Allen Eskens can do no wrong! There is nothing else that needs to be said - I cannot get enough of his books!

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. There was just enough mystery to keep me intrigued and just enough feel good character interactions to win my heart! A very good read!

Nothing More Dangerous is a compelling novel by Allen Eskens in which he takes a character, Boady Sanden, from two previous books, and goes back to 1976 to take a look at a moment in time in small town Jessup, Missouri.

Eskens has said in an interview, “I like writing stories where the protagonist goes on a personal journey that changes them by the end of the novel.” Readers see that idea exemplified in each of Eskens’ novels. Boady goes from a naïve 15-year-old who has never thought much about race and using certain derogatory terms to a compassionate young man who is educated not only by his secretive neighbor but also by his encounter with a black family, and young, white supremacists.

Helping to shape Boady is Hoke, a mysterious neighbor, who asks lots of questions but gives very few answers. For as long as Boady has known Hoke, 10 years, Hoke has been keeping a running log on who knows what? Eventually Boady will have a chance to delve into these volumes which give him insight into the man who has become a father figure to him. In the meantime, Hoke gives Boady something to think about when considering his new black neighbors.

When Boady refuses to spray paint derogatory words on the side of the Elgin’s house, he marks himself as an enemy of the CORPS, a group of Klan wanna-bes. In fact, Boady soon becomes best friends with Thomas Elgin, which further infuriates the group, causing them to attempt a vicious attack on the twosome.

The plot thickens when Boady and Thomas encounter a dead body while they are exploring in the woods. It turns out to be Lida Poe, a person of interest in an embezzlement of the plant where Thomas’ father has been brought in to straighten things up. As Boady keeps putting together more clues about what is going on in his town of Jessup, he finds himself and Thomas in life-threatening danger from the CORPS.

Allen Eskens became one of my favorite contemporary writers with The Life We Bury, in which an adult Boady appears. Eskens continues to be a compassionate writer who gets to the very core of what it means to be an individual in a battle between right and wrong. He’s masterful in his crafting of young, male characters who are at the heart decent human beings called upon to step up in difficult situations.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 19, 2020. 5 stars!

I’d like to thank Mulholland Books, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, a division of the Hachette Book Group. and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing house for providing a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“You put enough like-minded idiots in a room, and pretty soon their backward way of thinking starts to take on an air of legitimacy.”

This coming-of-age story is set in the '70's and takes on the challenges of race and identity in some really beautiful ways. 

Boady lives in an all white neighborhood with his single mother. When a wealthy black family become their neighbors, they could never imagine what fast friendships they would have. 

A white supremacist group is really unhappy that a black man is in charge of the town's manufacturing plant though.  This anger fuels and torments the family and anyone who might associate with them.

The entire story is layered within a disappearance of Lida Poe, who was the secretary at the town's manufacturing plant. According to rumors, she left town along with a hundred thousand dollars of company money. As more about the white supremacist group becomes known, Boady begins to wonder if she really did commit this crime.

Boady begins trying to uncover clues and soon realizes that everything is not as it seems.

I couldn't put this book down and highly recommend it if you are looking for a mystery to escape with.

This coming-of-age story would be perfect for a book club discussion and is the kind of read that really sticks with you.

Just a great freaking book. Loved it!
Full review here: https://murderincommon.com/2020/01/12/allen-eskens-nothing-more-dangerous/

Thanks for the DRC

This was such a great book. Eskens does a really great job with world building- I was in that cloying small town with Boady and Thomas. Boady is an outstanding character. The writing made him come to life and I was fully invested in his journey the whole way through. I loved how he grew as he got to be closer to Thomas and learned more about his mother and himself. I also loved the addition of the voice of reason, Hoke. Reading this made me uncomfortable- but I think that was the point.

Prejudice and greed is very present in the 1970s, in this small Missouri town. The beginning opens with a missing black woman, who had worked is said to have made off with the money she stole, from the business where she worked. Her disappearance sparks and interest in a young teen, Broady. Before books end Broady, with the help of his black friend Thomas will uncover the truth. A truth more horrible than one can imagine. He will also learn a secret, that will change his young life.

