Flash back to 1968 in Laguna Beach, California--The Age of Aquarius, the Summer of Love, anti-war protests, hippies, psychedelic drugs, and search for enlightenment—an uneasy time of social change and a hard time for a young man coming of age. Matt Anthony is sixteen. His older brother is a tunnel rat in Viet Nam, his father has abandoned the family, his mother has a drug addiction, and his sister Jasmine (Jazz) has been kidnapped. Matt survives with the few bucks he makes on his paper route and on the occasional fish he catches from the ocean. The cops are focused on illegal drug trafficking and have given up trying to find Jazz and his parents are preoccupied in their own problems. So Matt takes it on himself, with the help of his childhood sweetheart, to find his sister. The adventures he experiences and the dangers he endures all while coming of age encapsulates his summer.
Laguna Beach and southern California is a popular setting for many of Parker’s novels but the coming of age angle is new. The nostalgia blended into his gift for story telling makes this an unexpected treat.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Smooth as butter. That's how this book went down for me. Having been a teen in Southern California in the 70s, the echoes of 60s were always there, especially around the beach cities where this story is set. Without even getting into the plot or characters, I have to applaud the author's evocation of the times and places. He brings them to life in a way that will appeal to those of us that remember it, as well as those who have not.

In the middle of that scene, the 'stoner' 60s, we find teenaged Matt, bombing around the streets and beaches on his bicycle trying to make a life for himself without much support from is mom, his dad out of the picture, his older brother in Viet Nam and then his beloved older sister goes missing. Add in a dead girl found on the beach who's scarily similar to his sister and we're off to the races with a suspenseful story that never seems to cut Matt a break. The police don't seem to be much help. The hippies at the local head shop are helpful, but shady. And that's just the beginning of Matt's woes.

Matt is an immensely likable character. Amazingly resilient and resolute in his quest to uncover the mystery of where his sister is. He doesn't give up. But he will grow up. This is a highly entertaining book.

There are two kinds of “thousand steps” in this novel: the very real ones of a beach located in the city of Laguna Beach, California and the metaphorical ones of the seemingly endless steps the main character, Matt, takes in the fervent search for his missing sister, Jazz.

If there’s one thing I thought about constantly while reading this novel it was, “If it’s hard to find a missing teenager even in the age of smart EVERYTHING, how much harder would it have been to find one in 1968, especially for a poor 16 year-old boy?”

This novel, from start to finish, is very engaging. You can’t help but keep turning the pages, wanting or needing to see what’s next or who’s going to reveal something or what’s going to happen or what’s going to go wrong? Because more goes wrong than goes right in this book, and it’s only intuition, instincts, courage, impetuousness, and indefatigability that keep Matt going even after he keeps getting knocked back, kicked down, and told no.

You can’t help but identify with and root for Matt, with his broken family, missing sister, young age, and very limited resources. Who doesn’t like an underdog story, right? At the same time, you feel angry at the adults around Matt, who neglect him, use him or try to do so, manipulate him, and lie to him. Fighting against drugs, hippies, the homeless, communism, and “the man” all seem more important to all the adults than making sure the kids are all right. And that’s precisely what allowed Matt’s sister to slip through the cracks and go missing and what leads to Matt being the only person who truly takes her disappearance seriously and the only one devoted to finding her.

In the end, the only thing that keeps this novel from getting a five-star review from me is that it’s fairly predictable. I don’t like waiting for the characters to catch up with where I’ve been since about 30% of the way through the book. But I was still happy to read, just to see what would happen in-between when I got there and when the book caught up with me.

One piece of context before is my time to begin.
this book was part of the beginnings of a current personal project related to California in the 60's. The cover caught my attention immediately, the colours and psychedelic aesthetic told me immediately this was going to be from this specific era that i had some nostalgia attached , but nothing else at the time, so in preparation to have a better concept of the era, i decided to read a couple of books about the era. This was the way i got introduced to authors Joan Didion and Eve Babitz, and my life changed.
They became my favourite authors of the year, and they are now my biggest influences. The story then became something within a frame of contextual adoration and bias everywhere, which leads me to this conflictive moment of review it. I could say the story is good, generally good, it builds a distinctive atmosphere, but it is also its own story without depending solely on its setting as main selling point. But it is not a great thriller, i would call it closer to literary fiction, it is very slow pace, specially at the beginning.
If you are already a fan of the era, and the idea of California in the 60's is somewhat interesting to you, you are going to enjoy this book, it is at least an interesting read. But it is a book you can absolutely critique by its writing, and some overall interactions that made it clear this was written by a man. it fails to fully explore the complexities of the time. Objectively is slightly mediocre, but it has an audience, and i just consider it good enough! and good enough has its own charms.

