Why a Booktrail?
2000s: Disaster is always closer than you know.
Closer Than You Know
What you need to know before your trail
Melanie has learned may hard lessons in life growing up in care. But now as an adult, she thought that turmoil was behind her.
Until the evening she goes to pick up her son from childcare, only to discover he’s been removed by Social Services. And no one will say why.
A terrifying scenario for any parent, it’s doubly so for Melanie, all too aware of the unintended horrors of ‘the system’. When she arrives home, her nightmare gets worse – it has been raided by Sheriff’s deputies, who have found enough cocaine to send her to prison for years. If Melanie can’t prove her innocence, she’ll lose her son forever.
But that’s not all she has to worry about ….
Travel Guide
Virginia – Staunton
A real town in the state of Virginia. Despite the reputation it gets in the book – the hunting ground of a whispering rapist and a drugs bust, not to mention the son of a mother who was herself taken into care, taken and put into the system….Staunton in real life has a lot going for it.
Staunton is known for being the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president so there is plenty of history and heritage in the town. The setting is also of note as it’s located in the Shenandoah Valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains of the Appalachian Mountains. This valley is where the social services in the book is located.
All the streets – where the babysitter lives, and the woman lives are all real places which gives the novel an added realistic edge.
Trail Gallery
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
Brad Parks is one neat writer. The action rattles along at break neck speed, there’s a lot to think about, a lot to worry about with the characters and a lot to take in and remember as you just know one small thing is going to come and bite you on the bum if you forget it.
It’s starts like a car screeching away from the scene of a crime, which is ironic as that’s kind of what happens. A mother gets home to find out her child has been taken in to care. Care home is shut. And it’s all because the police have found drugs in her house – which she didn’t put there.
Ok so the sequences of events which follows is unbelievable in many parts but I didn’t mind as the writing was so vivid and whipped me along with it. It was exciting to read and I wanted to know what was going to happen! That opening scene stays with you and that’s very effective throughout. Brad peppers the novel with red herrings, twists and goodness knows what else but it all works. As does Mr Honeywell, the lawyer in the novel – I did like him!
So PARK yourself down and get reading this for a very enjoyable ride!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Closer Than You Know
Destination: Staunton Author/Guide: Brad Parks Departure Time: 2000s
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