Savage Road is a worthy sequel to Deep State and represents the second straight triumph right out of the gate by Chris Hauty. The story picks up after the chilling ending of Chris’ debut novel, driving the United States into a deeper state of chaos and peril as events of a cyberattack nature unfold (glorious puns intended). I will refrain from sharing more plot details because Savage Road (and Deep State for that matter) is so good that I highly recommend starting it with little-to-no pre-knowledge of the plot so as to achieve maximum brain explosion upon reading.
Yes, I know that my last sentence above essentially tells you to stop reading my review. Not a smart strategy for a reviewer, but no one ever accused me of being smart. Nevertheless, if you take my advice, please come back after finishing Savage Road to read the rest of this review and then hit me up in the comments and/or on Twitter with your thoughts. However, if you’re a rebel and feel compelled to continue reading, I’ll explain a few reasons why this book is awesome and destined to be included as one of the best thrillers of 2021.
Reason #1: Hayley Chill is one of the top female protagonists in the thriller genre today. There’s something about her as a character that is mesmerizing and inspiring. She’s strong, honorable, intelligent, patriotic, and unrelenting. But her greatness goes beyond those adjectives. Perhaps it’s that Hayley has earned everything she’s ever achieved in life. She’s had no advantages and hasn’t expected any. She’s scraped and clawed for everything. And despite the hardships of her rural West Virginia childhood, or maybe because of those experiences, she’s been able to excel physically and intellectually to the point where she was hand picked for clandestine operations of critical importance to the United States. Yet she keeps being underestimated and strategically uses that to her advantage to outwit her opponents. Hayley’s playing chess while others with elite backgrounds and superior education are playing Candy Land. And I’m here for all of it.
Reason #2: If you’ve already read Deep State, you know that Chris Hauty hit readers with one of the most massive, jaw dropping twists ever to grace the pages of a thriller. Well, in Savage Road he continues to surprise and shock the reader by including multiple bombshell twists. I lost count after 4 or 5 huge “HOLY F*&KING S%!T” moments. The story is brilliantly crafted to maintain suspense and then throw you for a loop just as you think you have things figured out. It’s a master class in how to entertain readers and differentiate versus other political thrillers.
Reason #3: Chris Hauty leverages his experience as a screenwriter to paint vivid pictures with his prose that leads the reader to easily visualize the setting, characters, and emotions. It’s like watching a movie in your mind. I don’t know how he does it, but it adds a ton to the experience. Additionally, Chris has a “unique narrative device” where for some supporting characters as they exit the story, he provides a short glimpse into the rest of their lives. I absolutely love this concept. Adds a lot to the overall character development throughout the book.
So…in case you can’t figure it out, I absolutely loved Savage Road and highly recommend you pick up a copy ASAP! Savage Road is a tremendous political thriller with great character development and twisting storylines that keep the reader on the edge of their seat. If you’re not yet on the Hayley Chill bandwagon, now’s the time to jump on!
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