In his new novel, A THOUSAND STEPS, author T. Jefferson Parker takes us back to 1968. The book tells the story of a 16-year-old boy who is searching for his missing older sister in the psychedelic underground of Laguna Beach, California. Parker thinks of it as a “coming of age thriller” because it contains elements of both.

Follow the link to the full review featured in the January edition of The Big Thrill..

A Thousand Steps

✨ARC Review✨

Laguna Beach, CA….the year? 1968…and cue The Beatles music…Matt is sixteen, the proverbial teen trying to find his way. His life and family are sort of in shambles, and his sister Jazz just went missing. The police think her to be a runaway hippie, but Matt knows that isn’t like his sister. He is determined to find out what happened to Jazz in a town where hippies and cops are enemies.

What I Loved:
-Matt and his enthusiasm to not give up on his sister
-a great portrayal of the time period. You don’t have to have lived in the 60s to feel full on immersed in this book. The imagery of the time period, including that of the Vietnam War, and just how people lived and engaged is telling

This was a gripping thriller, although I felt like you don’t really get full on immersed until the second half or so. If things had continually been fast paced, I don’t think I would have dropped a star.

✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A special thank you to NetGalley and Forge Books for this eARC!

When I first read the premise for A Thousand Steps, I was intrigued - a historical fiction set in 1968 centered around the life of a teenager who is trying to find his missing sister. Unfortunately, I had some trouble getting into this one. As a thriller fan, I found this story a very slow-burn. The mystery part of it played a considerably small role, so I was left wondering why this book is labelled as a thriller in the first place. A lot of the action took place in the last 10-20% of the book, but the rest of it read more like a heart-wrenching coming-of-age tale.
Having said all that, I believe the book is extremely well-written, the protagonist Matt Anthony is likeable, and the author does an amazing job of describing the time and place of the novel. I believe this story is much more suitable for readers of historical fiction and drama.

Reading this book certainly brought memories flooding back into my brain. I was 14 during 1968 and living on the east coast. Timothy Leary, LSD, Vietnam, hippies, free love, all the amazing music, all of these left an impression on me. California was THE place to live. Amazingly enough, as a senior I am living in Southern California and have spent time in Laguna Beach, which made this read even more interesting.
Matt is the perfect character to help portray the turbulence of the late 60’s. Seeing the craziness of the times through the eyes of a young, impressionable boy, living in a totally dysfunctional family, made this book so powerful for me. As he tries to locate his older sister who has gone missing, he is exposed to really depraved situations. His maturity and common sense help keep him alive but his innocence is lost forever. His intelligence, determination and perseverance became a force to be reckoned with. Loved that he was so committed to his paper route.
His mother…no words can describe my disdain for her and her lack of parenting. The drifting father…again a sign of the times. The BEL was probably very close to a real center. So enjoyed meeting the characters there and reading the descriptions of Matt’s encounters there. The canning of tomatoes and the books were a brilliant idea.
Having read and enjoyed a few of Parker’s books years ago I knew it would be in the thriller genre, but so appreciated the addition of the coming of age aspect, as well as so many historical facets of Laguna in the late 60’s. Loved the inclusion of the thousand steps and the Pageant of the Masters, some day soon I will see it in person. Hai Karate - men will have to fend off women if they wear it - another fabulous flashback!
Many many thanks to T. Jefferson Parker, Forge books, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of this engaging book, to be published January 11th.

I don't think I'd call this a gripping thriller, which is what its description calls it, but I liked it. Matt is a great character and the setting both geographically and in time were both great. I am way into analog books right now. The
I liked the writing, loved Matt, love the cover, but this was too slow in a lot of spots.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

• Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Forge Books and NetGalley for providing this Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is January 11, 2022.

