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The Black Path
'An intense, tightly calibrated thriller' - The Huffington Post A dark tale of love and lies, obsession and betrayal, The Black Path will appeal to fans of 'domestic noir' and anyone who's ever wondered about the secrets people keep. How well do you really know those closest to you? Helen has been holding out for a hero all her life. Her father was a hero - but he was murdered when she was ten. Her husband is a hero - but he's thousands of miles away, fighting a war people say will never be won. Sometimes Helen wonders if Owen isn't the only one living in a war zone. She feels the violence all around her. She reads about it in the papers. It feeds her dreams and fills her days with a sense of dread. Try as she might, she can't escape the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. Then one night on the troubled streets of her home town, Helen is rescued from a fight by a woman who will change her life forever. Sian is everything Helen isn't - confident, glamorous, fearless. But there's something else about her - a connection that cements their friendship and makes Helen question everything she's ever known. And when her husband returns home, altered in a way she can't understand, she is forced to draw on an inner strength she never knew she had. As bitter truths are uncovered, Helen must finally face her fears and the one place which has haunted her since childhood - the Black Path. LONGLISTED FOR THE GUARDIAN'S 'NOT THE BOOKER PRIZE'
384 pages, Paperback
Published September 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 10, 2016
Heart breaking start to this fictional story, something that we are all very aware that is happening now in this world more and more. The fictional story begins. Tributes have been paid to a local man who died at the weekend, Richard Thomas, 35, of St Nicholas Road, Bridgend, confronted a gang of teenagers who were causing a disturbance outside his house on Sunday afternoon. He suffered several stab wounds to the stomach and died in hospital as a result of his injuries. He leaves behind a wife and young daughter. Fifteen years have passed since Helen's dad had been stabbed and she still missed her father.
March 5, 2017
The Black Path first came to my attention when I attended the New Blood panel at the Killer Women Festival last October. I was intrigued by the idea of it, partly in truth because it was set in Bridgend, an area I have visited many times over the years, originally as Regional Manager when we opened a distribution centre down there, and now, more recently as National Manager. I'm actually down there tomorrow. Small fact, nothing to do with the book but I do love reading stories set in places I know. And to be honest the author had an intriguing story of his own, speaking candidly about the trolling he had suffered as a result of his sexuality. I hate bullying in any form and it made me all the more determined to read the book.
To me The Black Path was an intriguing and often moving read. Telling the story of Helen McGrath, an Army wife, struggling to find a life of her own to occupy her time while her husband Owen is on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Helen has an amazingly sad back story, the novel opening with a news story detailing the murder of her father on a dark and dangerous footpath in her home town of Bridgend, know locally as 'the black path'. Renowned as bring the hangout of drug users, gangs and all manner of bad people, Helen has always been scared of the path, trusting her parents warnings not to go there. Her father's murder only cements this angst.
Helen is an interesting character. Somewhat of a loner and incredibly naive, she spends her Sunday's visiting her mother, a woman with whom she has a strained relationship. She is kind of meek, lacking the fortitude to stand up for herself and altogether too trusting. When she is befriended by Sîan, a woman who saves her from an unprovoked attack on a rare night out in town, you know that things are not going to end well. If Helen is meek, Sîan is the polar opposite. Strong, domineering and altogether too familiar, she pushes her way into Helen's life in a way that would have most people telling her to do one. In that sense, Helen frustrated me. Why would anyone let someone else take over like that? Trust a complete stranger and never once question her motives. And yet when Owen is injured, Sîan is like a rock. But is she too good to be true?
The novel explores an interesting topic - that of the incredible and indelible bond which grows between men serving together in the Army. Helen's husband, Owen, is depicted as a man who is torn by his sense of duty and the horror of having killed a young boy on his previous tour. Like so many soldiers, this is something he cannot share with his wife, putting a small wall up between what had previously been an open marriage. I have no experience of this myself, but I know people who have been in the army, have spoken with them about the sense of family that grows there and never leaves, no mater how long ago you have left. The shared sense of loss when a fellow soldier is killed. The quiet understanding of the mental cost of taking another life. It is hard to express but I think captured so beautifully and sympathetically in this book. No, the book doesn't go into graphic detail. It doesn't need to. Sometimes the simplest words, thoughts and feelings are enough to demonstrate the doubts, the anger, the self loathing than can exist, even when fulfilling a sense of duty.
