A Rough Way to Go

De: Sam Garonzik

Narrado por: Victor Warren

In this all-consuming, suspenseful story, a stay-at-home father with something to prove finds a wealthy Wall Street investor's body washed up on the shore—and decides to take the investigation into his own hands…

Peter Greene spends his days taking care of his toddler, Luke; staying on the right side of The Moms in his local beach town; and hanging out with his surf buddy, Frank. Isolated from his former life in finance, and frustrated by his current “out of work” existence, he worries that if he sits around the house for much longer, his workaholic wife might start to lose patience with him. He has few escapes aside from surfing and the love he has for his son.

But when the body of wealthy Wall Street investor Robert Townsend washes up on shore one morning, nothing about the incident makes sense to Pete, and he’s completely bewildered when the death is ruled an accidental drowning. But when he takes his concerns to the police, they ignore him—so he decides to investigate on his own. Sustained only by the unquestioning devotion of his three-year-old sidekick, Pete starts looking into Townsend’s eccentric relatives and employer, the ruthless and secretive private equity firm GDR. But has Pete deluded himself with this misguided quest for redemption? Or has he uncovered something sinister enough to risk his life, and even his family?

A Rough Way to Go is a raw, irreverent story that plumbs the depths of masculinity, unemployment, fatherhood, marriage, and modern capitalism—and the struggle to live a purpose driven life.

©2024 Sam Garonzik (P)2024 Grand Central Publishing

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Fleabag meets Gone Girl. A darkly funny, sometimes terrifying noir. Full of surprises. I couldn't put it down."—Jennifer Belle, bestselling author of Going Down

"With a sharp voice, unique perspective, and clever mystery at its core, A Rough Way to Go is a fresh take on the domestic suspense genre. I loved it!"—Robyn Harding, bestselling author of The Drowning Woman

"In A Rough Way to Go, Sam Garonzik focuses on the most frightening antagonist in contemporary American crime: money. Add to the mix an overwhelmed new dad looking to be a hero (like all new dads), and you've got a winning, nerve-jangling debut."—Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist and The Residence

Fantastic Debut

Most thrillers don't surprise me anymore so I appreciate that this one did. Also loved the narrator and will check out other books he's recorded. Write more, Sam!

Pete’s aimless mein.

Starts out as a thriller with Wall Street big shots in the cross hairs. Protagonist Pete Greene seems to have lost his soul and his initiative after getting fired from his job on The Street. He sees a suspicious death of a wealthy local as his life preserver.
So far so good. Then the book seems to spend way too much time on his feeling sorry for himself and way too little on any kind of cool gum shoe ingenuity . Set in a Montauk-like surf circle even the rush of catching waves or the oceans therapeutic magic never come to life. Once he is on the hunt for the killer almost every move he made I found myself thinking, “ That seems like it’s going to end badly. Why would you do that?” By the time the baffling end came to pass I felt I knew even less about the man and where he was going than I did when I started.
Just more bad thoughts and
misery rattling around in his head.
The whole journey left me as depressed as he was.
So I went surfing and put the whole thing behind me.

A delightful romp with a man trying to find his place in life.

Our character is an unemployed, new father, learning to adjust to big changes in his life. He’s a bit lost & overwhelmed, until he becomes a bit obsessed with an apparent surfing accident that claimed the life of a slight acquaintance. Unable to accept the ruling that the death was an accident, he probes into every aspect of the investigation, Even after the police have closed the case. The eventual outcome presents a wonderful plot twist! At that point, our protagonist if forced to view his life from a completely different aspect- and to make some seemingly impossible decisions.

The narrator was absolutely perfect for this book. His cadence, pacing, & mannerisms successfully captured all of the aspects of the personalities of each character. I have an Audible library of 1200+ books, & this one truly stands out for many reasons. Chose it, & join the challenges, angst, & introspection of a wonderful fictional character. Though it isn’t as complex, it reminded me a bit of The World According to Garp, in that the primary character is simply trying to find his way through life, somewhat oblivious to the waves & ripples that affect us.

Pretty Good…

Overall, I thought this book was quite good. I would say even better than good, except it did get a little convoluted for me and I got a little lost at times as to who was who, as well as parts dealing with the timelines. The narrator, however, was really fantastic(!), and I enjoyed his performance immensely! And why not as I looked him up and came to find he in fact is a professional actor!! So it really was a performance, and not merely a narration…BRAVO! ☺️

Pathetic main character

I hated how the main character responded to a stunning betrayal he discovered at the end of the story. So pathetic.

Great narrator!

This book has a rhythm, and the narrator got it !!!
What twists, I was going way off the trail w my thoughts, kinda like our main man!
Never saw that coming…

Rambling character

I was disappointed with ending. Throughout the book there is a progression and the reader expects a satisfying conclusion. There wasn’t one.

Stick with it

I quit listening for a while, but then went back to try it again and I’m so glad I did! The narrator is the reason I enjoyed this book so much.

Different type of mystery

I love the genre of mystery and have read hundreds. This is not a hero protagonist, nor is he clever or a crusader for justice. He's an ordinary broken Dad that stumbles around dealing with his stuff....but the people around him are messed up more than him. I wouldn't call the plot a page turner, but I did wonder how this idiot was going to stay alive....and I hoped he would cause he seemed like a good Dad.

Gender role reversal

Fantastic. The stay at home dad version of a traditional cozy mystery was brilliant. The social commentary is a subtle but poignant addition to cleverly constructed mystery. Loved it.