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River Road cover art

River Road

Written by: Carol Goodman
Narrated by: Madeleine Maby
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Publisher's Summary

From the award-winning author of The Lake of Dead Languages comes a chilling new psychological thriller about a professor accused of killing her favorite student in a hit-and-run accident.

Nan Lewis - a creative writing professor at a state university in upstate New York - is driving home from a faculty holiday party after finding out she's been denied tenure. On her way, she hits a deer, but when she gets out of her car to look for it, the deer is nowhere to be found. Eager to get home and out of the oncoming snowstorm, Nan is forced to leave her car at the bottom of her snowy driveway to wait out the longest night of the year - and the lowest point of her life....

The next morning, Nan is woken up by a police officer at her door with terrible news - one of her students, Leia Dawson, was killed in a hit-and-run on River Road the night before. And because of the damage to her car, Nan is a suspect. In the days following the accident, Nan finds herself shunned by the same community that rallied around her when her own daughter was killed in an eerily similar accident six years prior. When Nan begins finding disturbing tokens that recall the death of Nan's own daughter, Nan suspects that the two accidents are connected.

As she begins to dig further, she discovers that everyone around her, including Leia, is hiding secrets. But can she uncover them, clear her name, and figure out who really killed Leia before her reputation is destroyed for good?

©2016 Carol Goodman (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
Mystery Suspense Crime Thrillers Psychological
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What listeners say about River Road

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Bette
  • Bette
  • 2016-04-01

Possibly Unfair Review

I haven't listened to much Carol Goodman; she's one of my favorite writers and other than her recent YA series, I routinely pre-order her books. River Road is the first adult book Goodman has written since I began listening to audio books.

It's a lackluster story; certainly not her best.
Goodman's older books are strongly archetypal, filled with mythological figures. They are superbly plotted, haunting stories written in beautiful prose. And perhaps that is part of the problem- really fine prose is easily buried in this audio book medium. If you enjoyed this and are new to Carol Goodman, read 'The Night Villa', The Ghost Orchid', 'The Lake of Dead Languages' or 'The Seduction of Water'.

And now I've made myself want to reread them.

18 people found this helpful

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  • whilory
  • 2016-01-21

Let's pray this is not the start of a series

What disappointed you about River Road?

Everything was terrible-I finally gave up as it was impossible to care about the protagonist, or any of the under-developed characters. It was beyond laughable that the main character was supposed to be a college professor--of English no less. The police officer was far more poetic in his speech, yet another ridiculous aspect.

What could Carol Goodman have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Kill the main character on p.1

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Amazement that this nonsense was published.

10 people found this helpful

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  • Nancy P
  • 2016-02-01

OK but nothing special...

Any additional comments?

Was it me or was this a little easy to figure out before it was revealed. I didn't find myself caring about the main character - or any of the others characters for that matter.

7 people found this helpful

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  • Chioni
  • 2017-01-12

disappointing read

this story started off strong but quickly went down hill as the story was just like every other story she's written. very predictable plot.

4 people found this helpful

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  • passiflora
  • 2016-02-07

BRAVO!

I have listened to many books by Carol Goodman and this one does not disappoint. I was bummed when it came to an end as I never wanted to stop listening to it! There are many twists that keep the reader guessing and makes the story less predictable then it appears. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the narrator performed the characters superbly! Bravo!

3 people found this helpful

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  • Bst
  • 2017-05-30

Just Awful

This is by far the worst book I've listened to on Audible. It is just do phony and full of wasted literary references. The main character is a loser who tells the story from a selfish point of view. The characters are nicely described, but their actions are silly and absurd. It is just a tiresome foray into what might have been a great plot with nice twists.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Gail
  • 2017-05-26

Don't bother ...

Any additional comments?

The story is just heavy with predictable silliness. It was hard to listen to ... how many people in one book can be hit and killed by a car on a curve in the road? And an author writing about authors writing books just doesn't work here.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Donna
  • 2016-01-26

Good enough

An interesting mystery , some good mrks for that. Characters OK and a bit of romance fot the ewhite knight resder. A nice cozy for winter readjng,

1 person found this helpful

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  • Blue sky
  • 2023-01-17

one of my favorite goodman books

I prefer her older books to the newer ones. this book, the widow's house, and the lake of dead languages are my favorite novels

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  • Mary Hight
  • 2022-08-17

Feeling warmth

Makes you thankful and happy. love it ❤️ Great story with a greatful breath