Every author has a strength and Eskens is, in my opinion, his characters. There are some fantastic characters in this book, well rounded and authentic. This book covers manydifferent genres, historical, mystery and coming of age. The suspense and tension builds and builds from the beginning until the explosive finale. Not a big fan of violence, but one can see that something has to give, explode, so it wasn't unexpected. Another winner from this author.

ARC from Netgalley.

There's nothing more dangerous than devouring a book and suddenly finding yourself begrudgingly glaring at the stack of "to-read" books because you know few of them will leave you wishing the story didn't have to end. I'm in that place where I know I will miss Boady narrating his life in the rural Ozark hills and I loathe the hole finishing Nothing More Dangerous has left behind.

Allen Eskens introduces readers to Boady Sanden recounting the life lessons he learned in Jessup, Missouri. Boady recaps on his freshman year when he meets Thomas Elgin and how it completely changed his life. His coming of age story begins with the disappearance of a black woman named Lida Poe whom the town believes embezzled a $100,000 from the local plastics factory that employs most of the town. The powers that be send Charles Elgin and his family to Jessup to investigate the theft. The only problem is Charles Elgin is an educated black man employed to manage a factory of non-educated racist white men.

The Elgin family moves in across the street from Boady and his mother. Finally Boady has someone he can befriend. Thomas and Boady eventually become great friends although their initial introduction was less than ideal. Before long, Boady finds himself embroiled in situations where he's forced to decide the type of man he wants to be.

Nothing More Dangerous is my first roll in hay with Allen Eskens. He makes it clear that this story took him years to write because he wanted to get it right. I think he got it right. Before we get into the themes, let me just say, I'm a huge fan of coming-of-age stories. At times young narrators can be unreliable, bratty, selfish, whiny, or downright stupid (in my opinion) which makes it hard for me to read YA. The stories I do enjoy reading in reference to the preteen or teen monster, are coming-of-age stories. Those novels provide me with a smidgen of hope for those between the ages 12-21 (yes, I include you early 20-year old brats). I can dream that for once the world is larger than them and they have the capacity for empathy.

We meet Boady when he's simply choosing to do the right thing for a fellow classmate. He has no idea the weight conviction carries. Boady slowly begins to uncover a world where the color of your skin determines how you will be treated. Although Boady has always known the racists actions of some in his town, he becomes hyper aware of how dangerous being black and an outsider can be.

The plot dealing heavily with race, class, and mystery only enhances Boady's story. It was a great choice to have him narrate because we only knows and we can see the world through his eyes as he finds his self. Seriously, I wanted to hang with Boady and Thomas as they help each other learn that life has its ups and downs, its evilness and virtuosity, its good and bad.

I know that my review may seem all over the place but it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what hooked me to Nothing More Dangerous. Honestly, if sleep wasn't necessary and passing finals I could have finished this book in a day or so. (Sorry peeps! I'm no speed reader.) Eskens drew me in almost immediately with a character I cared about. I even cared about the supporting cast based on Boady's thoughts. He's such a good, genuine kid that it's hard to walk away from his story.

Really, there isn't much more I need to say. I really enjoyed reading Nothing More Dangerous.

Copy provided by Mulholland Books via Netgalley

So very excited to have received a copy of this book by Allen Eskens! I so enjoyed two of his books. The Shadows We Hide and The Life We Bury made me an avid reader of this author's books. They are all filled with realism, with in depth characters, and with writing that was so relevant and important. Happy to say that Nothing More Dangerous also was a winner for me.

“But memories aren’t like photographs; they can’t halt the passing of time. Instead, they lay like footsteps along a path each determined by the step that came before and colored by the ones to follow.”

