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The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks

Summary

Ruben Ford, fourteen, and his seventeen-year-old brother, Cole, are two half-gypsy brothers living in a London breaker’s yard. Their father is in prison for murder; the body of their sister, Rachel, has been found raped and strangled on a remote moor in Devon. Determined to solve the mysterious circumstances of Rachel’s death so that the authorities will release Rachel’s body and allow their grieving mother to bury her, Ruben and Cole travel to the scene of the crime. The town of Lychcombe harbors an unsavory cast of characters with a lot to lose should the truth behind Rachel’s murder be exposed. They uncover a village full of secrets and some keys to their own past, but not before traveling along the gritty and dangerous "Road of the Dead." Ruben finds the truth behind Rachel’s murder, but not without unearthing truths about his family and himself along the way.

Booktalk

Fourteen-year-old Ruben Ford feels things. There are the things everyone knows: Ruben is a half-gypsy with a convict father. And then there are the things only Ruben knows: His sister, Rachel, is dead. The man who killed her is also dead. Ruben must follow his determined older brother back to the scene of the crime. Cole is hell-bent on uncovering the mysterious circumstances of Rachel’s death so that her body can be laid to rest.

It is life or death for Ruben, who must confront the Dead Man and his own family history. Ruben’s perceptions can only help him so far as he follows his brother on their dangerous quest over desolate moors for the cold truth. To find that truth, they will walk the Road of the Dead.

339 pages; ages 14 and up

Discussion questions

Warning! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. Do you think Ruben’s extrasensory abilities are believable? How would the story be different if he did not have this gift?
  2. Discuss the relationship between the two brothers. How important do you think it ultimately is to the story Ruben tells?
  3. The Roma, or “gypsies” as they are called in the book, have a long history as a minority living with discrimination and persecution on the fringes of society. Discuss what you know about Roma culture. How important are the roles of Reason and Jess Delaney to the book?
  4. Why is Ruben’s father in prison? How is Cole involved?
  5. Discuss the choices Vince and Abbie Gorman make. Do you believe they share responsibility for Rachel’s death, or do you feel they are ultimately innocent?
  6. Discuss the motif of the Lychway.
  7. What do you think happened between Quentin and Cole? Speculate. Why do you think the reader is not told how Cole finds Selden’s body?
  8. Violent and brutal scenes are featured throughout this book. Is there meaning to any of the suffering portrayed in the book? Is violence ever justified? As Ruben asks, “Did any of it matter?”

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