The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
Ruben Ford, 14, feels things. When his sister is murdered on the English moors, he knows she's dead even though he's home in London. He and his brother, Cole, 17, are freakishly linked by Ruben's power to feel what Cole feels. The teens travel to Dartmoor to find Rachel's killer and bring her body home. They're received by a Dickensian assortment of sadistic thugs, greasy criminals, and corrupt cops, all hiding something. Brooks's feel for mood and setting is as masterful here as in his taut, noir Martyn Pig (Scholastic, 2002).
Extract:
I knew the Dead Man had killed Rachel.
I didn't know who he was, or why he'd done it. But I knew he was dead.
I didn't know why he was dead.
And I didn't know what it meant.
I hadn’t told any of this to Cole or Mum yet, and I didn't know when - or if - I was going to.
I didn't know what that meant, either.
But the biggest thing I didn't know was how I felt about Rachel. After that night in the back of the Mercedes, when all I'd felt was blackness and nothing, my head and heart had been invaded with all the feelings in the world, some of which I'd never felt before. I was sick and empty and full of lies. I wanted to hate someone, but I didn't know who. I was nowhere and everywhere. I was lost.
When we got home, Cole went straight up to his room without saying a word. I followed Mum into the kitchen and made us some tea, then we sat down together at the table and listened to the muffled sounds coming from Cole’s room. Measured footsteps, drawers opening, drawers closing ...
”He’s going to Dartmoor, isn’t he?” I said to Mum.
”Probably.”
”Do you think that’s a good idea?”
’I don’t know, love. I’m not sure it matters what I think. You know what he’s like when he sets his mind on something.’
’What do you think he’s planning to do?’
’Find out who did it, I expect.’ She looked at me. ‘He wants to find out who killed Rachel so we can bring her back home.’
’Are you sure that’s all he wants’
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