Boady Sanden, a fifteen year old boy is sick of living in his town. His life is lonely, his mother is distant, still suffering from the loss of her husband years ago, and he hates the culture of the South. He's ready to run away and be free of the grief and cruelty he himself experiences. He's a lonely boy, often bullied, never accepted.

A family moves into a big home across from the Sandens, and Boady's life is about to change. At the same time, the town is abuzz with thoughts about a young woman, Lida Poe, who is missing. It is believed that Lida, a worker in a plastics factory, had disappeared along with a hundred thousand dollars. A mystery indeed, but this story becomes so much more. It is a tale of friendship, prejudice, and crime.

However, as Boady and the new neighbor Tom grow into friendship, they find themselves caught up with a unscrupulous gang of men and boys reminiscent of the KKK. As the boys learn more, a body is found, and the people responsible for harrowing happenings become a life threatening presence for both Boady and Tom.

I love stories that are simply told. They are straight forward tales that don't need embellishments, ridiculous situations, or the need to suspend belief. Mr Eskens writes a poignant tale that relates so well what life in the South was like in the mid 1970's and the inborn nature many had, consumed by hate and a belief that one's race was subservient to another's. However, Broady learns the lesson that MLK was espousing, that of being judged by character not the color of one's skin.

This exciting tale is mystery writing at its best. It engaged me from the very beginning and as I delved further into the story, I fell in love with the characters of Boady, Tom, his family, and Boady's mother. It's a story of people who seemed vibrantly real, of ones you would want to count as your friends, and others that you would disdain. This tale is woven together seamlessly and the resulting story is one that possesses a poignant and moving telling. I recommend this book most highly for it's riveting and flawless.

Thank you to Allen Eskens, Mulholland Books and NetGalley for a copy of this story. It has recently been published.

I liked this book about friendship between two teenage boys that are different in every way. They bond and stand against prejudice. They get involved in a murder with ties to embezzlement while trying to avoid white nationalists.

Beautifully written, this author has a true gift for crafting words. Like a literary painting. Allen Eskens has the ability of drawing in a reader so deeply you feel side-by-side with the characters, fully enmeshed in their every thought and movement.

Boady Sanden is somewhat of a loner in school. When he steps in to protect another student from bullies, he instantly puts a target on his back. That’s alright. In his heart he knows what he did was right and wouldn’t hesitate to repeat the action. Fully aware of the consequences.

Allen Eskens gives the reader a bit of everything in this novel and the end result is brilliant. The timeless struggle of a teenage boy finding himself, the mystery of an embezzlement, and the disappearance of a worker from the local factory. As well as the racial tension of small town Missouri in the mid 70's. Enough drama for you?! Well, it worked seamlessly! I loved every bit of it!!

This is a YA book which I didn’t realize when I first requested it. All I saw was a new release from one of my favorite authors...and that’s all I needed to know. And though YA is a genre that I have very little experience with, my enjoyment of this book couldn’t have been more rewarding.

I highly recommend!

This was a buddy read with Susanne that we both just loved and couldn’t get enough of! Allen Eskens is one of our favorite authors and we are already looking forward to his next release.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books and Allen Eskens for an ARC to read and review.

I don’t often cry at movies or while reading books, but I did with this one!! Also stayed up until 2:00 a.m., I had to finish it!

This is the third book that I’ve read by Mr. Eskens and every one has been a 5*, I wish I could give it more. This book gets everything right, the plot, the mystery, the character development, the quick and smooth flow of the prose, just WOW !! I felt so many emotions while reading this book. At times I laughed, cried, felt afraid, felt ashamed at how evil and prejudiced some people can be, the pain that they can inflict on others, verbally and physically. Wonderfully, to balance the evil there was the incredible kindness and caring of people, young and older, who do everything to help others. I don’t want to let go of these characters, I feel like they have found a place in my heart.