There is another angle to the story set in Afghanistan too. It is one that perhaps isn't overly common, one that perhaps isn't talked about, but which may in truth happen more than people willingly admit. The issue of homosexuals in the Army is one which is often talked about still, depressing as that idea is. Whilst it is no longer banned, it is still not wholly accepted in all quarters. But this book goes a step beyond just having a token gay soldier, or many joke based references to soldiers being 'gay' because of some vague reason or another. This explores the relationship between Owen and Collins, one of the Privates stationed at Camp Bastion with Owen. Collins is gay, Owen is not, and yet the chemistry between them, whether caused by the strained conditions of war, or some other aspect of Owen's character which he has never admitted to, is obvious from the start. The exploration of this is not sordid, not gratuitous and not overtly sexual and yet the impact of the young Private upon Owen is profound and also moving. It is a brave subject to tackle, but again, done with sensitivity and adds a beautifully poignant edge to the novel.
Now you are probably wondering where all this fits in with a Crime Festival, because up to now it sounds like more of a domestic drama, of two people being forced apart by war. Maybe you are thinking that this is just a story about how they 'find each other again'. I suppose, to some extent it is. But it is more than that. Running throughout this love triangle of sorts there is a building tension. A sense that something is about to happen, something which Sîan is at the centre of. And there is a steady devolution of the relationship firstly between Sîan and Helen and then between Helen and Owen which marks the steady journey towards a progressively tense ending.
The book is divided into two parts. Part one covers the period during which Helen meets Sîan and Owen is serving in Afghanistan. Part two takes place after Owen returns, injured by an IED whilst out on patrol. The events of that day change things forever in Owen and Helen's lives, but also act as a catalyst for what is to come. Littered throughout the book, which is told from both Helen and Owen's points of view, with an occasional interlude from Helen's mother and her work colleague, are newspaper clippings and investigative reports into the events surrounding Helen's father's death. Far from being over, it is the simple act of violence at the start of the book which is to inform most of the action in the second half. We come to learn more about what really happened on that day and Helen comes to an uncomfortable realisation about all of the people in her life that she had once wholly trusted.
This is not a fast paced novel. You aren't going to get any high voltage action scenes from the war and the only real moment of absolute peril comes towards the end, but you don't always need it. Having read a number of books which were hot on serious tension, unexpected twists or using outright shocks to thrill or engage the reader, this was a very welcome change of pace. I don't always need to be surprised. Sometimes I just want to read a great story. The Black Path gave me that. Beautifully written, capturing the essence of the seedier side of small town life and with a slow building tension and sense of foreboding, I had a kind of smug feeling, knowing where this was going to lead, and yet I was still a little foxed by the ending.
I loved it. Although... I'm not sure that with his descriptions of the town, Mr Burston has done much for the tourist industry in Bridgend. In the towns defence, I spent an enjoyable night out with the lads from the local depot a couple of years ago, although by ten o'clock every person in every pub did seem to be singing Delilah. I can't for the life of me think why... ;)
A poignant, moving and tension building 5 stars from me.
To me The Black Path was an intriguing and often moving read. Telling the story of Helen McGrath, an Army wife, struggling to find a life of her own to occupy her time while her husband Owen is on a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Helen has an amazingly sad back story, the novel opening with a news story detailing the murder of her father on a dark and dangerous footpath in her home town of Bridgend, know locally as 'the black path'. Renowned as bring the hangout of drug users, gangs and all manner of bad people, Helen has always been scared of the path, trusting her parents warnings not to go there. Her father's murder only cements this angst.
Helen is an interesting character. Somewhat of a loner and incredibly naive, she spends her Sunday's visiting her mother, a woman with whom she has a strained relationship. She is kind of meek, lacking the fortitude to stand up for herself and altogether too trusting. When she is befriended by Sîan, a woman who saves her from an unprovoked attack on a rare night out in town, you know that things are not going to end well. If Helen is meek, Sîan is the polar opposite. Strong, domineering and altogether too familiar, she pushes her way into Helen's life in a way that would have most people telling her to do one. In that sense, Helen frustrated me. Why would anyone let someone else take over like that? Trust a complete stranger and never once question her motives. And yet when Owen is injured, Sîan is like a rock. But is she too good to be true?