It’s 1968 in Laguna Beach, California; you know, peace, love and LSD. Kids are going there in search of good times and enlightenment. Matt is 16-years-old and has a deadbeat dad and a drugged up mom. Hippie girls start showing up dead on the beach. Matt can only hope one of them will not be his missing sister, Jazz. I liked this crime thriller which was the first book I’ve read from this author.

A Thousand Steps is a unique mystery set in 1968 Laguna Beach, California. When 16 year old Matt's sister Jazz goes missing, he is determined to find her.

I wanted to read this novel because I found both the 1960's setting and Laguna Beach locale intriguing. The book did not disappoint! It was a fast paced mystery in an intriguing period setting.

I have never read T. Jefferson Parker's books before, but plan to look for them now, as a result of this read. Recommended for fans of mysteries, the 1960's, and lively, well written fiction.

It's 1968 and 16-year-old Matt Anthony is dealing with many adult issues while trying to enjoy life in Laguna Beach, California. His mother is caught up in the world of drugs barely making ends meet, his older brother is fighting in Vietnam and his father, a former policeman, walked out on the family years ago and rarely stays in touch. Matt acts responsibly earning money with a regular job delivering papers, enjoys fishing and spends time working on his drawings. He's also getting closer to his first real crush. After a missing teenage girl turns up dead on the beach, his world is turned upside down when his older sister Jasmine disappears. When the police fail to take immediate action, Matt starts his own search. He finds himself looking for her within the local drug scene and those seeking enlightenment.

A Thousand Steps is a well-done journey back in time. It takes place when there was a major shift in our culture. War was raging on and was watched nightly on everyone’s television sets. A counterculture was formed. Hippies not only protested the war but experimented with mind-altering drugs to escape. Laguna Beach attracted a group of hippies calling themselves the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. Timothy Leary and others encouraged them to use LSD to turn on and drop out.

Author T. Jefferson Parker portrays the period with realism through this coming-of-age story which includes a compelling mystery. Whether you lived through this time of great change or heard your family talk about the 60s, this is a book worth checking out.

A Thousand Steps by T. Jefferson Parker is a very highly recommended coming-of-age story wrapped around a mystery set in a very specific time and place. This is really a compelling, extraordinary, excellent novel!

In 1968 Laguna Beach, California, is attracting members of the developing counterculture - hippies, protests, sit-ins, drugs, and free love. Matt Anthony is a broke sixteen-year-old who is just trying to survive. He has a paper route that he needs to buy food. His mom is neglectful and an addict. Drugs are readily available and she is becoming part of the counterculture. His dad is gone and is only occasionally in contact. His brother is over in Vietnam and will hopefully be returning home soon. But Matt is mostly worried about his sister, Jasmine (Jazz). She has just graduated from high school and hasn't returned home.

A girl they both knew has turned up dead on a beach, so Matt is worried about his missing sister and sets out trying to find Jazz. When there is still no sign of Jazz after 48 hours, Matt and his mom talk to the police about it. They assume she is a runaway and are much more concerned about the hippies and the drug problem over running the city. Matt takes it upon himself to search for Jazz as his mother is too stoned to do it. He tirelessly searches for Jazz while making sure he does his paper route.

The social and cultural divisions between characters is clear. In the pretense of helping Matt make money so he can eat, many of the adults are using him for their own nefarious purposes. They knew he was struggling and could have just gave him the money or bought him a meal.

Matt is a good kid. He is a sympathetic and thoughtful young man who is raising himself, which is heartbreaking and tragic. While his mother is off doing her own selfish thing, Matt is in a constant battle to obtain food or money for food, while looking for his sister. During this time, he has his first girlfriend, a girl he has had a crush on since fourth grade. He is also a talented artist and does sketches of the people he encounters. Matt is a memorable character involved in an overwhelming situation, both facets work together to make A Thousand Steps an unforgettable novel.

It is mostly a coming-of-age story, but it is also a mystery and a historical novel set in a very specific time and place. The time period adds insight into the actions of the characters and the atmosphere in Laguna Beach in 1968. This is when Timothy Leary was encouraging people to, "Turn on, tune in, drop out," use LSD, smoke hash, use opium.

