• A Dangerous Road

  • Smokey Dalton, Book 1
  • By: Kris Nelscott
  • Narrated by: Mirron Willis
  • Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (378 ratings)

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A Dangerous Road  By  cover art

A Dangerous Road

By: Kris Nelscott
Narrated by: Mirron Willis
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Publisher's summary

Private Investigator Smokey Dalton works for Memphis, Tennessee’s black community. He has almost no interaction with the white hierarchy, even though they exist only blocks away. So he’s surprised the day a white woman walks into his Beale Street office. Laura Hathaway has sought him out because he’s a beneficiary in her mother’s will, and Laura wants to know why. So does Smokey. He’s never heard of the Hathaways, but his search will take him on a journey that will change everything he’s ever known.

Set against the backdrop of the strike and protests that will end with Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, A Dangerous Road combines the politics of race, betrayal, unexpected love, and the terrible cost of trust into a story so memorable the Mystery Writers of America chose it as one of the top five novels of the year.

©2000 Kristine K. Rusch (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"More than just offering a puzzle, this novel encourages self-examination about identity, responsibility, and the consequences of choices. Smokey proves himself a man of conscience able to make tough choices." (Publisher’s Weekly)
"It's not hard to draw parallels between Nelscott’s PI Smokey Dalton and Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins, another secretive, canny black man trying to solve mysteries while circumspectly navigating the white world. But Dalton’s no knock-off. (Would you label the hundreds of hard-boiled detectives who’ve appeared in Raymond Chandler’s wake mere Marlow Xeroxes because they’re white?)" (Entertainment Weekly)

What listeners say about A Dangerous Road

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Interesting Slice of US History...but Ponderous

This detective is described as being physically intimidating and yet he fails to engage in even the most obvious opportunities to assist. He thinks about saying and doing things but just can't quite bring himself to make it happen. He's black and falls for a nice woman who is white. He's psychologically stuck in his heritage and thus little to nothing actually happens due to these feelings of either hatred or guilt or both. Makes for a boring book.
Cheers, Ken

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Smokey Dalton

What did you love best about A Dangerous Road?

I liked everyting about the book. It was part history, part mystery and part love story.

What other book might you compare A Dangerous Road to and why?

I can't think of any book off hand that's quite like this one. At least not in the African American genre. Nothing that gives the reader so many different angles.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I liked the narrator. He spoke clearly and concisely. he almost over ennuciated his words. but that's ok. I'd rather have that than slurring his words.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I'm not sure. But I could definately see this as a film.

Any additional comments?

This is a author and a story-line I will definately follow.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable and informative read.

What made the experience of listening to A Dangerous Road the most enjoyable?

This book covers a time in history that I lived. I enjoyed the experience from the level of a real person.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No, but it had enough to it to keep me listening.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were so many scenes that I can't pick just one out as a favorite. It was a good book.

If you could take any character from A Dangerous Road out to dinner, who would it be and why?

It would be the beautiful young lady who opened up Dalton's world with her appearance. She appears to have courage and insight that I would find interesting to learn more about.

Any additional comments?

It looks like the Smoky Dalton story will take a fair amount of time and the purchase of several books if I decide to read the entire thing.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Breathtaking. Complex. Heartbreaking.

Humanizing the history of the assassination of Martin Luther King is no small feat. We have so lionized the man and his movement that it is easy to forget that he was a man with friends and one who faced an unknowable future just as do we all. Kris Nelscott has placed her protagonist on the periphery of the civil rights movement but squarely in the center of the civil rights story. The mystery around which she winds her telling is a well-utilized MacGuffin but it is the richly drawn characters and simple, smart, informed style that make this book one to which I will return.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great read!

A story that redefines the meaning of family and takes a man on a search to find the reason for the murder of his parents and what his ties may be to a wealthy family who anonymously gifts him with money.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brush up on History

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Sure, I learned a bit of history from this.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrator !

What does Mirron Willis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Hes got a one of a kind booming, resounding, easy to listen to voice.

Do you think A Dangerous Road needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Theres a few follow up books.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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I was surprised.

I didn't know what I expected, but was really surprised when the book ended because I couldn't stop listening. It is a good book. I plan to get more of Kris Nelscott's books.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great listen to

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Dangerous Road?

I think this story captures the times & the characters of the 60's exactly as I remember them.

If you could take any character from A Dangerous Road out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Smokey Dalton would make a great dinner companion

Any additional comments?

I liked this story because the characters are believable & are not not some super hero who can out shoot, out run & out think the most unbelievable super criminals on the earth.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Fiction wrapped in history! Loved it! I was leery at first but was quickly won over by good story telling.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Easy Rawlins is That You?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The character Smokey Dalton would make better use of his education and intelligent, the explanation given by the author as to his current station in life doesn't ring true

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

It needed to remind me less of Walter Mosley's character Easy Rawlins, at times it seemed I could finish Smokey's sentences.

What does Mirron Willis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mirron Willis is one of the best narrators I've listened to, he has a great voice and knows how to bring characters to life

Did A Dangerous Road inspire you to do anything?

I actually researched the author

Any additional comments?

I plan to listen to the 2nd book in the series for closure, but doubt I'll listen to any others

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