Customer Reviews

Back Roads (Warner Forever)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this in one sitting. Will Scott. Leigh Mitchell. Both were very believable characters. Sub-characters were lacking, but not enough to detract from the beauty of the story.

Will is on the run. He is hurting. He is real. He chooses the right, based on the information that he has.

Leigh is on the verge of becoming. She is good, solid, and mature.

They are good for each other. Strong enough to love, protect, and support one another. Mature enough to stand alone when need be.

I will definitely read Ms. Crandall's next offering: The Road Home.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept my interest all the way through the book. I ordered her other books but I am not that big of a fan for sequel books. But we shall see. Leigh was a 3D character, that you found yourself holding your breath that she would come out on top. Same with Will Scott. I believe that you will enjoy this book.

Back Roads is an amazing debut novel by Susan Crandall.

Sheriff Leigh Mitchell has always been the good girl, never veering from the straight and narrow path. A milestone birthday is approaching and she feels edgy. A sexy outsider comes to her small town and set her world on fire.

Will Scott has returned to a place that had brought him happiness as a child. He is just passing through until he sees Leigh. Will has secrets he cannot share but finds himself wanting to share everything with Leigh.

A crime is committed and the new man in town is the target of the gossip. Leigh is torn between what her heart knows and her job.

Back Roads tells a tale of fighting for what you believe in and taking a stand. You can really feel the conflict and the passions that these characters are dealing with all through the book. It's a must read.

This romantic suspense piece ranks up there with Howard's, Putney's, and other popular bestselling romantic suspense novelists in my opinion. The story flowed, the dialogue was natural and the plot unfolded like a gentle flower. The heroine was clever & feisty and the hero was sweet and tortured, but not so tortured that it interfered with the development of a very believable relationship. His secrets were many and were slowly and skilfully revealed. For readers who like the sensual, the lovemaking fit well into the story, furthering the development of the relationship and not just filling pages as requiste sex scenes that are so standard in many romanance/suspense books these days. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like lawmen/law-women and small town stories. I anxiously await her next publication.

If anyone canvassed the townsfolk of Glens Crossing, Indiana as to whom was the most predictable person in town, Sheriff Leigh Mitchell would win unanimously. She never does anything outside her daily routines. However, approaching thirty, Leigh feels she is choking and needs to break out of her shell.

Will Scott is just passing through when he notices the Ferris wheel lights in the distance. Teenager Brittany Wilson gives him a ride to the carnival where he meets Leigh. They enjoy the events and soon go dancing together. Not long afterward Will obtains a temporary job as a mechanic. Though she wants to believe otherwise as she is falling in love with the mysterious stranger, she wonders if he could be dangerous as the main suspect in a potential tragedy. He finds himself falling for the local law enforcement official, but knows his past makes him the worst candidate for anything but passing through.

BACK ROADS is an interesting look at a rural Midwest town where everyone intimately knows each other so the slightest change in routine leads to concerns about the person. Leigh is an intriguing individual struggling with the feeling that there is more to life than the rut she feels she lives in. Will is enigmatic, telling little about himself until the reader gets deep into the plot. The story line initially moves like a Ferris wheel as Susan Crandall sets the background for an exciting police procedural romantic suspense in which the heroine speculates whether her beloved is a dangerous felon capable of atrocities.

Harriet Klausner

Leigh Mitchell, respected sheriff of the small town of Glens Crossing, approaches her thirtieth birthday with malcontent - her stagnant life has left her restless, regretful, lonely and bored.

Enter drifter Will Scott, James Dean look-alike. Just passing through, the dark, brooding, mysterious stranger doesn't seem to have much of a future. And he isn't sharing his past, either.

Meeting for the first time (or are they?) Will and Leigh enjoy a ride on the ferris wheel. On to a nightcap, they engage in a little 'dirty dancing' at a local watering hole. The sensuous, raw desire between the two does not go unnoticed.

Then a local teen-aged girl's damaged car is found abandoned roadside. Ignition key still in the 'on' position, the car has apparently stalled after idling itself out of gas. On the passenger seat is the missing teen's purse.