The writing is exceptional and I am surprised I have never read anything by T. Jefferson Parker before this. A Thousand Steps is hard to put down once you start reading this intriguing and riveting novel. The plot seems simple, a young man is searching for his sister, but there are so many other parts to the story that give it depth and interest. A Thousand Steps will certainly be one of the best novels of 2022.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Tor/Forge Books.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and Amazon.

It’s so great to begin the new year with a good book! This one took me back in time to Laguna Beach in the late 1960’s. The hippie era is in full swing, along with the drug culture and war protests.

The main character, Matt Anthony, stole my heart. This is really the story of Matt’s coming of age, but it all revolves around his missing sister and the Laguna Beach atmosphere of “spiritual” enlightenment.

Matt is still in high school, living with his mom and sister, awaiting the return of his brother from Vietnam. He has a newspaper route and fishes in the ocean to supplement the family table. When his sister does not come home one night, Matt sets out on a journey to find her.

With an absent father and a mother who is on drugs, everything seems to be working against him. He’s much more mature than the average teenage boy and has a heightened sense of responsibility to those he loves. He’s also self-reflective and considers often what is the right thing to do in situations that seem to be confusing.

I was so caught up in the story of finding Matt’s sister, that it didn’t hit me until later, how close Matt came to losing every member of his family. That’s a tough reality for anyone, much less a teen.

The ending was exciting and satisfying. It was the perfect ending to the story to see Matt grasping the life that all teen boys yearn to have. This is a great read with the appropriate 60’s music playing in the background.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.

"A Thousand Steps is a beguiling thriller, an incisive coming-of-age story, and a vivid portrait of a turbulent time and place by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker.

Laguna Beach, California, 1968. The Age of Aquarius is in full swing. Timothy Leary is a rock star. LSD is God. Folks from all over are flocking to Laguna, seeking peace, love, and enlightenment.

Matt Anthony is just trying get by.

.Matt is sixteen, broke, and never sure where his next meal is coming from. Mom’s a stoner, his deadbeat dad is a no-show, his brother’s fighting in Nam...and his big sister Jazz has just gone missing. The cops figure she’s just another runaway hippie chick, enjoying a summer of love, but Matt doesn’t believe it. Not after another missing girl turns up dead on the beach.

All Matt really wants to do is get his driver’s license and ask out the girl he’s been crushing on since fourth grade, yet it’s up to him to find his sister. But in a town where the cops don’t trust the hippies and the hippies don’t trust the cops, uncovering what’s really happened to Jazz is going to force him to grow up fast.

If it’s not already too late."

This time period in California has always fascinated me.

A Thousand Steps by T. Jefferson Parker is part historical thriller and part a coming of age story. The novel is set in Laguna Beach, California in the year 1968 with the main character being a young adult but the content is definitely adult.

Sixteen year old Matt Antony does his best just to survive and help out his family. Matt’s older brother is off in Vietnam counting his days down until he will be able to return home. Matt’s mother words as a waitress and spends her time off dabbling in drugs that are readily available and his father hasn’t been around in years.

One day Matt notices that his sister Jazz hasn’t made it home by that morning which is unlike her. Matt’s mother writes it off as they had an argument but Matt isn’t so sure that would keep his sister away. Matt begins to track just where his sister had been and find out what happened to her when it seems he is the only one that will look for Jazz.

So… 1968 is before my time but it really did seem like A Thousand Steps and T. Jefferson Parker really did a good job of bringing that time to life in the story. I couldn’t help but become engaged in the main character’s story after learning of his surroundings and how he took charge of his sister’s disappearance. The story did get a tad repetitive which is why this isn’t five stars for me but despite that I was completely hooked to the story and couldn’t wait to see what happened.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A Thousand Steps, by T. Jefferson Parker, is a historical fiction/crime novel that takes place in Laguna Beach, California in 1968.

"Matt is a 16 year-old kid. His mother is a drug addict - his brother is off fighting in the tunnels in Vietnam - his deadbeat dad has moved away - he is always hungry. And now his sister has not come home for a couple of nights. The police don't want to listen. They think she is just another runaway. Laguna is awash in LSD and heroin and the police want to chase away hippies instead of look for his sister. All Matt wants to do is spend time with his middle-school crush and be a regular teenager. But he is the only one who can find his sister."

