start - It was a rough first half for me and this book. I did persevere and I’m glad I did!! When it all comes together and we start to see what’s going on, it is a great story!
2. A Murder Mystery - What really happened to Noelle Huber? I love that this part of the story is based on Royce’s own mother’s life events. It adds an extra sense of intrigue into the fictionalized story!
3. Affair - Is it still an affair if your husband has absconded and kidnapped your children? What a question this poses….in more ways than one!
4. Two Completely Different Stories….Until - Okay! Finally everything begins to come together and it all begins to make sense!
5. Threw Her Under The Bus - Wow! I did not see that coming! Ol’ Noelle man! - but really - does that avenge it - I just don’t see the justice in it. You’ll have to tell me what you think when you read it!

In the pandemic lockdown, 2020, a severed hand and two women come together. A psychological thriller that has twists and turns, It is really brilliant and the story is taken from true crime but Deborah Royce adds her twists and it becomes spellbinding.

Review of Reef Road by Deborah Goodrich Royce

This is my first book by this author but it won’t be my last. I bought Ruby Falls last year and now can’t wait to read it. A huge thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for approving me to read this title. It is out now.

I read this with my friends at #thrillerfriendsbuddyread and can’t wait to discuss it with them soon. I was discussing with my friend Sav that the writing style of this one is just unique in a good way. I haven’t read anything quite like it yet I can’t put a finger on how to explain that exactly. But it is refreshing to read a different sort of thriller. The characters were extremely complex and I was riveted throughout. The ending was crazy too which I can always appreciate it. I personally identified to a degree with a few things about this book. I’ve lived in Pittsburgh so I appreciated that part of the setting and all of the references. I also had a high school classmate who was murdered by a serial killer when we were 16. This is somewhat different than the plot of Reef Road but I can relate to how an experience like that changes you forever. Also readers will big time relate to the accuracy of how life was at the beginning of the pandemic. So to wrap up, this is a fantastic book and I’m so glad I read it!

Quick synopsis: this one tells the story of two women during the beginning stages of the pandemic. There is an author who suffered in her childhood due to her mother’s unresolved PTSD from her best friend’s murder. The second woman is a mother whose husband has taken off to Argentina with her children. Their two lives collide and they have more in common than the reader initially thinks.

Thank you NetGalley for this read in exchange for an honest review! “Reef Road” by Deborah Goodrich Royce created an atmosphere that was interesting enough for me to read, however my level of intrigue teetered throughout. I didn’t feel a depth of connection to the main characters, and they seemed one-dimensional. It’s enjoyable to me when a novel causes me to think and theorize, but sometimes I was left more confused than I would have liked. I expected my answers to be cleared at at the end, but the audience is left to continue questioning. While I understand this can work with many novels, I wish the ending had a different execution.

An interesting psychological mystery in two parts. It was apparently based on a true story, which worked in this case although not my usual choice. I felt that I had to persevere to find out how the strands came together, but I'd say it was ultimately worth it.

Looking on my Goodreads feed this seems to be a book that either really clicks for a reader or not at all.

I'm sorry to say I'm in the second camp and didn't love Reef Road quite as much as I hoped.

For me, the writing style was a little flowery and overdone. I didn't mind the pandemic setting (some readers did), as I thought it was used effectively.

The true crime elements were interesting but I felt that there was a lot going on in the story, and not all of it tied together in a way that satisfied me. I prefer a more streamlined narrative and a more straightforward writing style.

You might absolutely love this, as many of my fellow readers did, but overall Reef Road was just okay for me.

Having read Deborah Goodrich Joyce’s book, Ruby Falls, and loving it, I was so excited to be able to read and review this book too. To top it off, I began reading this book while sitting in the Palm Beach Airport, the city where this story all happens. I was making connections left and right to areas I had just visited. At the beginning is an immediate hook of a possible murder about to unfold with the discovery of a hand washed up on the beach on Reef Road, but then it gets a bit confusing. However, in true Joyce’s style, she slowly rolls out a story allowing the reader to put it together. It’s like peeling an onion, so many layers to get to the center. I like that she provides bits here and there and has the reader make the connections rather than being told how characters and their actions connect. Told in two narratives by a woman who is a murder mystery writer and a woman who is the daughter of a suspected murderer from 70 years ago, only later do we see how they connect. When you come to the ah-ha moment (and there are many), you feel like a detective yourself. A bit dark and creepy, you learn that while the past will influence the future, everyone is responsible for their actions. I loved how as the story moved along, the narrative would then backtrack to provide more background information and insight as to what unfolded beforehand. The characters are well-developed and this story keeps you guessing. Nothing is wrapped up in a tidy bow, and like in true Deborah Goodrich Joyce fashion, there’s a big surprise at the end. Loved it!

Many thanks to #netgalley #reefroad #deborahgoodrichjoyce for the opportunity to read and review this book

Reef Road is a story about the ripple effect of one single event can be. Who gets caught in the collateral damage? Did all the roads lead to this point? In 1948, twelve year old Noelle is brutally murdered in her kitchen. No suspect is ever charged, but her teenage brother remains at the top of the list for his entire life. Flash forward to 2019 and our two main characters, Linda and Noelle, find themselves linked to each other.

This novel was difficult to follow and not one character was likable. There was nothing redeeming here.

This book was a slow burner that didn't connect with me as well as it should have.. It's told from two perspectives and mostly alternates between events of 2019 and 2020.
I didn't particularly warm to any of the characters and didn't seem to root for any of them throughout the story.
Both of the main characters make awful choices and although everything is basically fully explained in the end, there aren't any real surprises.
However the writing style of this book was very beautiful which has bumped my review from a 2 to a 3. Would definitely be open to trying other works from this author.

Such an interesting and well done mystery! A hand and only a hand washes ashore...now we go backwards and we bounce between The Writer who is obsessed with her mother's best friend's murder years ago and The Wife who's husband disappeared with their children. We are gently told their stories that eventually collide in a really unique and weird way.

I felt like the first half of the book I was walking along, enjoying the story, slowly being fed what I was supposed to see...until things totally changed! My whole view and perspective changed because of a reveal and I started questioning the book even more of what it was telling me--in a good way!

I still have questions! I love when I finish a book and I have to flip back, discuss and process what I just read trying to link all the little details to form the whole puzzle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for the complimentary e-copy of this book.

I loooooooved this book. What a different, original way to tell a story! I wasn't sure where the 2 POVs were going but really loved how the came together. I did NOT see the ending coming and really appreciated what a masterful story this was.