The novel explores an interesting topic - that of the incredible and indelible bond which grows between men serving together in the Army. Helen's husband, Owen, is depicted as a man who is torn by his sense of duty and the horror of having killed a young boy on his previous tour. Like so many soldiers, this is something he cannot share with his wife, putting a small wall up between what had previously been an open marriage. I have no experience of this myself, but I know people who have been in the army, have spoken with them about the sense of family that grows there and never leaves, no mater how long ago you have left. The shared sense of loss when a fellow soldier is killed. The quiet understanding of the mental cost of taking another life. It is hard to express but I think captured so beautifully and sympathetically in this book. No, the book doesn't go into graphic detail. It doesn't need to. Sometimes the simplest words, thoughts and feelings are enough to demonstrate the doubts, the anger, the self loathing than can exist, even when fulfilling a sense of duty.
There is another angle to the story set in Afghanistan too. It is one that perhaps isn't overly common, one that perhaps isn't talked about, but which may in truth happen more than people willingly admit. The issue of homosexuals in the Army is one which is often talked about still, depressing as that idea is. Whilst it is no longer banned, it is still not wholly accepted in all quarters. But this book goes a step beyond just having a token gay soldier, or many joke based references to soldiers being 'gay' because of some vague reason or another. This explores the relationship between Owen and Collins, one of the Privates stationed at Camp Bastion with Owen. Collins is gay, Owen is not, and yet the chemistry between them, whether caused by the strained conditions of war, or some other aspect of Owen's character which he has never admitted to, is obvious from the start. The exploration of this is not sordid, not gratuitous and not overtly sexual and yet the impact of the young Private upon Owen is profound and also moving. It is a brave subject to tackle, but again, done with sensitivity and adds a beautifully poignant edge to the novel.
Now you are probably wondering where all this fits in with a Crime Festival, because up to now it sounds like more of a domestic drama, of two people being forced apart by war. Maybe you are thinking that this is just a story about how they 'find each other again'. I suppose, to some extent it is. But it is more than that. Running throughout this love triangle of sorts there is a building tension. A sense that something is about to happen, something which Sîan is at the centre of. And there is a steady devolution of the relationship firstly between Sîan and Helen and then between Helen and Owen which marks the steady journey towards a progressively tense ending.
The book is divided into two parts. Part one covers the period during which Helen meets Sîan and Owen is serving in Afghanistan. Part two takes place after Owen returns, injured by an IED whilst out on patrol. The events of that day change things forever in Owen and Helen's lives, but also act as a catalyst for what is to come. Littered throughout the book, which is told from both Helen and Owen's points of view, with an occasional interlude from Helen's mother and her work colleague, are newspaper clippings and investigative reports into the events surrounding Helen's father's death. Far from being over, it is the simple act of violence at the start of the book which is to inform most of the action in the second half. We come to learn more about what really happened on that day and Helen comes to an uncomfortable realisation about all of the people in her life that she had once wholly trusted.
This is not a fast paced novel. You aren't going to get any high voltage action scenes from the war and the only real moment of absolute peril comes towards the end, but you don't always need it. Having read a number of books which were hot on serious tension, unexpected twists or using outright shocks to thrill or engage the reader, this was a very welcome change of pace. I don't always need to be surprised. Sometimes I just want to read a great story. The Black Path gave me that. Beautifully written, capturing the essence of the seedier side of small town life and with a slow building tension and sense of foreboding, I had a kind of smug feeling, knowing where this was going to lead, and yet I was still a little foxed by the ending.
I loved it. Although... I'm not sure that with his descriptions of the town, Mr Burston has done much for the tourist industry in Bridgend. In the towns defence, I spent an enjoyable night out with the lads from the local depot a couple of years ago, although by ten o'clock every person in every pub did seem to be singing Delilah. I can't for the life of me think why... ;)
A poignant, moving and tension building 5 stars from me.
February 10, 2017
Just finished reading 'The Black Path' by Paul Burston. It's a cracking page-turner of a psychological thriller which I read in two sittings. Helen's heroes are her deceased father and her soldier husband who is in active service in Iraq. But how well does she really know either of them? And how far will she go to face the truth about them or, indeed, herself? The plot twists and turns like the path in the title, the path which Helen has been afraid of all her life. But why is she so afraid of it?
The pace and suspense increase as the intrigue unfolds. The characters are authentic and believable and arouse a whole spectrum of emotions. The icing on the cake is the unpredictable yet totally satisfying ending.