Rich with intrigue, mystery, motives - and suspects - the list includes: the town's busybody, a tenacious reporter with no alibi, the divorced parents, the drifter, a wacky older couple, some indiscreet townsfolk...a most captivating tale from start to finish.

The impressive lack of boring 'fillers' and a superb flow make this story hard to put down. The most interesting, well developed characters along with the plot keeps the true small-town feeling that permeates throughout. The sexual tension remains palpable between Leigh and Will. The only thing I found unbelievable was that this is Susan Crandall's first novel.

I simply loved this book and will keep watching for other books by this author. Her characterizations and plot were great, spiced with a sense of humor.

STORY BRIEF:
Leigh was raised by relatives who didn't want her. They fed and clothed her but gave nothing emotional. She had to work to pay for her own education. She is now sheriff in a small town in Indiana. She wants to date, but there is no one appropriate. Drifter Will shows up at a carnival and asks Leigh to ride the Ferris Wheel with him. Afterwards they go to a bar and dance. Will plans to leave town the next morning but is offered a job as an auto mechanic. Will is low on money, so he accepts the job. He and Leigh are drawn to each other, but Will keeps a distance because he doesn't want to hurt her. He tells her he will be leaving soon. The reader suspects Will is a good guy who is on the run from bad guys - maybe mafia, or corrupt police, or others. He won't tell Leigh any details. She trusts him based on her own instincts. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Brittany had flirted with Will and is now missing. Leigh is heading the investigation. The townspeople suspect Will and put pressure on Leigh to arrest him. Will can't leave town now, because it would look suspicious and an APB might be put out on him. So he stays and helps Leigh with the case.

REVIEWER'S OPINION WITH MILD SPOILERS:
This felt more like a mystery than a romance novel. But it fits the definition of romance because there was a developing relationship and a happy ending. However, it wasn't as enjoyable as I normally like. It was a serious piece, slowly uncovering clues and solving the two mysteries: the missing girl and Will's past. I didn't like a couple parts. Leigh did something predictable which brought the bad guys to town which was the first unsmart thing she did. It was a mistake. It rubbed me wrong. Also, Will was smart enough that he should have predicted this. And he should have warned her not to do it. I was also bothered that Leigh told person A about the evidence she had. As a reader, in my mind, A was a suspect. He could tamper with the evidence. I questioned Leigh's competence after that. Otherwise the story was ok. Mystery lovers will probably like this more than I did.

DATA:
Story length: 385 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 9. Setting: current day Henderson County, Indiana. Copyright: 2003. Genre: mystery with some romance.

I loved this book. The characters were very real and believable. It wasn't just another sappy romance book either. There was definitely enough of a plot along with some twists and turns to keep the reader interested.

Leigh Mitchell, the sheriff in Glens Crossing, Indiana, is fast approaching her thirtieth birthday. She would like to make changes in her life before it passes her by. She is not sure how to make those changes though until she meets Will Scott, a stranger passing through town. She meets him at the festival talking to Brittany Wilson, a town teenager. Leigh and Will ride the Ferris Wheel together then afterwards head to the local bar where they dance together, creating a scene for the townsfolk. Leigh believes Will could be the answer to her discovering a new self. A few days later when tragedy strikes the small town and Will is the prime suspect Leigh is torn between believing her heart and her experience in law enforcement.

Back Roads was a good book. This debut novel by Susan Crandall was well written with an excellent storyline and very believable characters. The story moves along at a good pace (with the exception of a few parts) and keeps teasing you until the end. Just when you think you know who Will Scott is Ms. Crandall throws you off course with suspicion.

I was pleased with the detail in this book. Even though it is a work of fiction the author included some "true" details. She talks of Bloomington, IN and the Hoosier National Forrest. Also included was the mention of the tv station from Indianapolis, channel 6. These details being included made the story more authentic, especially to someone from Indiana.

All in all this was a good story to read. It has romance and suspense well blended to make a very entertaining read. With more books like Back Roads this author is well on her way to being a well-known bestseller.