Access Road

By: Maurice Gee

Narrated by: Heather Bolton

As she watches her brother losing the battle with his memories, Rowan wonders how long she can keep her own past at bay. The old family home in Access Road, where Lionel, Roly and Rowan grew up, is crumbling away - but after more than fifty years Lionel and Roly are back. Rowan too, otherwise safe in her 'upper crusty' suburb, is drawn more and more strongly 'out west'. The past is dangerously alive. Clyde Buckley - violent as a boy; enigmatic, subterranean as an old man - returns to his childhood territory. What does he want? What crimes does he hide? And how is Lionel involved? Rowan must abandon safety if she is to find out … Maurice Gee is a master storyteller. Access Road is at once a novel of chilling tension and expansive humanity; both a beautifully crafted work of literature and an effortlessly seductive family story.©2009 Maurice Gee. By arrangement with Penguin Group (Australia). (P)2012 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

" Access Road is a novel of chilling tension and expansive humanity; a beautifully crafted work of literature and a seductive family story." ( New Zealand Book Council)

"Gee is our greatest writer." (Paula Morris, NZ Listener)

"Once again Gee scratches below the surface, finding the menace behind the mundane, the evil behind the everyday. A solid addition to a remarkable writing career." ( WildTomato)

A bit slow till the end but enjoyable and memorably

I'd love more about Buckley throughout and heavier conflict but I'm glad more focus was on her family. Pleasant, short and thrilling. I wish more Gee books, like The Fat Man, were audiobooks since there's more suspense and action in those. All and all, this was a great read and had everything I expected from this author brought to life beautifully by this narrator.