Cast a Road Before Me (The Bradleyville Series #1) [Paperback]

Brandilyn Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

When Jessie's mother is killed in a tragic car accident, Jessie goes to live with her aunt and uncle in the tiny town of Bradleyville, Kentucky, but she dreams of returning to Cincinnati to continue her mother's work at the Hope Center. Jessie's mother lived her life trying to overcome her father's accusations that she'd never be good enough. Now-haunted with this legacy-Jessie lives her life seeking the affirmation her mother never found.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A course-changing event in one’s life can happen in minutes. Or it can form slowly, a primitive webbing splaying into fingers of discontent, a minuscule trail hardening into the sinewed spine of resentment. So it was with the mill workers as the heat-soaked days of summer marched on.

City girl Jessie, orphaned at sixteen, struggles to adjust to life with her barely known aunt and uncle in the tiny town of Bradleyville, Kentucky. Eight years later (1968), she plans on leaving—to follow in her revered mother’s footsteps of serving the homeless. But the peaceful town she’s come to love is about to be tragically shattered. Threats of a labor strike rumble through the streets, and Jessie’s new love and her uncle are swept into the maelstrom. Caught between the pacifist teachings of her mother and these two men, Jessie desperately tries to deny that Bradleyville is rolling toward violence and destruction. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Brandilyn Collins is the founder of Vantage Point, a firm specializing in promotional materials such as brochures, reports, and technical books. She has ghost-written many articles for newspapers and professional magazines. She is the author of A Question of Innocence, a true crime book. In conjunction with the promotion for that book, she appeared on the Phil Donahue Show and Leeza. She currently lives with her family in Redwood City, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Broadman & Holman Publishers (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805423435
• ISBN-13: 978-0805423433
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,675,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist, writing her trademarked Seatbelt Suspense®--fast-paced, character-driven suspense with myriad twists and an interwoven thread of faith. She also has written the distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons).

You can read excerpts from all her books at her Web site: www.brandilyncollins.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dynamite in Black and White!, September 30, 2002

By 

Jill E. Nelson (Madison, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cast a Road Before Me (The Bradleyville Series #1) (Paperback)

Ms. Collins' command of characterization is nothing less than phenomenal. Every individual in the story is someone who could live down the street, and yet so intriguingly drawn that there is nothing ordinary about any of them. This is the kind of book that wets your appetite for more with every page turned, and yet contains too much meat for a single sitting. Be prepared to get cozy once you open the book. You'll be sitting for a long time, then reluctantly step away to get on with "real life," longing for the moment when you can return to the printed page. Your emotions will be tugged every which way until the end, a satisfying conclusion to a gourmet meal.

My advice? Get your hands on anything Ms. Collins has written. You won't be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Small town, Big heart, August 4, 2003

By 

"somakiss" (Munroe Falls, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cast a Road Before Me (The Bradleyville Series #1) (Paperback)

No matter what the genre, Brandilyn Collins knows how to captivate her audience. "Cast a Road Before Me" is set in the little town of Bradleyville, Kentucky. Jesse goes to live with her aunt and uncle when her mother dies. All the while, Jesse is looking forward to moving to the big city where she will make a career out of helping people. What she doesn't plan on is falling in love or caring so much about the town of Bradleyville. Once you enter Bradleyville, you won't want to leave either! Pick up "Color a Sidewalk for Me" and "Capture the Wind for Me" to spend more time with the background characters in this novel. It will definitely be worth your time.

4.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed it!, March 22, 2011

By 

Ashley M - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cast a Road Before Me (The Bradleyville Series #1) (Paperback)

Most of her books are very intense, so it was a nice break from that, and really showed what a great writer she is!