A thousand steps by T. Jefferson Parker

Name of Book: A Thousand Steps

Author: T. Jefferson Parker

ISBN:9781250793539)

Publisher: Forge Books

Type of book: summer of 1968, LSD, drugs, hippies, California, Laguna Beach, cops, mystery, parties, death survival, relationships, war, missing person, work, guns, rescue, teenagers, 

Year it was published: 2022

Summary:

A Thousand Steps is a gripping thriller, an incisive coming-of-age story, and a vivid portrait of turbulent time and place by three-time Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker.

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.

Characters:

Main characters include Matt, a sixteen year old boy who only tries to survive the years. He is resourceful, lucky and brave. At the same time there is a passiveness about him where it seems as if he isn't trying to fight the circumstances. He doesn't seem to try to understand humanity, although he is an artist, and he lets things pass him by. There are other characters, namely his father who takes charge and rescues Matt's family. He is also a former cop. Matt's mother came from farm and is pretty heavy into drug use. Matt's sister is also talented and resourceful as well as open. The other characters include Matt's longtime crush and a wealthy girl who is a recent crush. 

Theme:

Life is in shades of gray 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Matt's point of view. I haven't been to California, but I did sense that a lot of research went into creating Laguna Beach of 1968, especially how hippy and drug culture operated. The hippies and cops were painted in shades of gray with complex motivations for their actions; but the character of Matt for me was flat and not interesting, although he should have been interesting. Matt is frustratingly passive, literally trying to be active and in charge, but failing all the same. The opening line of the novel is pretty confusing for me by the way. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

T. Jefferson Parker is the bestselling author of 26 crime novels, including Edgar Award-winners SILENT JOE and CALIFORNIA GIRL. Parker's next work is coming-of-age thriller, A THOUSAND STEPS, set for January of 2022. He lives with his family in a small town in north San Diego County, and enjoys fishing, hiking and beachcombing. 

Opinion:

This book has a lot of markings for what I might like: history, a thrilling mystery, a plucky and tenacious young man who wants to be a hero as well as hippies and cops that are painted in gray. Yet it disappointed badly. I felt myself distanced from the setting, the characters and the time. I didn't feel comfortable with the drug use and aspect, although the main character, Matt, wasn't a user, but still, way too much drug use. I also didn't really appreciate what seems to be all the characters telling Matt not to worry, that his sister will come home safely. The women seemed to be painted more as adornments rather than full fleshed characters. Matt's mother, a drug user, is painted as a drug user rather than someone who is three dimensional and suffering from a lot of issues. Also, it seems, women need to be rescued by men. ( prime examples Matt's mother and sister...) 

This was given for review 

2 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)