Thunder Road, a genre-blending novel by author Colin Holmes, is a complex piece of historical fiction that touches on some of the most notable figures in the history of Fort Worth, Roswell, Las Vegas, and the United States.
From extraterrestrials to gangsters, Thunder Road protagonist detective-made-cowboy-made-private-eye Jeff Sharp spends the novel sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. The novel follows Sharp on a journey of rediscovery as he tries to reintegrate into civilian life after returning from WWII; however, marriage and job trouble throw him into a new career and a new romance with childhood friend Veronica, or “Roni” as she goes by in the text.
While, admittedly, Roni is treated somewhat like a “damsel” for the latter half of the novel, the romance between her and Sharp was probably my favorite part of the story. The development of their relationship—which is so much of a background plot that I may be making something out of nothing—is smooth and natural and the chances Roni gets to speak out for herself are refreshing.
But what about the aliens? The gangsters? Those are two pretty big elements to try and include in one novel and Holmes does a good job of keeping the two closely interconnected. Now, I’m admittedly not very familiar with all of the different theories surrounding Area 51’s various cover-ups; however, the involvement of the mafia with said cover-ups that Holmes constructed was just complicated enough to make my head spin. By the end of the novel, that could be a good thing! When jumping in at the beginning, though, it made all of the various mysteries a little hard to follow.
If I had one main criticism for Thunder Road, I’d say that it leans a bit too hard on the history. Between the continuous name-dropping of historical figures like Lyndon Johnson, Howard Hughes, and Bugsy Siegel and the various asides where the characters have conversations about the wonders of car radios, refrigerated air, and plastic, some of the period-based elements seem a little overdone.
The plot is complex, the characters are more realistic than many you might expect to find when reading about private investigators and gangsters in the 40s, and the writing certainly has an accessible and unique voice. In my opinion, there was no need to laden the story with historical easter eggs, but I certainly wouldn’t dissuade someone from reading this book because of them.
A copy of Thunder Road by Colin Holmes was provided for this review by Blackthorn Book Tours. Thunder Road can be purchased here!
For Page & Screen 