Thank you NetGalley and Algonquin Books for accepting my request to read and review Distant Sons.


Really a miss for me, 2.5 stars. There were too many characters with the same geographical area used over different times with the same family names. A flow chart was needed for the six degrees of separation.

The story is less about three missing boys and more about life in general. This could have been told from a psychiatric standpoint of what if. This was page after page of okay? So?

In hindsight, this feels more like literary fiction than mystery & thriller. There is storytelling (which I love), but was unrecognizable by me until the end.

I was waiting for anything to happen the first third of the book, it appeared to take a turn the next third, just to fizzle out in the end.

This just wasn't for me.

This book started a bit slow, as Johnston focused on building the two main characters. And an excellent job of characterization it was. Even the supporting characters felt like real people. At about the mid-point, the pace picked up considerably, leading to a violent and sad resolution. That said, however, the final pages of the book managed to leave me with a hopeful feeling.

This was an extremely complex plot that I can't do a good job of summarizing. However, I will say that it deals with how good men, however damaged by life's events they may be, can manage to hold true to their good nature.

Johnston is a wonderful writer, somehow managing to find grace in the most graceless circumstances. I highly recommend this book, as well as his previous offerings.

This book took me by surprise. It is not a traditional thriller by any means. This is a true literary suspense with a slow build to the conclusion. A stranger to this small town, Sean Courtland has a series of events that bring him to the attention of local law enforcement and set up the interaction with another new face from across the river, Dan Young. Both young men have similarities in background and begin working together doing repairs to a local outcast, Devereaux. We learn more about each character throughout the book and the local unsolved crime from many years ago.
I enjoyed the story and even the slow start was interesting. The wrap up of the crime was not completely satisfying for me. It felt somewhat rushed in action and detail when compared to the immense detail building up to the final third of the book. I don’t mind some ambiguity in an ending but this felt almost like the ending was rushed through without as much thought and care as the first 60-75%.
I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right audience.
#DistantSons #NetGalley #Algonquin

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

This is a sneaky one. I was expecting a suspense novel but this was much more literary and character-driven. It's a slow burn that takes awhile to develop. Not a lot happens in the first half and there are sometimes unnecessary detail in the story. Sean and Dan drift into a heavy town together, and go to work for the town pariah, who may or may not have to do with the disappearance of children more than 30 years ago. I'm still not sure that I found the disappearance storyline resolved.

(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 @𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 #𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.) There’s nothing quite like a good literary suspense novel and I’m happy to report that 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗦 by Tim Johnston is exactly that. Plus, if you’re a fan of his debut, 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵, you’ll get the added bonus of a character from it resurfacing in this one. (No worries if you haven’t read 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵. It’s not necessary to know anything, but it had me extra engaged right from the start.)⁣
⁣
This is the story of two grown sons, each emotionally distant from their families, though not fully estranged from them. Both men wind up in a smallish Wisconsin town and pick up some home construction work for a man with a dark past that neighbors are still whispering about. More than 40 years ago three young boys vanished from the town. They were never found and no one was ever arrested, but people talk. Also in the mix are a female detective, haunted by the case her father never could solve, a sassy bartender and the man who feels entitled to claim her as his own.⁣
⁣
Similar to last month’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 by William Kent Kruger, 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘴 is simply a wonderfully told story. Johnston had me fully invested in the characters and the town right from the start. He masterfully wove together two distinct timelines and two completely different stories into one seamless gem of a novel that I highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐬
𝐁𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐀𝐥𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏𝟎.𝟏𝟕.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝑂𝑢𝑡 𝑁𝑜𝑤!

Thank you @algonquinbooks for the spot on tour and the gifted book.

Sean Courtland’s truck breaks down in a small town in Wisconsin. This very act sets off a string of events that had me glued to the pages.

Sean stays in this sleepy little town while his truck is repaired and finds work doing odd carpentry jobs. But his very presence seems to be a catalyst for trouble - or maybe this town’s buried secrets were on the precipice of coming unearthed.

The story includes the elements of friendship, small-town life, and even romance. But it collides with acts of violence, dark hidden secrets, and an unsolved mystery of boys that disappeared decades ago - and it shook me.


I will say you have to take your time with this one, savor it, and let the story unfold. The characters are written so well; they are flawed, damaged, and yet, the very picture of humanity. The writing is captivating; I loved how he wove together all the random connections and how he speaks of those who vanish - both physically and emotionally - from our lives. He made these characters feel so real, so much that, at times, I thought I should glance away from the rawness of the wreckage these people were causing in their lives.

A meandering crime novel that offers up vulnerable, flawed characters, and more than emotion than you may have bargained for. This is a must-read!

