3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️


The book was okay . Crime novel that doesn’t accurately say where it is located . I’m quite confused at some point .
Very twisty and has a strong female lead .



❤️shaye.reads

Baxter is a dead end town, it's factories closed and jobs difficult to come by. Two women face off when a crime is committed even though under different circumstances, they could be friends. Git O'Rourke grew up in Baxter and would like nothing better than to get out of it. She lives for her daughter, Charlie and works two jobs as a LPN to support them and her mother who lives with the two as child care. Delia Mariola is a police officer, full of vim and vigor and headed on the way up. She has a son and wants to improve Baxter for him and the other kids.

The confrontation occurs when Git has an evening out. She doesn't have time for a relationship but that doesn't mean she doesn't occasionally want male companionship and yes, sex. She goes to a local bar and picks up the best looking man there. But when they get to his motel, the sex is over quickly and the man passes out after shooting up heroin. Git looks around and finds a bag with money and drugs and decides this is her chance to get out of town and back to school to improve her life. She grabs the bag and takes off.

But something goes wrong. The next morning Delia is called out to the motel and finds the man still on the bed but not passed out. Now he has a bullet hole in his head. Delia knows the man is a low level criminal and suspects he is connected to the criminal family she has been chasing and particularly Connor, the son who will be taking over the organization when his father ages out. She knows if she can arrest Connor she will take down the biggest source of drugs and crime in Baxter. But the scene and the witnesses all point to the women who was there in the room. Delia knows that even if the women didn't do the crime she is now a target of Connor's organization. She has to find her quickly but can she do it in time?

A.F. Carter has delivered a compelling novel that explores crime and drugs in a small rust belt town through the stories of two women, both trying to create better lives for their children. The women see the side of town most folks don't want to admit exists and both find different ways to deal with the crime and general lack of opportunity in Baxter. The story of how they do so will keep the reader interested to the end. This book is recommended for thriller readers.

Small town intrigue. Clearly drawn characters, especially the lead, Git. Smooth writing style. There is a lot to like here. Git O'Rourke is poor, with a dusty upbringing that she tries not to inflict on her own daughter, Charlie. To unwind, she sometimes heads out for one night stands. And this leads to her picking up the wrong guy, who quickly ends up the wrong, and DEAD guy. Oh, and he just happens to have close to 20K in cash that belongs to a local crime syndicate. Even though Git doesn't have the money, she is is known as the last person to see him alive. So, of course, the crime syndicate has their target squarely on her. Plenty of thrills and chills.

An entertaining twisty read with well developed characters in alternating points of view.and great female character. I loved the short chapters and suspense leaving to each chapter . A good book to read for sure.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A woman goes out for a night on the town and finds herself a murder suspect. Unlikely pairings of characters work together to help solve the crime.

If you like tough grimy mysteries this is for you! Very strong character development, and I just loved Git from the start. She is only a young woman and she hooked up with this druggie in a hotel. He went to the bathroom and overdosed on heroine, which only she knows. The town is infested with drugs and completely run down. Git has been wishing to get out of town and now she finds herself caught between a rock and a hard place, hopeful the police doesn’t connect her.

It was a super fast read and the ending was a shocker for me!

I really liked the steady pace and story of this book. Plenty interesting characters, all telling their own stories and it worked very well. It was a good satisfying read and I hope there is a follow up. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

The plot is paced extremely well. Even when bouncing between the three characters, you never feel like the book is slowing down or dragging its feet. Definitely a page-turner. The plot shifted between the perspectives of the three main characters: Git, Mariola, and Conner. There were quite a few twists and turns that kept you guessing until the end. I wasn’t quite sure who killed Bradley or who took the money for quite some time.

The author did a great job of making the three characters, especially the two lead women, feel like completely different people. My one wish would be that Git and Mariola would have had more interaction. Although drastically different, they are both single mothers trying to make a living in this downtrodden town and provide for their children. The two characters don’t meet until the end of the book, which I feel was a wasted opportunity to have the two play off each other more. I also feel like the author could have gone more into Mariola’s sexuality. She briefly talks about her issues being a lesbian in a public position in a town with old-school Christian values, but I feel like she only scratches the surface. I understand that it wasn’t essential to the plot, but it would have given her even more depth.

I also enjoyed the backdrop of Baxter, a small Rust Belt town that was down on its luck even before the COVID 19 pandemic. This is the first book I’ve read that has directly mentioned the pandemic, as well as the effect it had on people, and it is used to great effect. You can feel the desperation that Git experiences trying to support not only herself and her child, but also her ill mother.

The ending did a fine job at wrapping up loose ends. I’m glad that Git got to play an active role in getting out of the mess that she accidentally wound up in. This is a woman who had been wronged by plenty of men in her life, so it was nice to see her have agency to take down Conner Schmidt and his right-hand man.

