Review of COUNTY ROAD SIX by Kevin Hardcastle (New Release)

 2.5 Stars

This book was not for me. I found it a tedious read and I kept checking to see how many more pages there were left until the end.

After the death of Arthur O’Hare by suicide, his three daughters (Beth, Mara, and Emma) reunite at the family farm. The three women soon learn that they have not just inherited the farm but a long-buried secret that has them fighting to retain ownership of the farmhouse and land. They face terror and violence and must take extreme measures to protect themselves.

Though set in Simcoe County, Ontario, near the shores of Georgian Bay, in many ways the book reminded me of a Cormac McCarthy novel. There are scenes of intense violence described in graphic detail. This is not the type of book I enjoy so I guess I’m not the intended audience.

Pacing is a real problem. The novel opens very slowly; almost nothing happens for pages and pages. There is often little dialogue and actions are described in tedious detail. For instance, “Mara put a hand to her mouth and muttered into it and then she flicked the switch again and the room went dark. She drew the door shut and pulled until it reluctantly latched. Mara fetched her bottle from the kitchen and went into the living room and sat the end of the couch near to her father’s old armchair. Long haul from the bottle before she set it by. The woman lifted her phone and looked to the messages pending but she did not open them.” There are irrelevant details: do we really need to know the history of the local Legion Hall? What’s the fixation with cardinal directions? West is mentioned a dozen times and north is mentioned twice that! Then, in the latter part of the book, there are chapters that have action, but again individual movements are described in such detail that tension is lost. With its detailing of all movements, the book sometimes reads almost like a screenplay. The book is totally lacking taut prose.

Then there’s the strange phrasing of some sentences: “They were stood some twenty yards away from the target” and “Mara was stood there long after” and “Emma was stood in the lamplight” and “a broom that was stood against the side of the house.” Perhaps this odd passive voice construction is an example of local colour, but it’s not used in speech so it is just awkward.

In contrast to the heavy physical descriptions, there is a lot of vagueness in terms of plot. What exactly did Arthur do to earn his fearful reputation in the community? And about his past, the reader can only guess at his activities. What exactly was the cause of the rift between Arthur and his first wife’s family? Arthur Cass is Arthur O’Hare? Why did Arthur abandon Tynan? The reader eventually learns that Beth and Mara’s mother was First Nations, so the girls were discriminated against when they were young. But the discrimination faced by them and their mother’s cousin Marie is only alluded to, not really shown.

The book is marketed as a “propulsive, powerful, and thrilling novel” but I did not find this to be the case. It is overly long and written in a style that lessens tension and increases tedium.

Note:  I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.