15 year old Broady is a very inquisitive, kind and caring young teen but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t get himself in lots of dangerous, dubious adventures. He has just finished his freshman year at a Christian high school which he is definitely not happy about. His mother, widowed for about ten years, is quite strict with Broady and when he was caught stealing and smoking cigarettes in 8th grade she wanted him in a private school. Problem is, at this school he doesn’t fit in anywhere. He handles it pretty well and spends lots of time reading, exploring in the woods, fishing, swimming and talking with his next door neighbor, Hoke, a retired lawyer who spends long afternoons on his porch. These two have a great relationship and it eases Broady’s heart a little since his father died.

New neighbors on Broady’s small neighborhood street is big news. When it turns out that the dad is the next manager at the local company, Ryke Manufacturing, and an African American things start to happen, first slowly and then very quickly spiral out of control. The bright light in all of this is the wonderful friendship that blossoms between Broady and Thomas Elgin, the new neighbor boy, same age as Broady.

We begin to be introduced to an array of amazing characters. Broady’s mother who has been quiet and quite withdrawn seems to come out of her loneliness when Jenny Elgin engages her in talks and teas.

The sheriff, Vaughan, is a tough one to figure out, is he really a good guy? Bad guy? Somewhere in between?

There had been a big story in town a few months previously about a young black woman, Ms. Lida Poe, who supposedly embezzled money from the company and no one has seen her since. The general belief is that she has fled the country, has she?

The really frightening group of guys are a part of the CORPS, a secret white supremacist group, they include boys named Jarvis, Bob and Brad. There are not at all happy with the new African American manager of Ryke and the demotion of their father.

I don’t want to give away any more of the plot so I will stop with this quote from Hoke when trying to explain the racial prejudices in town “In a perfect world, ignorant notions should die a quick death. A thing like racism, if it can’t find a kindred spirit...it’s like a dog barking at a stone. But if you can find just one other person who thinks like you . ..well even the most irrational belief can grow roots. Small minded people feed off each other and before you know it, you have mobs, and you have burning crosses, and lynchings” .

If you haven’t read this author I highly recommend that you pick up this book. It has already published so it can also make a great holiday gift :) Obviously I loved this book!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher Mulholland Books, through NetGalley.

I never miss a book by this author! This is a story of growing up in the Ozark Hills. Boady, a high school freshman, can’t wait to leave town and is already saving money for his escape. Then, Thomas, a new kid, moves in across the road and everything begins to change. This was a great story about class, race, friendship and family.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In Jessup, Missouri a local woman accused of laundering money from a local factory has gone missing. Fifteen year old Boady and the rest of the town are curious as to what has happened to her. During this time, a new family, the Elgins, move onto Boady’s quiet street. Mr. Elgin has been sent to manage the local factory in the wake of the scandal. Boady and the new neighbor’s son Thomas quickly become friends, but not everyone is happy with the new African American family moving to their town. Boady and Thomas soon find themselves the targets of local white supremacists. During the course of the summer they discover what happened to the local woman while also discovering what lurks in the racially charged underbelly of their town.

This novel explores what it was like in the south during the 1970s and the racial tensions that existed during that time. The author explores the topic of racism in a way that leaves you sympathizing with the characters and shaking your head that these types of thoughts existed, and still do exist, in this county. This combination mystery and coming of age story will have you glued to the very last page. I still find myself thinking back fondly on Boady and Thomas. Highly highly recommend!

5 Gut-Wrenching, Profound, Impactful and Incredibly Moving Stars.

Some novels immediately grab your attention by their thought provoking storylines. Some have incredible character development. Some have impact. Some make you smile and some are so moving that they bring you to tears. Allen Eskens’ new novel “Nothing More Dangerous does all of the above.

Over the years, Allen Eskens has become one of my favorite authors. I have read all of his books - I love his characters and the way he writes. With “Nothing More Dangerous” - Eskens takes us back in time, to when Boady Sanden (an Attorney and Law Professor in a few of his prior novels (“The Life We Bury” and “The Heavens May Fall”)) is a fifteen year old at St. Ignatius High School in Jessup, Missouri.

