Road trip!

Twenty years ago, Grandpa grabbed the kids for a road trip, thinking he would give them some time away from their feuding parents. Happily, the Morgan kids piled into the minivan, with Grandpa at the wheel, and they motored away from Alabama, destination California. They were excited. Two weeks with Grandpa, a great guy. Well, he was for a few days. Then he started displaying some troubling moods. But they were with Grandpa; it would be okay. He had planned all sorts of kitschy stops, like the Bonnie & Clyde museum, Helen Keller’s birthplace, the Gunfighters Wax Museum, Three Corners, and on and on. And on. Frankly, some of the places they visited seemed kind of creepy.

At the end of a long day in the car, they would stop at a seedy motel, rent one room and spend family time together. Every single night. After spending every single day together in the car. And then Grandpa wasn’t such a great guy anymore.

"From chapter to chapter, the foreshadowing in Samantha Downing’s HE STARTED IT heaps on relentless suspense. The surprises come one after another after another, building mystery upon mystery, right up to the end..."

So if they thought that first road trip turned into something of a nightmare, why are they repeating it now, 20 years later? Because of Grandpa. He’s making them do it all over again, but this time he’s riding along in a box. In his will, he stipulated that the Morgan siblings must make the exact same trip, or they won’t inherit his fortune. They all need the money, so despite a deep chasm between them, Eddie, Beth and Portia stuff themselves into a rented car and embark on the same, dreadful journey, dragging along two of their spouses. No one believes it’s going to be fun, and it turns out they’re right. Eddie drives, Portia mostly sleeps in the back or fiddles with her phone, and Beth, the middle child, narrates for us.

Even Beth herself will tell you that she can’t be trusted. She is a wholly unreliable narrator, some of which might be explained by the way the Morgan family grew up. Their favorite pastime was playing Risk, a strategy board game, but in their version each player had a secret mission. Winning often involved lying, so Eddie, Beth and Portia learned how to lie very well. And on this road trip, lying is a skill that will be used frequently and indiscriminately. It may mean that not all of them will end up inheriting Grandpa’s money --- or finishing the trip at all.

Everything for the next two weeks is supposed to be precisely as it was 20 years ago. Beth did her research to ensure that it can be done, right down to checking if the motels they stayed in back then are still open. They plan to follow Grandpa’s rules as closely as possible. No one wants to miss out on the fortune. So Eddie steers them down the same route, with Beth playing navigator. They stop at all the same tourist traps as the first time. And as happened then, they discover that someone is following them.

Along with Eddie, Beth and Portia, there was a fourth Morgan child on the first road trip, but she disappeared. Beth has been searching for her ever since and thinks she will reappear now. Around every corner, with every spooky thing that happens, Beth is certain that her missing sister is behind it, waiting to pounce.

From chapter to chapter, the foreshadowing in Samantha Downing’s HE STARTED IT heaps on relentless suspense. The surprises come one after another after another, building mystery upon mystery, right up to the end, which is…well, you decide.