THE COUNTRY ROAD MURDERS

5 stars out of 5

Once in a while, you run across a book that is so good you not only don’t want to put it down, but you can't even fathom starting to read another one – and it happened for me with this one. It pulled from me just about every emotion, from an occasional chuckle to actual tears in my eyes (and it takes an act of Congress to make me cry). It started off interesting but a little slow, perhaps, but then the story (and impeccable writing thereof) kicked in, and I was totally engrossed the rest of the way. Without doubt, this one of the best books I’ve ever read.

The story’s narrator is Silas Tucker, a superstar football player at a rather backwoods school where his father was principal. A decade earlier, the elder Tucker was murdered, the killer still unknown; he never lived to see his son get drafted by an NFL team after a stellar college career. But as they say, man makes plans and God laughs; suddenly, Silas’s life as he knew it is gone – maybe forever – and he returns home to try and build a new life.

His little town of Cross Rivers, North Carolina, though, has longstanding issues – most notably that even the local leaders are terrified by the so-called “Southern Mafia,” consisting primarily of members of the particularly nasty Crockett family. The town also is known far and wide because in the short span of a few months, five young girls from the community have gone missing (and another one goes down even as Silas drives back home).

Silas relies on a couple of his besties from years past, including Taylor McCarter Webb (nee McCarter; she’s now married to a local police officer who is another of Silas’s best friends. Silas tools around doing farm work, and then the father of one of the missing girls asks him to help find her. Though reluctant, he decides to pitch in.

It’s here that the action really picks up, and it’s where mine in the form of a review shuts down; there’s nothing more I can say without revealing too much (and it’s way, way too good to not let other readers experience it for themselves). The story is suspenseful, emotional and absolutely riveting, right down to the final page. A stellar effort for sure, and I offer a big THANK YOU to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. Now please – pre-order a copy (or reserve one at your library) and read it for yourself – you’ll see!

The Country Road Murders by James Patterson and Mike Lupica (Little, Brown and Co., July 2026); 416 pp.