3.5 ⭐️

went into this expecting a Mystery/Thriller but this is really more contemporary fiction with a bit of a mystery on the side . It is a beautifully written book but it is slow moving ( for a thriller anyway which is what I was expecting) and I felt like nothing much happened in the first half of the book ; but in the second half all the story arcs we are following finally start to come together .

This story is told in third person and follows multiple characters in a small community in the American Midwest and is interspersed with parts from the past depicting the same community in 1977 when three young boys disappeared.

I really enjoyed the character of Sean Courtland whose truck broke down nearby and he ended up staying in the town, finding short term work as a contractor. His interactions with the locals and learning about the history of the town and its inhabitants pulled me into the story. He met another drifter, Dan, who he enlisted to help with his contracting job and made friendly with a local waitress in Denise who had an trouble causing ex. I enjoyed the friendship that built between Sean and Dan, and surprisingly, I enjoyed the connection that Dan shared with Marion and wish that had been explored a little more.

The story also followed Detective Viegas who seemed to cause more trouble with her questions than solutions. Her father worked on the original case of the missing boys but is now a lawyer and all the happier for it. Combined with the interspersed pieces of Marion’s story from back in 1977, I found a lot it to feel purposely ambiguous with cryptic dialogue that annoyed me a little. The switches back and forth in the story sometimes left me uninterested. I think I may have enjoyed it more if it had just followed Sean rather than jump around between all the different characters and the past.

Recommended for the authentic depiction of small-town America.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Tim Johnston has become a go to for excellent literary thrillers. Well developed characters, interesting plot and keeps you guessing to the end. Will be highly recommending Distant Sons!

Tim Johnston's books are the kinds of mysteries you savor instead of speed through, as they have as much in common with literary fiction as with the mystery genre. In this one, as in his previous books, readers have to take their time understanding these characters- average people in the complex, confusing turns life takes you on, and the way legacy haunts and informs individuals and communities. Johnston creates an atmosphere with his stories that is distinct yet feels like it could happen anywhere. While this book has characters from and vaguely references the author's previous books, it's entirely standalone and it's not necessary to have read or revisited those books to appreciate this one.

Distant Sons is my first book from Tim Johnston.

"Sean Courtland drives into town not really looking for work but finds himself with a job at the home of a reclusive local - Marion Devereux. He has help from a man he met on the side of the road. The town is haunted by the past disappearance of three little boys. Soon connections reveal themselves and violence erupts...and the truth is made known."

Johnston has a very fluid writing style - the characters and descriptions just flow. Sean is a character with his own past of family tragedy. (Told in Johnston's book,The Descent) He has a way about him that's different from other characters - the way he treats women, the care he uses to finish his work in an excellent way. There are flashbacks to when the boys went missing. There are things about Marion that are left ambigous. I'm not usually a fan of unanswered questions but it works here.
There is tragedy but there is also closure. I like the ending with Sean and Mr. Givens and Bonnie the German Shepherd. It's a great image from Johnston.

Wonderful story from Johnston.

In 1977, three young boys go missing. The rumor is a local man and outcast, Marion Devereux, is responsible for their disappearance. However, this is never proven.

Forty years later, Sean is passing through town when his truck breaks down. He hadn’t planned on staying, but when he receives a job offer from Mr. Devereux, he accepts.

At first, I thought there must be some connection between the different characters, but with 40 years gone by, how could there be? Most of the characters are likeable, especially Sean. He’s the type of person that will help anyone, but he also seems to attract trouble and not exactly trouble of his own doing. A couple of the characters are just plain trouble which, unfortunately, Sean learns about the hard way.

I laughed in a few spots, and I definitely teared up more than once. I have to be honest, when I first started reading this book, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. I'm so glad I decided to continue. It kept getting better and better. It is an amazing story with great characters that will keep you wanting to turn the page to find out what happens next. I absolutely loved the ending!

If you like mysteries with a cold case involved, you will love this book.

I really enjoyed this one.

Sean's truck breaks down in a small town in Wisconsin, where he meets a whole case of characters who affect his life. The book centers around the concept of "what if," and what if Sean hadn't broken down, met these people and got wrapped up in an irreversible chain of events is set in motion that culminates in shattering violence, and the revelation of long-buried truths.

This is the first book I read by Tim Johnston, but I really liked the writing style. The plot and the pacing complemented each other perfectly. I also found almost all the characters to just be very down to earth and likeable in general.

I loved this book. It starts out slow, but the characters grab you with their goodness and the writing is just superb. The story is interesting - a 40 year old mystery involving 3 young boys missing in Wisconsin, but you never lose your fondness for the men and women in the story. These are people with high morals and ethics and yet, that doesn’t protect them from the sadness of life. Is it fate, predestination that leads us to our decisions? And yet the “what ifs” seems to follow us through our lives. I will miss the characters in this story. And they will remain with me for some time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for the ARC to read and review.

