No Road Home by John Fram
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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In No Road Home we meet Toby Tucker, who along with his young son, Luca, is traveling to Texas to meet his new wife, Alyssa’s, family for the first time.
The Wright family is well known. Alyssa’s Grandfather is a famous televangelist whose powerful Old Testament sermons have made the family millions. Toby has no idea what to expect from the visit, but he is concerned that his Queer son Luca may become a target for their religious zeal.
The family compound is lavish, and packed full of questionable characters. Even Alyssa begins acting shady once they are at the property. What’s she all about?
The more Toby interacts with the Wrights, the more unsettleded he becomes. Something is off here. Luca is seeing things and saying things that cause Toby further concern; like the man in the suit lurking in the shadows that only Luca can see. That’s abnormal, right?
After inclement weather strands the family at the property, essentially cutting them off from the outside world, the elder Wright is found murdered on the roof. Who would dare to take him out, and why?
Suspicions immediately fall on Toby, but he knows he had nothing to do with it, so who did?
He needs to figure it out before the authorities arrive, or he could be the one to take the fall. It’s a race against the clock as Toby tries to unravel the truth of the Wright family.
With his mind focused on protecting Luca, Toby knows there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to save his son from the vicious den of vipers they find themselves in.
No Road Home is the first novel I’ve read from John Fram, an author I have heard great things about.
This story successfully sucked me in and even though it took me a minute to get used to the writing style, it took me no time at all to be hella intrigued with everything happening.
There was a period of time in the later half where I felt things started to get a little muddled, there were a lot of Wrights to keep track of, but Fram definitely pulled it off in the end.
I really enjoyed Toby as a main character. I feel like I haven’t read too many stories following single-fathers and I feel like it’s a unique and compelling perspective to get.
Toby’s own family history, and his relationship with Luca, were quite nuanced and I loved how Fram revealed the truth of all that over the course of the story. It wasn’t as I initially expected, and I feel like it will be memorable for me.
I also just really appreciated the overall tone Fram set within this story. The setting of the Wright family compound was well done. It felt sinister and eerie, even if you didn’t quite understand why.
It’s a bit of a slow burn, but the intensity and stakes do steadily climb throughout. By the end, I was completely immersed. It was definitely a story I needed the conclusion too ASAP, which is why I read it in a day.
I would recommend this to fans of Social Horror, or novels such as Mister Magic. It’s thoughtful, sinister and cerebral; very well developed by Fram.
Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!