THE UNBEATEN TRACK by Vivien Dean

Publisher: AmberAllure
Date published: 10/20/13
ISBN: 978-1-61124-504-
MM
E-book
Reviewed by Helen
Weblink: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/UnbeatenTrack.html
Obtained via publisher
Rating: 4.5

Sean Diaz spends his nights riding the trains because he can’t sleep. A tragedy in his past still haunts him even though he has a job he likes and is good at. One night he’s certain he sees his dead high school best friend. Again and again he returns to that place and the next time he sees him, he meets talkative Judah Morey. Despite anything logic might suggest they become friends.

Ms. Dean’s characters are excellent. Both Sean and Judah come vividly alive with all their quirks and differences, their hidden problems and trauma, and their fun and passion. Each is fully developed with so much to offer the other, yet riddled by hesitancy or anxiety from the past, present and future. As we go deeper into their relationship, we are also led deeper into their personalities. Kudos to the author for her brilliant characterization.

The plot is simple but compelling, dragged along at the speed of the train as events unfold. Quite a simple story, yet well told and compelling because the people are so real and so is the world they inhabit. This is very much a book for the reader to sit down and consume all one go. It’s too good to lay aside and be interrupted by everyday life. The short length is just right. Everything that needed to be said is included and more would just be padding.

From an editing point of view the book is almost faultless.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.