Boady has never had it easy. Losing his dad when he was young. Being raised by a single mother. Being bullied at his new school. Boady quickly learns to stand up for himself and when all else fails, to evade. He spends most of his days reading and fishing and hanging out with Hoke, the old man who lives next door, that is, until an African American family moves around the corner and Boady eventually becomes friends with their son Thomas.

Weaved into the storyline of family, friendship, bullying and racial discrimination, is the disappearance of a woman named Lidia Poe, who went missing with a lot of cash from the factory where she worked. Did Lidia take off with the cash or did something happen to her? Searching for answers can only lead to one thing: danger.

Allen Eskens intertwines these storylines together brilliantly and gives the readers oh so much more than we ever could have imagined.

The character development in this novel is stellar. The characters of Boady and Hoke are my absolute favorites. I love their friendship with each other and I adore their consideration for others. This is a novel that brought me to tears on more than one occasion - and I was wholly unprepared for it. When I started this, I was sure I knew what it was about and felt like I knew what would happen in the end and I was so very wrong - which is a fabulous thing. “Nothing More Dangerous” will be at the top of my favorites list for 2019. It is definitely one of my favorite novels by Allen Eskens (I love Max Rupert so I can’t say that it beats out “Deep Dark Descending” but it’s pretty close). For those of you who haven’t read a novel by Allen Eskens yet, what are you waiting for?!

This was an incredible buddy read with Kaceey (of course)! So glad I got to share this with you Kaceey!

Thank you to NetGalley, Mulholland Books and Allen Eskens for the arc.

Published on Goodreads and NetGalley on 11.24.19.
Excerpt to be published on Instagram.

This was my first book by Allen Eskens and I was blown away! Wow, what an emotional book with so much depth and a many serious topics (racism, bullying, hate crimes, assault, death, grief). This is a coming of age story set at a time when racism was at it's peak! I loved the main character Boady and felt SO sad for the things he went through. But through it all, he was a strong character. He was such an endearing boy, and I loved the relationship he had with his neighbor Hoke, and I loved watching his friendship with Thomas build. The mystery, the suspense, I loved it all!! This book really just pulled at my heartstrings! This book is most definitely one of my favorites of 2019! Pick this book up, you will not be sorry! I can't wait to read more by Allen Eskens!! I love his writing!!

“…sometimes when you look down at the surface of a pond, all you can see is your own reflection, not the depth of what’s on the other side.”

– Hoke Gardner, Nothing More Dangerous

The diversity movement in crime fiction over the last year has largely focused on #OwnVoices which makes sense since the community is justifiably wanting – demanding – to hear from the under-represented minorities in our midst, but it can be just as important to recognize the contributions from the current crop of published authors who strive to be more inclusive in their own narratives. Nothing More Dangerous, the new stand-alone from Allen Eskens is a fine example, one in which the author uses his vantage point as a straight, white man to illustrate how a young, white boy in the south must navigate what he has been taught about people who are different from himself (in terms of race, class, sexual orientation, et al.) and reconcile that with what he himself observes within the real world. Needless to say, this young boy is in for a rude awakening, but Allen Eskens presents it in a way that feels authentic to this boy’s story without minimizing the truths of those groups this boy previously misunderstood.

It is 1976 and the boy at the heart of Nothing More Dangerous is Boady Sanden, a fifteen-year-old living in Jessup, Missouri and attending his first semester at St. Ignatius High School. Boady’s dad has died and Boady’s mom works at the local factory, where Boady also picks up a few hours of labor after school in an effort to save enough money to escape this small town as soon as possible. But when the large, long-vacant, house on his street finally gets new residents, Boady’s life is turned upside-down. The affluent, African-American Elgin family is relocating to Jessup because Charles Elgin – the patriarch – has been hired as the new foreman at the Ryke factory. Along with his wife, Charles brings along his son Thomas, who is about the same age as Boady. Although their first meetings are tense and the two boys struggle to relate to each other, both Boady and Thomas forge ahead with friendship despite the distrust of many of the town’s citizens.

