Pay Dirt Road: A Novel is a southern mystery set in a small town in Texas. A murder, a hasty arrest and a local detective team poke around to find the truth. Annie, the main character, proves herself a worthy detective in the family agency, hence book #2 coming in 2023.

The author has carefully crafted a story with a big reveal at the end, which was not predictable. The oil fields, the honky tonks and Texas football help to build an atmosphere that draws the reader into the small town and its dirt roads. This mystery was a quick read.

Thank you Minotaur Books for the advance reader copy.

I was disappointed at how slowly this mystery moved. It took forever for me to get into it and I didn't especially care about any of the characters or what happened to them. It isn't a bad book, just not great.

PAY DIRT ROAD by Samantha Jayne Allen
Publication: 4/19/22 by St Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books


A tantalizing murder mystery debut that transitions smoothly to a nostalgic slice of life as our heroine struggles with gaining purpose and self-actualization. Annie McIntyre fought hard to leave her small town of Garnett, Texas and obtain a college education. However, after graduation she find herself returning home, to friends and family, and feeling rudderless. She’s living with her beloved cousin Nikki and waitressing at the town’s cafe, and apparently it’s main gathering place. She’s begun to form loose bonds with her workmates… including young single mother, Victoria, Fernando the cook, and the owner, Marlene. She collides with her past at the bonfire party on the Schneider’s south pasture. Everyone is there … not only Justin and Troy Scneider, but many of her high school friends, and rivals . Even the perennial home coming queen, holding court on a tailgate. It congers up many rivalries in the past with Ashley, Sabrina and Macy. As well as, attempted repressed memories of attending a college party as a seventeen-year old high school senior. Afterwards, she stopped drinking until her twenty-first birthday. She even runs into Wyatt Reed, her very first boyfriend, and wonders what might have been. He’s one year older, and already in graduate school, while she’s floundering. Her workmate, Victoria also shows up and quickly appears inebriated. She has once considered going to law school, but put it on hold.
Her family has a long line of being involved in law enforcement … her father, a cop, and her grandfather, Leroy… once a cop and for a short time the county sheriff, and now almost retired but working with his old partner, Mary-Pat Zimmerman in a private investigation firm. She was approached about working with the firm , doing part-time secretarial work, but she envisions a possible role as an apprentice to learn the business. The morning after the bonfire, she learns that last night a bad accident occurred on the highway near their party. A man leaving a nearby club was walking home instead of driving and was struck by a vehicle, which sped away. And now, Victoria is missing. Several days later, Victoria’s body is found by law enforcement in a shallow grave, on Leroy’s land, and near the same highway. Coincidence?
Two violent deaths in the same small town - a few miles apart, on the same night. Shortly after, Fernando is arrested for Victoria’s murder. His grandmother hires Mary-Pat and Leroy’s firm to
investigate and prove Fernando’s innocence. He adamantly provides an alibi with a young women at a bar …. doesn’t remember her name, but provides a description that rings bells in Annie’s memory. Suddenly Annie is actively investigating on her own … following up leads that result in actually verifying his alibi. However, the woman is an illegal alien and will not come forward, for fear of being deported. As Annie continues to dig, she becomes enraptured with her need to seek justice and search for the truth. Someone paints on her car’s back window: “ U R NEXT “ …. she knows she’s close and won’t stop.
Samantha Jayne Allen crafts a slow burn mystery, with many twists and reveals, while providing a host of possible suspects. The strength of her writing is in her almost lyrical prose and the depth of her characterization of Annie, that provides a multi-dimensional picture that sticks indelibly in the reader’s mind. Explored are the themes of self-discovery, and the challenges and hardships encountered in small town life, especially for young women.
Thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, this book could have been SO much better. The story itself was interesting, but the characters were kind of flat and boring (in my opinion) and the book dragged on in parts - and it was not necessary. I found it to be overly descriptive, which detracted from the interesting guts of the book. I overall just found the book and characters difficult to connect with and the storyline difficult to get lost in. I have seen a lot of positive reviews for this book and it was a quick read, but I finished the book overall disappointed.

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy!

This was a hard book for me to get into and I don’t know that I ever did. Angie McIntyre is back in Garnett, Texas and has no idea what is next for her. Working as a waitress at the local diner, she is offered the opportunity to work at her family’s private investigative firm. When a waitress from the diner goes missing (which was too obvious that she would be the one missing), Angie seems to be the only one concerned. Everything was just too predictable and just not interesting. There was no part of the story that grabbed my attention and made me want to continue to read or find out what happened to the waitress. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

I love a detective agency, bounty hunter, private eye kinda detective mystery and this one did not disappoint. Set in small town Texas Annie is working as a waitress but when a fellow waitress and friend goes missing she becomes a part of the family business to try to solve the mystery. I loved the character and the small town setting and I look forward to reading more from this author featuring this character.

