The Golden Road: A Novel

De: Michael Wright

Narrado por: Rod Hackathorn

Number one Amazon New Release in "Mystery" after third week of being published.

The Golden Road cuts through 50 miles of Maine’s wilderness part asphalt, part dirt, all shadow. It’s the last man-made line before the forest takes everything back. Beyond it, maps blur, signals die, and people disappear.

Cal Thorne swore he’d never return. Twenty years ago, his brother vanished out here, another cold case written off as a hiker gone wrong. But when new signs surface, Cal shoulders his pack and steps off the road in search of answers.

What he finds is a world of vanished trail markers, stolen food caches, and nights haunted by whistles that feel too close. Starvation, predators, and something else, something that has been waiting in the pines.

Rustic, harrowing, and unforgettable, The Golden Road is a survival thriller where the wilderness itself feels alive and it never lets go.

©2025 Michael Lowell Wright (P)2025 Michael Lowell Wright

A harrowing journey through dark woods and creatures

I don't often suggest how listeners should consume material, but this story is best suited for dark rooms and headphones. While there are no environmental sounds, the impactful descriptions of the main character's perilous trek through dangerous places creates an eerie and tension-filled atmosphere if given the proper space. Cal seeks confirmation of his missing brother's whereabouts, and despite his experience and knowledge of travel and hunting, encounters mishap after mishap and numerous brushes with death. Only sheer determination and will can see him through to the next day, and the one after that. This is his story, struggling to survive, narrated steadily and clearly by Rod Hackathorn. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 2.0x.]