A Bend in the Road
by Nicholas Sparks
Time Warner - September 2001
ISBN: 1586211781 Audio Cassette, unabridged
General Fiction
Reviewed by Brenda
Weeaks, MyShelf.com
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Nicholas Sparks, who
lives in North Carolina, sets his latest novel there.
New Bern is a simple
town where everyone knows everything, but it seems the truth about one
crime has eluded them. High school sweethearts Miles and Missy Ryan married
and had as son. One day Missy went jogging and was killed by a hit and
run driver. It's two years later, and the killer is still unknown.
Miles is the deputy
sheriff of New Bern. The sheriff, Charlie, and his wife, Brenda, are Miles
best friends; they watch out for him and Jonah. Since Jonah is in Sarah
Andrew's class, Brenda hints to the divorced schoolteacher about Miles.
Sarah has her own sad story of how she ended up in New Bern. She wants
to fall in love again, but a secret keeps her from it. Jonah's school
problems bring the two together, and when mutual attraction is obvious,
the reader thinks: "that's nice, happy ending." Not. The drama
has only begun to unfold. The killer comes back, spying on Miles and Jonah,
Sarah hears from her ex-husband's family, and the two new lovers must
face a new, painful revelation. As I read, I couldn't see these two getting
past all the drama that invades their new relationship.
Questions arise as the
story moves. Questions drawn from the suspense the author skillfully creates
to hold his readers still. Can Miles let go of his late wife's case, of
her memory? Will Jonah accept a new mother figure, one who sees his educational
weakness and refuses to be easy on him as the others were? Why is the
stalker following Miles and Jonah, and, most of all, who is it?!
A Bend in the Road reads
like a typical human relationship story, but with an added twist. Throughout
the story line the audience is privy to the killer's thoughts and deeds,
which draws out the suspense in the story. The conclusion will be the
talking point of many online discussion lists.
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