Annie and Victoria are about the same age and work together as waitresses in the cafe in their small town but their back stories are very different. When Victoria goes missing after a party, however, and then is found in a shallow grave. Annie goes to work trying to figure out what happened. She's a college graduate with $30k in student debt, unable to get a job in her field, and casting about for a future. Her father and grandfather were both in law enforcement and her grandfather still has an interest in a PI firm. Victoria had a resentful ex, a small daughter, and a trailer on a few acres of land that's suddenly valuable. Annie's past relationships and an incident from high school come back to haunt her as she looks for answers. No spoilers from me. Allen does a fine job with the small town atmospherics and the mystery, albeit a tad trope-y when revealed, is twisty. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to more from Allen.

This one was just ok for me in the end, I didn’t love it and didn’t hate it either. Things seemed a little simplified for my taste and the pacing felt off to me as well.

I loved Pay Dirt Road. I read it in one day and I never wanted to put it down. It was a solid mystery/thriller without any gimmicky tropes or crazy plot twists. While it kept me guessing, it gave off an easy going vibe, like a slow, southern drawl. I felt a kinship with Leroy. So many things about him reminded me of my own grandpa, flaws and all. It was also a very honest, portrayal of small town, southern life.

I'm hoping this book will be the start of a new series. It has a bit of a disappointing ending. Some of the other suspects were more interesting. But Garnett, TX and Annie's family and the general storyline involving the PI firm is a really good start and I think this book could be the first in a series that has a backdrop of poor and rural Texas, where so very few people leave or even go to college.

Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This slow-burn mystery was a solid debut! Disclosure: I do not like amateur detective characters, which may have swayed my rating a bit. I just found myself rolling my eyes too much.

A big thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur_books @stmartinspress for the ARC!

The descriptions made the book very atmospheric. The reader could hear, smell, taste, and see all things about Garnett. While I think the descriptions were perfect for setting the scene and introducing our main characters, at times, the descriptions seemed unnecessary and slowed the plot down. I wanted the book to move along and here we were getting descriptions about movie theater candy.

I found the mystery plot to be interesting enough. It wasn’t anything new, and it was pretty predictable, but I thought the appeal was seeing how the characters figured it out. I thought the subplots were unnecessary and I didn’t feel they added to the story. If they weren’t there, I wouldn’t feel any differently.

There were a TON of characters introduced and a TON of descriptions for each. It became distracting at times because I didn’t understand why a new character needed to come in. Also, the time jumps were strange. I never quite got the hang of them, so I was left off-kilter most of the book in trying to figure out where the characters were and how much time had passed.

Overall, this was a slow-burn mystery that took place in a stereotypical small town. If you’re looking for something that will transport you to said small town, this one is your jam.

Friday Night Lights meets Sue Grafton in this small-town mystery about an unlikely private investigator searching for a missing waitress. Pay Dirt Road is the mesmerizing debut from the 2019 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Samantha Jayne Allen. Annie McIntyre has returned home after 4 years of college and is now a full time waitress. The problem is that she lives in a small town called Garnett, Texas where everyone knows everyone and hardly everyone ever leaves, and those who have, are likely well off.

Annie often wonders why she didn't continue to pursue a degree in law, instead of partying with her former school mates, and her cousin Nikki Avery. After attending a party with Nikki, Annie learns of the death of her co-worker Victoria who has a young daughter and is in the middle of a divorce. Annie decides to join her grandfather Leroy's private investigation firm known as McIntyre Investigations to track down what really happened to Victoria, as well as another fatality which happend that same night.

Annie is a rookie under the tutelage of Mary Pat, her grandfather's partner, and digging into places that could get her killed. Land grabs, shady dealings, powerful families and proof that not all the cowboys in white hats are the good guys. When the threats start, will Annie be able to pull the pieces together, or will she just be another murder victim? Pay Dirt Road is both a mystery and a story of family relationships and small town suspicions in Garnett, Texas, where Annie's past comes back to haunt her, and more than one person in her past may have played a part in Victoria's murder.

As Annie works to uncover the truth behind Victoria's disappearance and murder, she finds herself identifying with the victim in increasing, unsettling ways, and realizes she must confront her own past—failed romances, a disturbing experience she’d rather forget, and the trick mirror of nostalgia itself—if she wants to survive this homecoming.

There's an interesting dynamic in play between Annie's grandfather, and Annie herself. 20 years ago, her grandfather became famous by solving a murder, and by now, should be retired. His relationship with Annie's father is frayed, and yet, there's no real resolution in this story. Annie should be attending school to become a lawyer, not waitressing in her hometown. Much of the this story is developing the main characters which has me curious if there will be a sequel.

Gritty, atmospheric debut about a murder mystery in a small town in Texas. This was well written and ends with a hint that there might be a follow up. Thank you Netgalley, St. Martins Press Minotaur Books and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for the opportunity to read this book.