This is my first book from Parker. He has the ability to make you feel like you're there in the scene. You can hear the noise of the protestors on the street - the sound of the festival - smell the unwashed bodies. And you can feel Matt's desperation and hunger.

There are evil, greedy people here.I love the way Parker uses the paper airplanes. It's a wild ending and Matt must make some tough choices.

Great story from Parker.

Must recommend reading this - enjoyed it quite a bit. Happy i could get an ARC.
The plot is quite well built - thankfully a good start to this year of reading

I made the decision to put this book down after reading 20% of it. I was intrigued by the premise of the story, but the execution was so. slow. There was a lot of telling and not showing, and the description of every scene read like the author was proving that the book takes place in the '60s. The dialogue also read that way - there was so much hippie slang included that it read more like a SNL sketch of the '60s than like it was actually taking place then. Just really hard for me to stay interested in this.

A THOUSAND STEPS by T. Jefferson Parker
Published: January 11, 2022 by Macmillan - Tor/ Forge Books


A veritable historical mystery - thriller. A coming-of-age story of sixteen-year-old Matt Anthony unfolds in 1968, Laguna Beach, California …. in the Age of Aquarius, surrounded by hippies, drug addicts and surfers and just after the “Summer of Love”. He is engulfed in a culture of hallucinogenic drugs and “weed”, although he maintains a daily paper route to help support his family of “hippie” mother Julie and astoundingly smart and popular sister Jasmine, better known as “Jazz”. His older brother, Kyle, is a “Tunnel Rat” sequestered in Vietnam, approaching the end of his tour …. and per his letters, fearing a more likely death as the end is near. The family crowds around the television at night, hearing the nihilistic news of Walter Cronkite and constant war footage, of helicopters buzzing through the jungles under constant barrage of fire. They live in a drafty, uninsulated, post World War II bungalow with surprisingly low rent for Laguna Beach. Matt lives out back in a small garage, amongst the sometimes scampering mice and rats. He manages to fish daily, supplementing the families limited food supply. Julie dons her ridiculous costume daily while working at the Jolly Roger Restaurant. Her uniform consists of of red wench’s blouse with plunging neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves, seemingly coordinated with black pantaloons and hideous black buckled slippers. His father, Bruce left when he was age ten, with another women, and in search of another law enforcement job in Texas. His father despised the developing culture of California and “the youth of today”
Matt’s life takes an abrupt departure of normalcy when Bonnie Stratmeyer’s body suddenly appears on a rock on the beach, cold and lifeless with seaweed in her hair. She has been missing for two months. Several nights later, his beloved sister Jazz fails to come home. In the ensuing days of her absence … it appears that the cops are doing little, and are resigned to the fact that “many kids her age … simply run away”. Matt takes it upon himself to exhaustively investigate his sister’s disappearance. He uncovers her last whereabouts …. at the Sandpiper Nightclub, where she was watching the performance of popular rocker and acidhead, Austin Overton. He learns she left the club with Austin. He leaves no stone unturned in his extensive personal investigation. …. following the breadcrumbs of her trail. As the fruitless days mount, Matt’s thoughts keep returning to a possible connection to Bonnie Stratmeyer’s disappearance.
Parker crafts a masterful narrative, filled with poetic prose, as he accurately recreates the turbulent time of 1968 Laguna Beach. Brimming with distrust of the establishment and suspicion of the military-industrial complex of America. In the background the soundtrack of “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Foxy Lady” peeks out, amongst the increasing usage of “Orange Sunshine” (LSD tablets) and “dragon balls” (hashish frosted with opium). The side stage is surrounded by the likes of Dr. Timothy Leary and Johnny “Grail” ( Johnny Griggs, the founder of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love). Both Johnny Grail and the psychedelic artist, Christian Clay, worked out of the Mystic Arts World …. a convenient gathering place for hippies, artists, and drug freaks. Everyone was flocking to Laguna Beach to seek peace, love and a higher level of consciousness.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan - Tor / Forge Books for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.
…. at readers remains.com ….. and Mystery and Suspense Magazine ….