I particularly loved the sensitive treatment of the theme of homosexuality in the army, and in particular the understated encounter between two male soldiers. That was a real 'tour de force.'
If you like a good psychological thriller you'll love this novel. Heartily recommended.
The pace and suspense increase as the intrigue unfolds. The characters are authentic and believable and arouse a whole spectrum of emotions. The icing on the cake is the unpredictable yet totally satisfying ending.
I particularly loved the sensitive treatment of the theme of homosexuality in the army, and in particular the understated encounter between two male soldiers. That was a real 'tour de force.'
If you like a good psychological thriller you'll love this novel. Heartily recommended.
Read
July 1, 2022Brilliant read
In live in bridgend, and I know the black path well. It brought back some amazing memories and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Awesome start to finish, great read. Totally enjoyed it. X
In live in bridgend, and I know the black path well. It brought back some amazing memories and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Awesome start to finish, great read. Totally enjoyed it. X
Read
March 4, 2017Not just a psychological thriller, it is about so much more; Army life in Afghanistan with homophobic attitudes, the wives left waiting for their husbands to return and if the do, will he be the same man?
Brilliantly executed with fantastic characters, highly recommended.
Brilliantly executed with fantastic characters, highly recommended.
July 13, 2017
I enjoyed it, different kind of storyline which makes a change, the ending was a bit lacklustre though, would still say read though.
September 14, 2016
Traditionally domestic suspense novels - a genre made popular in the postwar middle-class suburbia of the USA - involve a misunderstood female victim manipulated by someone who wishes them harm. Here Burston has had the smart idea of updating the genre to a feral underclass in South Wales, as Helen, an army wife separated from her husband, who is on a tour of duty, is victimised for reasons withheld from us.
Usually in these stories the movements of the heroine are curtailed in some way, but not so here. Helen is free to come and go as she pleases, but her own victimhood keeps her in check. Consequently the entire milieu seems to work against her as she goes from pub to club, relatives and workmates, all equally threatening. While some characters sail a little close to caricature, Burston keeps the tone bleak and off-kilter, meaning that no-one can be trusted. This is a grim world I've not seen used in a suspense novel, and the match pretty near perfect.
Usually in these stories the movements of the heroine are curtailed in some way, but not so here. Helen is free to come and go as she pleases, but her own victimhood keeps her in check. Consequently the entire milieu seems to work against her as she goes from pub to club, relatives and workmates, all equally threatening. While some characters sail a little close to caricature, Burston keeps the tone bleak and off-kilter, meaning that no-one can be trusted. This is a grim world I've not seen used in a suspense novel, and the match pretty near perfect.
October 24, 2016
Set around Bridgend in South Wales Burston's novel tracks the period of a young married couple's lives as Owen is away on a tour of duty with the army in Afghanistan. His wife Helen is opportunistically befriended by a stranger just as she hears that Owen is severely injured after a bombing.
Though this is a psychological thriller it is about so much more; Army life in Afghanistan with homophobic attitudes, and the social problems of life in a declining South Wales town.
As well as being able to develop his characters and inform readers as to the settings he uses, Burston succeeds in creating tension as the novel approaches an exciting climax. This is far from a usual dose of 'psychological thriller' that we have seen so much of in the last couple of years, and that much better for it.
Though this is a psychological thriller it is about so much more; Army life in Afghanistan with homophobic attitudes, and the social problems of life in a declining South Wales town.
As well as being able to develop his characters and inform readers as to the settings he uses, Burston succeeds in creating tension as the novel approaches an exciting climax. This is far from a usual dose of 'psychological thriller' that we have seen so much of in the last couple of years, and that much better for it.
July 14, 2017
This was recommended to me and I wasn't 100% sure it would be my type of read how wrong was I !!
This gripped me from start to finish what a storyline magnificent characters brilliant edge of seat stuff loved this immensely one of the best books I've read this year (2017) and I've read a few good ones which is great praise to the author my 5 star rating was easily merited
This gripped me from start to finish what a storyline magnificent characters brilliant edge of seat stuff loved this immensely one of the best books I've read this year (2017) and I've read a few good ones which is great praise to the author my 5 star rating was easily merited
October 16, 2016
A very polished thriller with convincing characters and expert plotting
November 24, 2016
Yes, I read a whole book with no pictures! If you like a thrilling thriller kind of thing with lots of twisty turny moments then it's for you.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews