CELTICLADY'S REVIEWS: The Long Dark Road by Joan Hall Hovey Book Blast!

GENRE: Thriller

Selected Tales of Suspense containing 5 short stories and a novella

“Joan Hall Hovey knows suspense. She keeps it simmering in every scene she writes and knows just the right moments to turn up the heat. She also knows character creating richly layered people to populate her stories, sometimes with no more than a single sentence stocked with perfectly chosen description words or phrases... terrific suspense ."James Hankins, author of Brothers and Bones

“Taut plotting, great characters, and chilling suspense. Abook you can’t put down, exhibits a master’s touch. Alfred Hitchcock would be smiling. - Book Pleasures Review, Steve Moore

Excerpt One:

From "A Long Dark Road"

The Old Post Road was long, a narrow tunnel hemmed in by dark woods, and seemed even longer tonight. Most drivers used the new main highway now. She passed only a couple of cars along the way. Lulled by the rhythm of the wipers blended with the music, and the hum of the wheels on rough pavement, Elsie's heart leaped when the car dropped suddenly with a bone-jarring thump that reverberated through her body, followed by a jerky vibrating ride as the car took her further down the road. Whump! whump! whump! She eased off on the gas and brought the car to a crawling stop on the shoulder. Sat unmoving until her heartbeat settled down. Oh, no, please not here. But it was here; in the dark and the cold, and the rain.

I've always been drawn to the dark side of our human psyche, and devoured everything from Edgar Allan Poe to Shirley Jackson growing up and later Ruth Rendell and Stephen King and so many more wonderful writers than I could list here. It was my dream to become a published writer for as long as I can remember, and have written eight novels. My latest book is ‘A Long Dark Road’. My love of reading seemed to go hand-in-hand with the writing.

I grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada's oldest incorporated city, situated on the Bay of Fundy. I married young and had four incredible children, three boys and a girl. My eldest son passed away in 2018, of ALS, which was the moment I knew I was in control of nothing. Nothing at all. And how it feels to have your heart shredded, slowly. But still, we must be grateful for what we have.

When the children were still small we moved to Gondola Point, where we lived in a modest home my husband built, overlooking the Kennebecasis River. Lots of lovely tall pine trees and bird song. It was country then, but no more. We lived there happily with various beloved pets over the years. People often remarked that the view must be inspiring, and it was, but the truth is when I was at my computer, my back was to the river, my head already filled with characters and scenes as I lived in a world of the imagination.

My husband is gone now, my children grown with children of their own and I moved back to the city to escape the loneliness. I live in a pleasant apartment in a historical part of the city with my sweet calico cat, Bella. From my window, I can see a beautiful old church with the steeple jutting into the sky, and a clock that competes with the moon. It is Sunday morning and the church bells are ringing as I type this.

I hope you enjoy my books!

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1234888.Joan_Hall_Hovey

https://www.facebook.com/joan.h.hovey

https://www.joanhallhoveyauthor.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Dark-Road.../dp/B0C5W58B88

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-long-dark-road-joan-hall-hovey/1143527937