What I Loved:

The Road to Delano is a wonderful mix of thriller, mystery, and historical fiction. I loved the way the author set this story. It was impactful and kept me on the edge of my seat!

How I Felt:

The characters were easy to relate to. I was so invested in Jack’s story. I wanted him to find out who killed his father and to find all the answers to his questions. My heart continued to go out to him as one incident after another happened. He was an excellent main character, and one I feel readers will enjoy!

The story is about Jack’s father being murdered, and Jack’s need to find the killer. The small town was a perfect location for this book. The writing created an excellent atmosphere for this story!

Overall, I really enjoyed The Road to Delano. It was an exciting, page-turning story that I think so many readers will love!

To Read or Not To Read:

I would recommend The Road to Delano for readers that enjoy historical fiction mixed with thriller and mystery!

Where to Find This Book:

The Road to Delano by John DeSimone is available at these sites.

Bookshop.org | Amazon Kindle | Amazon | Goodreads | Audible

Jack Duncan is a high school senior whose dream is to play baseball in college and beyond―as far away from Delano as possible. He longs to escape the political turmoil surrounding the labor struggles of the striking fieldworkers that infests his small ag town. Ever since his father, a grape grower, died under suspicious circumstances ten years earlier, he’s had to be the sole emotional support of his mother, who has kept secrets from him about his father’s involvement in the ongoing labor strife.

With their property on the verge of a tax sale, Jack drives an old combine into town to sell it so he and his mother don’t become homeless. On the road, an old friend of his father’s shows up and hands him the police report indicating Jack’s father was murdered. Jack is compelled to dig deep to discover the entire truth, which throws him into the heart of the corruption endemic in the Central Valley. Everything he has dreamed of is at stake if he can’t control his impulse for revenge.

While Jack’s girlfriend, the intelligent and articulate Ella, warns him not to so anything to jeopardize their plans of moving to L.A., after graduation, Jack turns to his best friend, Adrian, a star player on the team, to help to save his mother’s land. When Jack’s efforts to rescue a stolen piece of farm equipment leaves Adrian―the son of a boycotting fieldworker who works closely with Cesar Chavez―in a catastrophic situation, Jack must bail his friend out of his dilemma before it ruins his future prospects. Jack uses his wits, his acumen at card playing, and his boldness to raise the money to spring his friend, who has been transformed by his jail experience.

The Road to Delano is the path Jack, Ella, and Adrian must take to find their strength, their duty, their destiny.

Just the Facts:

• The Road to Delano by John DeSimone
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Page Count: 425 pages
• Publisher:  Rare Bird Books
• Pub Date: March 10, 2020

John DeSimone is a published writer, novelist, and teacher. He’s been an adjunct professor and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University.

His recent co-authored books include Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan (Little A Publishers), and Courage to Say No by Dr. Raana Mahmood, about her struggles against sexual exploitation as a female physician in Karachi. His published novel Leonardo’s Chair published in 2005.

In 2012, he won a prestigious Norman Mailer Fellowship to complete his most recent historical novel, Road to Delano. His novels Leonardo’s Chair and No Ordinary Man have received critical recognition. He works with select clients to write stories of inspiration and determination and with those who have a vital message to bring to the marketplace of ideas in well-written books.

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I was provided an advanced reader’s copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

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