Master storyteller Tim Johnston returns following The Decent and The Current (both 5 stars) with his sixth novel, DISTANT SONS—an absorbing, riveting crime novel/literary fiction set in a small rural Wisconsin town haunted by the unsolved disappearance of three boys in the 1970s with thought-provoking what ifs.

Once again, the author skillfully takes us into rural, blue-collar America with loss, struggles, and ultimately, hope with this gritty suspense novel about how the most random connection of lives can have tragic and beautiful consequences.

The novel opens in 1976 when we learn about the three missing boys. Teddy Felt, Duane Milner, and Billy Ross.

Flash forward to 2018 with Sean Courtland, age 26, making his way through town on the other side of Wisconsin from a job in Montana and on his way home. He passed a few exits and began smelling the engine on the outskirts of town.

A breakdown. Sean will have to get a job in construction to make up for the cash he will ultimately spend on repairs for his Chevy truck.

Then Sean gets involved in a domestic dispute at a bar trying to protect a woman, Denise (bartender), and accidentally hits her. Then, they later become friends, and he gets closer to her and her dad.

We also meet Detective Corrine Viegas (a hoot), a big part of the novel. Sean also meets Dan Young, another outsider down on his luck at the diner who has plumbing skills, and he wants Dan to help him finish the job at Marion Devereaux's house.

He is busy working for the old man. There are rumors about the man on the bluffs who may have been involved in the disappearance of the three boys in the 70s. Also, rumors that it could have been the Devereaux uncle from the war.

Strange things happen at the house and the basement, but Sean keeps his head down and does not get involved since he needs to finish and be on his way.

The paths collide as Detective Corinne Viegas, a woman whose drive to seek justice comes from her father's failure to find those boys and the violence once done to her sister. Soon, events happen with violence, tragic deaths, and long-buried dark secrets, and she is center stage. What is behind those walls?

"Our wills and fates do so contrary run, that our devices still are overthrown. Our thoughts are ours, their ends non of our own." —Shakespeare

Masterfully written in Johnston's signature classic style that we love —brilliantly blending two timelines and stories will keep you on the edge of your seat. Genre crossing—a mix of literary, crime, suspense, small town, mystery, friendship, and police procedural.

Fans of the author will enjoy characters from previous books—Dan Young and Sean Courtland, whom we met in Descent and The Current.

A slow burn, intricate, and immersive, DISTANT SONS is for fans of authors Allen Eskens, Ron Rash, William Kent Krueger, and Dennis Lehane. I'm a huge fan—I highly recommend all his books.

My Reviews:
The Current
The Descent

Thanks to Algonquin Books and Netgalley for an early reading copy for an honest review.

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Oct 17, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars
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Tim Johnston does it again! No one writes literary mysteries with heart quite like Johnston. I could not put it down and I will now eagerly await his next title.

In 2018, Sean Courtland has truck problems which find him a small Wisconsin town where he is able to find work to keep him there for a bit. From there dominos start falling and many events happen from there. At the same time, woven throughout the book are storylines that happen in 1975, 76, and 77, where young boys go missing and there are no clues to their whereabouts. This one had a large cast of characters, some of whom show up in both timelines, so I took notes to keep everyone straight!

Sean Courtland is our main character and he is a young man who has lived a life already and has maybe been through a thing or two. When he ends up in this small town in Wisconsin, he is able to find a job at the Devereaux home helping him with some construction. Then another encounter with a woman at a bar puts him on the radar of the local PD. And another with Dan Young will change the course of his life.

While I enjoyed this book, for me it took a while for the action to begin and it was hard for me to keep the motivation to keep reading. The character development of Sean Courtland was a large part of my continuing to read because I wanted to find out where his story would go and where he would end up. So if you are a reader who likes the slow burn where the author builds up the setting and the characters then this book is just for you.

This was such a smart, layered and thoughtful mystery. Tim Johnston has a gift for making really scary settings and crimes more palatable for different types of readers by writing unforgettable empathetic characters. I cared so much about everyone in this book, and that made a few moments extremely difficult—which is the sign of an excellent novel. I will enthusiastically suggest this for readers of SA Cosby and William Kent Krueger. I really, really loved this one and will now be exploring his backlist.

Small town secrets drive this story along with the question of "what if?" Car trouble, chance meeting, and two lives become intertwined. The twists and turns along with the writing moves this story along at a steady pace.

Tim Johnston continues to just get better and better. Literary mystery fans will find so much to love here. The mystery is slow, but well worth waiting for. The characters are raw and real and messy and beautiful. I don't often feel moved by much in the mystery genre, but Distant Sons truly moved me. This will be a favorite of the year.