The writing style is concise and easy to follow. The author not only does a great job with the characters and their thoughts, but also in describing the town of Baxter, which is struggling with not only a drug problem, but with the effects of COVID 19.
I would be interested in reading more books by this author.

first off - a huge thanks to netgalley, penzler publishing & mysterious press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs:
i really enjoyed this book! Git is probably my favorite book character this year so far. she’s just a young, strong, single mother, who has a past of dating scumbags. it wasn’t as suspenseful as i thought it would be, but it was just enough! i also love small town, poverty settings. one main reason i did not rate this 5 stars is because i think Connor’s POV was a little pointless.

The genre of declining America is the setting for small town Baxter with its failing economy, drug problems and cronyism (in local politics and police) as residents struggle for a better life. With its gritty start, The Yards is the second standalone thriller by A F Carter. Told from the perspectives of Delia, a police detective, Git O’Rourke a nurse and single mother, and Connor the son of the local drug lord, each character has a well-developed back story. A dead body turns up in the local motel, kicking off a series of events that impact on our protagonists. With believable characters, an interlocking narrative and building tension comes this four-star read rating. So, A F Carter’s first book will now be added to the enjoyable reading lists pile. With thanks to Penzler Publishers and the author for an uncorrected proof copy for review purposes. An interestingly aside, the story has references to Covid but also describes the virus effect on the character’s families.

This storyline had the makings of a good book, and while there are many other readers who are really liking it, for some reason it fell flat for me. It is done through the narrative of basically three of the important characters of the book, which that style certainly gives the reader the perspective of what's happening from the main points of view. The Yards is a rundown, poor section of the town of Baxter, and those who lived there come out of it tough, like "Git" O'Rourke and her mother did. "Git" is trying very hard to make a new life for herself, her daughter and her mother. Her desire to hook-up one night lands her right in the middle of a murder. From there the story takes off as the murder investigation, led by Lieutenant Delia Mariola. The storyline itself is good. However, I felt there was a lack of character development which meant that I did not feel invested in any of the main characters, and there were times when the direction of the telling became confusing. Overall, there was promise in the book and twists to where the investigation takes the reader. My true rating would be 3.5. Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Books for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. #NetGalley #TheYards

First book I have read by this author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, will definitely read more of their books in future. I liked the pace of the book, the story was good, and the characters were interesting. I like the technique of different characters having their own voice, and the story being told this way, it works for me if it is well done, and it was in this book. I thought it was a cracker of a read, and would happily recommend it to other readers..

I was pretty excited to get approved for The Yards. All of Us was a favorite book of mine last year, so when I saw the author's name, nothing got between me and my request finger!
Git O'Rourke knows what it's like to be poor and to live on the wrong side of town. Growing up with an alcoholic mother who barely kept her sheltered and fed, she wants more for her own daughter. Her terrible taste in men means that she is raising Charlie on her own, and except for an occasional harmless one-night stand, she tries to do the right thing.
Except this time, she picked the wrong guy, because he winds up dead, and Git seems to be the last person seen with him. His murder might go unsolved, but the missing $18,000 that he had belongs to a local crime family. That means that even if the cops don't figure it out, a man named Connor wants his money back. Trouble is, Git didn't kill him or take the cash, but she is going to have a hard time staying in the shadows or proving her innocence.
Delia is the cop determined to solve this case. Told from Git, Delia, and Conner's perspectives, the question is who can Git trust to help her get out of this mess. She has street smarts and is tough, but the odds are against her.
Git was a great character. Always wanting to better herself and make sure that her daughter would have choices that she never had. I enjoyed the story, though it was totally different than All of Us. Unfortunately, towns and situations like this are all too real, and I kept my fingers crossed that Git would come out of this alive.

Loved this book. The characters, the plot all of it. An author for me to keep in mind for future reading. Thanks for the book!

The Yards by A.F. Carter is excellent and an engrossing read with well-developed characters and plot. Well worth the read!

3 for neutral, I didn’t request this book. I think it was done accidentally. I did try to read, but just couldn’t get into it. Will update if able to read at a later date.

What happens when you are a suspect for a crime you didn't commit? And then the police are the least of your concerns....the local mob is who you need to worry about. You can't help but root for the main character Git in this suspenseful thriller. Git's grown up on the wrong side of the tracks and just wants to make life bearable for her daughter. After making an error in judgment, she is now running for her life. Quick read. Really good. Definately recommended.

I enjoyed the story, but I am not a fan of novels written in the present tense. Also, I do not like reading books that jump from one character to another, to another in each chapter. Soo, I liked the book, but I was not a fan of the style of writing, The only reason for my score of 3 stars. I know, I'm sure many may like this type of storytelling, but I feel compelled to tell the truth here.

Excellent read, my first book by this author. Twisty thrilling tale that I read in one afternoon. Likable characters that made you want to see how it would all turn out in the end. Strong plot that draws you in and keeps you turning the pages at a rapid pace. I would definitely recommend this book, five stars. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Penzler Publishers, and author for this advance ebook copy!

I knew The Yard was going to be an amazing read.
This multiple-voiced mystery will have you turning the pages so fast. I was immediately hooked once I started reading it. Carter knows how grab the readers attention and holds it till the end his writing here was phenomenal.
This book overall was a joy to read and the suspense building action was freaking awesome!