Like many Midwestern/Southern small towns in the 1970’s (hell, even today), this town of Jessup has a large population that aspires to white supremacy. Allen Eskens creates a group called the CORPS – Crusaders of Racial Purity and Strength – that works around the fringes of society to make sure their ignorant views are acted upon in an effort to maintain the control they have wielded for generations. Those beliefs are about to come into direct contradiction to the truth that Boady begins to understand – things he learns as he gets to know his neighbors, both old and new; his family and few friends; and most importantly himself.

Nothing More Dangerous is many things, but at the core it is a coming-of-age story about a boy who refuses to settle for the status quo when he realizes that inequality has existed for far too long. Woven around that are several extremely well-developed mysteries: what happened to Hoke Gardner that left him scarred both physically and mentally; what is Hoke Gardner documenting in all those journals he writes in everyday; why did Lida Poe, the African-American bookkeeper run off with thousands of dollars; why has Boady’s mother turned inward when faced with widowhood; whose body was discovered near the CORPS meeting hall, and more importantly, who is responsible for that murder? Allen Eskens addresses all of this in beautifully-crafted prose that unspools like the finest gossamer weaving webs of secrets, deceit, hate, and retribution alongside unforgettable moments of tenderness, understanding, and acceptance. The multiple mysteries within the text bring Boady and Thomas closer, turning them into a pair of mixed race Hardy Boys, intent on finding the answers even as they place themselves at greater and greater risk.

Nothing More Dangerous is told in hindsight, so readers are presented with Boady’s recollections of that summer. Fans of Allen Eskens may remember that Boady Sanden appears in a more minor capacity in some of Eskens’ earlier novels. It is nice to see how this future attorney came by his moral compass. In a forward to this novel, Allen Eskens tells readers that he has struggled to write it for decades and it is clear that this was a author who was aware of the potential risks in telling such a story, but who also recognized the value in its being told – and told correctly. There were many places within Nothing More Dangerous where things could have gotten derailed, but thankfully they never do. Mr. Eskens should be commended for taking this chance and for allows both his characters and the reader to dawn their own conclusions organically without any type of forced judgment. Well done indeed!

Allen Eskens has fast become one of my favorite authors and he enthralls once again in his latest standalone.

Set in the Missouri Ozarks where racism and old ways of doing things abound, Boady Sanden comes of age and questions what is right and wrong and fights, to the point of putting is life in jeopardy, for the former.

Every word of Eskens’ writing is an absolute pleasure to read and his characters are phenomenal. Many heartfelt and difficult topics are delved into with ease and righteousness. This was a 5 star page-turner that left me wanting more!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Mulholland Books and Allen Eskens for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was magical. I give it a big 5 stars any day. This book was the epitome of coming of age meets mystery meets small town south. I loved the main character, Boady, so much. I laughed, I cried, I hurt. What was so masterful about this work to me was the way that I felt for all the characters. Coming from small town Mississippi, I understood a lot about the setting of this book in small town Missouri. The things that happened through the course of the story had you moved but also made you ponder about this time period in our history. How hard it was and still is for some people. I just love a book that makes you feel. The setting was perfect. The diction was phenomenal. I can't rave about this book enough. I will be picking up more of Eskens work for sure. 5 BIG FAT STARS.

A mystery tale that pulls the heart strings with a great bond of friendship with two young men amidst a fierce pull of injustice and murder.

There will be problem solving and things that make the heart move with this fine small town poignant mystery with at its core people in a web of good and evil.

There is a life buried within the story with the likable and memorable character Hoke, Boady, our young main protagonist of fifteen years of age, is set upon on a task in finding answers.

With all the injustice and crime, matters smouldering in Boady’s chest he is on the path to finding courage and some things just worth fighting for.

Lucid and clear storytelling using right technique and revealing to have you captivated.

Fine memorable characters with Hoke, Boady, and Thomas, ones forged and crafted in this tale, to be quoted and remembered by readers for many to years to come.