Pay Dirt Road

By: Samantha Jayne Allen

Narrated by: Sandy Rustin

Friday Night Lights meets Mare of Easttown in this small-town mystery about an unlikely private investigator searching for a missing waitress. Pay Dirt Road is the mesmerizing debut from the 2019 Tony Hillerman Prize recipient Samantha Jayne Allen.

Annie McIntyre has a love/hate relationship with Garnett, Texas. Recently graduated from college and home waitressing, lacking not in ambition but certainly in direction, Annie is lured into the family business—a private investigation firm—by her supposed-to-be-retired grandfather, Leroy, despite the rest of the clan's misgivings. When a waitress at the café goes missing, Annie and Leroy begin an investigation that leads them down rural routes and haunted byways, to noxious-smelling oil fields and to the glowing neon of local honky-tonks.

As Annie works to uncover the truth she finds herself identifying with the victim in increasing, unsettling ways, and realizes she must confront her own past—failed romances, a disturbing experience she'd rather forget, and the trick mirror of nostalgia itself—if she wants to survive this homecoming.

©2022 Samantha Jayne Allen (P)2022 Recorded Books

Really enjoyed the narrator

Book was good but the narrator made it great . I'm looking forward to more read by her

Start to a series?

Great start for a series and I hope this is book 1, I would love to see how Annie develops as a character. Having lived n a small town for a time, they can have a lot of drama. I was completely surprised by the ending. The narrator was perfect. Look forward to more mysteries being salved by Annie.

Looking forward to more from this author

I enjoyed the story and the character development. It seemed to drag a little at times, but still kept me interested. Wish the narrator knew how we pronounce pecan and Allsup's in West Texas.

Boring romance

A Flat romance, rambling plot, characters I couldn’t connect to. But a decent depiction of small town Texas…it’s only saving point!

Bubble gum mystery

Light weight story that relied on foul language instead of substance. May be ok for pre-teens, but not for adults.

Good Debut

I listen to a lot of mysteries, and I enjoy the character-driven stories more than the ones that center more on plot. I live in a small town, although not in Texas, but small town life is pretty much the same here. I graduated from college in December and was a waitress from January to August, just to earn a bit of money. I wasn't at loose ends, as I had a teaching job lined up for that fall, but in a lot of ways I could relate to Annie's experience. I made some good friends among my very kind and smart co-workers. The experience made me lose my snobby attitude about higher education: the women I worked with didn't have the degrees--some didn't finish high school--but to a person they were intelligent and a lot wiser than I was.

The author did a good job of creating a realistic atmosphere and characters that I mostly liked. Much is made of the relationship between Annie and her grandfather, but honestly Leroy struck me as a disgusting old drunk and a bit skeevy. Not that there is any hint of impropriety in their relationship--none at all--but he wasn't a very good role model or detective in my opinion.

The writing is lyrical and evocative, and I enjoyed it very much. A lot of credit to the narrator, too; she nailed it.

Like another reviewer, I was a bit bothered by the excessive drinking. You would think that someone who had a past traumatic experience related to alcohol would not be drinking fairly regularly to the point of miserable hangover. On the other hand, drinking is about the only entertainment available to young people in small towns, so I suppose it was realistic. Although, I can't fathom ever getting falling down drunk and staying out all night with a grandparent.

All in all I enjoyed this book and will be buying the next in the series when it comes out.

Good story

I really liked the narration. I could relate to elements of the story...like following in the footsteps of family.

I skipped the last 3 hours

I didn't care for this story. I tried to make myself finish it, but finally zoomed through the last 3 hours so I could hear the last 2 chapters and learn who did it. The main character goes off into these abstract descriptions of places, imagery, and reflections--which gets old. Especially because she doesn't seem that "deep" of a thinker. Slight Spoiler****and I can't stand stupid female characters, even if they're 23 and from a small town. You don't wander into deserted places with no cell service, no one knows where you went, and with no weapon. Repeatedly.

I really wanted to love this book...

I looked at the reviews and listened to the sample, but skipped reading the description. I thought, what's not to like? rural, Texas, a cast of strong women characters, should be lots of sister /friend and frailly action. But the older I get the less I can stomach women's victimization as a form of entertainment. Sorry, not that the story wasn't well done, although I do object (typical of me) to the language, the constant drinking and some sex. I could have overlooked that. But I just find I can no longer appreciate entertainment that must include victimization of women. I've seen the aftermath in too many friends...

I love a good mistery...

And I'm pretty sure this book could be a good one, but the narrator also influences and encourages me to keep listening, unfortunately this narrator didn't do it for me! I think I forced myself to listen for a couple of hrs and then I stopped. I'd been an audible listener since 2014 and this is 2nd time I remove a book w/o finishing it.