A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks
Time Warner - September 2001
ISBN: 1586211781 Audio Cassette, unabridged
General Fiction

Reviewed by Brenda Weeaks, MyShelf.com
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Nicholas Sparks, who lives in North Carolina, sets his latest novel there.

New Bern is a simple town where everyone knows everything, but it seems the truth about one crime has eluded them. High school sweethearts Miles and Missy Ryan married and had as son. One day Missy went jogging and was killed by a hit and run driver. It's two years later, and the killer is still unknown.

Miles is the deputy sheriff of New Bern. The sheriff, Charlie, and his wife, Brenda, are Miles best friends; they watch out for him and Jonah. Since Jonah is in Sarah Andrew's class, Brenda hints to the divorced schoolteacher about Miles. Sarah has her own sad story of how she ended up in New Bern. She wants to fall in love again, but a secret keeps her from it. Jonah's school problems bring the two together, and when mutual attraction is obvious, the reader thinks: "that's nice, happy ending." Not. The drama has only begun to unfold. The killer comes back, spying on Miles and Jonah, Sarah hears from her ex-husband's family, and the two new lovers must face a new, painful revelation. As I read, I couldn't see these two getting past all the drama that invades their new relationship.

Questions arise as the story moves. Questions drawn from the suspense the author skillfully creates to hold his readers still. Can Miles let go of his late wife's case, of her memory? Will Jonah accept a new mother figure, one who sees his educational weakness and refuses to be easy on him as the others were? Why is the stalker following Miles and Jonah, and, most of all, who is it?!

A Bend in the Road reads like a typical human relationship story, but with an added twist. Throughout the story line the audience is privy to the killer's thoughts and deeds, which draws out the suspense in the story. The conclusion will be the talking point of many online discussion lists.