Freight

 

Freight by Ryan Lowell
8/11/26; 224 pages
Little, Brown and Company 

Freight by Ryan Lowell is a recommended atmospheric noir following employees of a New England trucking company and others who know them.

The narrative opens with Billy Trasker picking up two buckets of illegal pills from his dying/dead Uncle Bernier after killing a good Samaritan who stopped to help.  Following this we are introduced to the cast of characters. Curtis is a dispatcher working the third shift. His wife Rachel is pregnant. Billy is his uncle and he agrees to assist him in stealing a truck load of pharmaceuticals from Canada. Theo has Sarah riding with him which is against the rules. Jimmy is assisting Billy. Phil begs Curtis for more hours and is sent on a 1,800-mile haul. Stephanie is looking for Sarah after she missed her shift.

After the opening, the first half (or more) of the plot is very slow moving as it introduces the various characters and provides insight into their lives. While these characters are slowly developed as very flawed individuals, they also all resembled each other in many ways. They are all unlikable. It did take a moment for me to initially keep track of all the characters as distinct individuals. I'll also have to admit their actions and vocabulary throughout the novel did alienate me as a reader.  

Once all the characters are sorted out, the dark and gritty plot settles down to following their everyday lives. The narrative didn't seem sharply focused throughout the novel. The plot to steal the trailer Theo is driving is there, but, alternately there is the story line following Phil on his long haul. Much of Theo's tale is his increasing annoyance with Sarah and regret in bringing her along. Basically, we get to know the daily lives of these incredibly damaged individuals in their ill-fated daily lives. In the final chapters the action does pick up. 

Freight would be a good choice for those who enjoy dark, gritty noir filled with very flawed characters and don't mind a lot of expletives. Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.