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Adrian Wall is out of prison, after thirteen years of torture at the hands of the warden and his minions. John Hart's new book, REDEMPTION ROAD, finally here five years after his last, does indeed bring redemption for Wall and the other main characters in the book. However, that redemption comes at a huge cost to himself and also to the victims of the serial killer who framed detective Wall.
The characterization is deep, as it is in all of Hart's books. There's Adrian, of course, and the female cop, Elizabeth Black, who has always believed in his innocence. Black's flawed partner, who played a critical role in Wall's conviction, becomes increasingly complex through the book. Gideon, the son of the woman Adrian was convicted for killing, is all but legally adopted by Elizabeth and becomes the personification of goodness at the center of the tale. The young girl that Elizabeth rescues from her rapist captors turns out to be less than a victim. Adrian's lawyer, an elderly friend of Elizabeth, is tormented by the demons caused by Adrian's imprisonment. And finally, Elizabeth's father, a preacher who has never forgiven her for early sins, counterbalances the goodness of Gideon. Each of these characters, and indeed even the more peripheral ones, is written with such depth and clarity that they could be the readers' own family. And each finds, in some way, redemption by the end of the book.
A book that so brilliantly captures the individuals who people it is often short on plot. However, this is not the case with this book, any more than it is with any of Hart's books. The road to redemption is indirect, complex, and twisty, and the reader is glued to his or her seat as the mystery is finally revealed. The book opens with the serial killer, unidentified until the final pages of the story, abducting a young woman. While the rest of the narrative weaves Adrian's and Elizabeth's present and past seamlessly, slowly exposing their history, abrupt changes in perspective occur in alternating chapters told from the victims' and the killer's perspectives.
This is a gratifying story, told in beautiful language. It is not, however, a book that fosters much faith in our legal system. Redemption for these damaged souls is not bought cheaply, nor does it result in the traditional happy ending. But it does occur, in a way that makes sense given the multifaceted history of the characters, and in the end it provides a sense of closure and possibility. REDEMPTION ROAD imbues the reader with a sense that even in the most corrupt world, it is possible to find one's place.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, May 2016
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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