A character driven novel where the mystery was secondary. It moved a little slow, i thought.

Faced with no job prospects and no money for grad school, Annie returns to her hometown in hardscrabble Texas where she waits tables at the town diner. When a fellow waitress goes missing and is found dead, Annie gets caught up in an investigation.

It took a while to get into the pursuit of the mystery, but the beginning (and throughout) was a good character study of small town Texas. Extremely atmospheric, I could see the spray painted stop signs, the trash in the alleys, the weeds growing up through the concrete.

The entire book is very descriptive…the sights, the smells….while the case is slow to unfold. If you want to savor these, it is not a fast read. There really are two stories here. The primary seems to be more Annie’s family and her background history in her small town, with the murder almost secondary.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the DRC

Pay Dirt Road takes place in Texas. Just like everything in Texas, it will constantly remind you that it is in Texas.And really, Texas is the most developed character in the entire story. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t terribly developed in any way. Most characters were post high school but enough to also be post undergrad. Yet, they act as if they are still there. The stunting of never changing your life or going right back to it for comfort. The poor murdered girl was secondary or tertiary to the social drama of small town politics. The characters could be better developed and the story would have worked better.

Picked up this debut novel as it sounded intriguing. Annie has graduated college and returned to her hometown in Texas. While she's trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life, she works as a waitress. A waitress she's been working with disappears after a bonfire party, and Annie is drawn to the mystery of finding out what happened to her. Her grandfather, who is a retired sheriff, is now a private investigator. Annie teams up with her grandfather and his partner to find out what happened to the waitress.

There are some interesting twists and turns to this story and a few diversions in the investigation. I liked the book and if there is another in the series (sounds like there may be) I would like to read it. I did not guess the ending on this one, so it was a surprise. I liked Annie's character, and I really enjoyed her grandfather and his partner too.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on April 19, 2022.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen is a dark and thrilling mystery in a small Texas town. Annie is a recent college grad who took a job as a waitress in her hometown while she figured out what was next. When a coworker is murdered, she joins her Private Investigator grandfather on the dangerous path to find a killer and, along the way, her own adult self.

What I Enjoyed:
The setting is described to perfection. Every detail put me there in a visceral way that could be almost claustrophobic. And the people in this town were people that I grew up with. People who stayed in the same small town they grew up in and found their place within this town as adults, often following in their parent's footsteps. There are certain commonalities between small towns, and this novel describes them to perfection.

I loved the atmospheric feel of this story, whose pace was brought up by the many thrills of the dangerous investigation into Victoria's death. The slower pace of the non-action scenes changes to a true page-turner when Annie and her grandfather, Leroy, begin their investigation. The first-person narration helps keep the pace at a comfortable speed as the reader experiences the dangers from Annie's inexperienced perspective.

I love the family theme of this story, too. Annie comes from a long line of men and women who investigated crimes for a living. She can even trace her roots back to many greats grandmother who was a member of the Pinkerton Agency. This makes things challenging for her as she tries to decide her future direction, knowing that her father's expectation is that she stay far away from the dangerous path of past family members.

Characters:
Annie is at a crossroads. A recent college grad, when jobs were scarce, she decided not to enroll in law school. She is knee-deep in figuring things out when her coworker goes missing, and she is thrown into the life that her father had always tried to keep her far away from. Annie shows tremendous growth in this story as she figures out who she is as an adult and what career path she wants. I found her character so well-developed that she is instantly relatable and intricately layered to reflect any past scars.

What I Wish:
I sometimes wished that the pace would speed up a bit more, but then it would. But, the stretches in between did feel a bit long in the middle.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a modern version of a hard-boiled mystery with an unexpected detective, you will want to pick up Pay Dirt Road.

A good mystery: a hit and run death followed shortly thereafter by a missing woman who is discovered strangled. In a small town with very little experience dealing with major crimes, the easiest suspect is arrested. Only Annie, her retired grandfather, and his partner, seem to care that little actual investigating was done. But, while the story was good, I never felt like I understood the characters. I didn't really understand why Annie was home. A trauma from earlier in her life was introduced but the connection between it and how she was behaving now was never established. It didn't make sense. So, follow the story. It is a good one with enough options and twists to keep the reader on their toes.

I really liked this character-driven story. The investment I felt in Annie’s life and all those around her was immediate. I wasn’t shocked when the big reveal came but I had only narrowed it down to two possibilities, so I was glad I didn’t ever know for sure.

The writing was good and very descriptive and there was even an eminent domain element to the story, which I enjoyed even more because of my husband’s legal practice focusing on that niche.

As long as you go into this knowing that we are following Annie’s life and aren’t expecting deeper backstories for the other characters, you’ll enjoy this!

Thank you @stmartinspress for the Advanced Readers Edition and @netgalley & #stmartinspress for the digital arc as well!