This is dark and twisty, something that keeps you glued to the book and to the chair! The plot is interesting, the characters likable, and it's something fans of mysteries, suspense and thrillers will certainly enjoy!

John Hart has yet to disappoint! He writes a spectacular, thoroughly thought out, page turner of a novel. Grasping human emotions on multiple levels, putting morals, ethics and values into question based on circumstances, and developing characters that pull you in from their first words - these are only a few of this author's great talents. This particular story pulls us into a complex, storyline, highlighting the haunted pasts of Elizabeth Black and Adrian Wall. While Elizabeth is in the spotlight for shooting two suspects in the commission of a crime, ex-cop Adrian has recently been released from prison for crimes he continues to claim he didn't commit. As local girls are discovered dead at a local church, all eyes are on Adrian as the person responsible for the recent murders. Elizabeth's past comes into question as she befriends a teen named Channing who also has knowledge about Elizabeth's shooting, others are not aware of. Soon to lose her badge, Elizabeth takes to investigating the connection of the recent murders to Adrian and soon finds herself questioning her past and trusting her instincts when they come to her feelings about Adrian Wall and choices she's made throughout adulthood. Readers will continue flipping the pages to an ending you might not have seen coming. A great novel written by one of this decades best authors!

This is the first book I have read by John Hart, and actually I listened to this one. Between the words and the voice (Scott Shepherd narrated), I could feel the slow burn of the south. The atmosphere of this story came across so well, that I could almost picture what was happening as if I was watching a movie. It unraveled at a steady pace until bam! it took off and had me sitting on the edge of my seat to find out what was going to happen next.

The book opens with us meeting ex-con and former cop Adrian Wall who is to be released from prison after thirteen years for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the same day, we meet Gideon Strange, the victim's young son, who travels to a bar near the prison, determined to kill Wall in retribution for murdering his mother. He does not succeed and ends up being shot by the bartender and is rushed to the hospital. This is when we meet the main character of this novel, Elizabeth Black. She has been a surrogate mother to Gideon, protecting him from his alcoholic father. Elizabeth is a 13 year veteran cop, who has a complicated relationship with Adrian Wall. She is also being investigated for killing 2 rapists. This part of the story unfolds in flashbacks from Liz as well as Channing Shore, the victim. There are also a couple of other threads going on with a crooked prison warden and some guards as well as a serial killer. As the story unravels, Wall, Black, Strange, and Shore all become interconnected.

Hart does an amazing job of creating his characters. They are realistic and evoked real emotions in me as I read this book. One of the secondary characters that I loved was elderly attorney Faircloth "Crybaby" Jones. He stood up for what he believed in and what was right. When the opportunity to extricate himself came, he would not leave his home. Liz as the main character was a great choice. She was a flawed character who had some great values and character traits. The way she took care of the "kids" in the story shows what a great mother she would make. There seems to be a possible romance between Liz and Adrian, so I was constantly waiting to see where this story line would go. Everyone in this North Carolina town knew everyone else's business, at least what they thought was accurate information. The last third of the book had me reading quickly to find out if the bad guys were going to get what they deserved and if the good ones, would be safe. Just when we think someone is going to get injured or even murdered, something happens to send us in another direction. This mystery/thriller tugged at raw emotions and left me thinking about the story and characters after I finished. I definitely recommend this book to lovers of mystery and thrillers. I will be looking for more by John Hart in the future.

I really love John Hart's novels, but this one was a little harder for me to read. There were several story lines and it could seem disconnected. For instance, who doesn't think it's suspicious that while an 18 year old rich white girl is missing, everyone seems to focus on a cop? And the cop seems to be able to pretty much come and go as she pleases, which seems a little weird. I would think at some point, she would have been locked up or fired. I just think there was a lot going on in the novel, which made it hard for me to really care about any of them.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book, but I could have really loved it with a bit more editing and some deeper character development.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.

Clearing this book from the dashboard. At the time of it's release, I unfortunately did not have room on my schedule. Sometimes when requests take a while to be approved, other books are accepted and the calendar fills up. Sorry about that. i do my best not to request multiple titles for the same date, but without knowing if a request will be approved, that can be difficult.

A John Hart novel is always one that I feel is not to be missed. I'm so glad I read this one. Redemption Road is an emotionally intense thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat with my heart racing. Hart is a master of suspense, and this book showcases his talent.

Great characters, a compelling storyline, and tons of action make this one a winner!