A Thousand Steps by T. Jefferson Parker

Book Title: A Thousand Steps
Author: T. Jefferson Parker
Series: None
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Thriller
Published: January 11th 2022 by Forge Books

REVIEW:

Man, I hate writing reviews like this.. the first fourteen or so chapters were a struggle to get through. I just wanted to move on to my next book at the end of each one, and let me tell you.. these chapters are brief. I don’t know if there is some “70s is in” tread going on, but unlike others books with this setting, this one felt like it was screaming “ITS THE 70s, GET IT?” and I found this super unappealing.

So, there’s hippies got it and LSD got it. The story is told from the perspective of a young kid who’s parents have abandoned him (although his mother is in the picture, but can we even say she’s really there?) and his sister has gone missing but no one is really looking for her beyond this young kid who is surviving on very little and has a pretty sad life. Yeah, it’s all very depressing.

I have picking this up and put it down on so many occasions trying to give it a chance. Yet each time I kept finding myself feeling like the writing was too repetitive, story lacking any interesting moments, and wanting something ANYTHING to just happen. Ultimately this was a total snooze fest that—while rare—I gave up on.  

SYNOPSIS:

Laguna Beach, California, 1968. The Age of Aquarius is in full swing. Timothy Leary is a rock star. LSD is God. Folks from all over are flocking to Laguna, seeking peace, love, and enlightenment.

Matt Antony is just trying get by.

Matt is sixteen, broke, and never sure where his next meal is coming from. Mom’s a stoner, his deadbeat dad is a no-show, his brother’s fighting in Nam . . . and his big sister Jazz has just gone missing. The cops figure she’s just another runaway hippie chick, enjoying a summer of love, but Matt doesn’t believe it. Not after another missing girl turns up dead on the beach.

All Matt really wants to do is get his driver’s license and ask out the girl he’s been crushing on since fourth grade, yet it’s up to him to find his sister. But in a town where the cops don’t trust the hippies and the hippies don’t trust the cops, uncovering what’s really happened to Jazz is going to force him to grow up fast.

If it’s not already too late.