Ryan Lowell
worked in the trucking industry for more than 10 years and he turned to his
knowledge of the work and the people for the context of his debut novel. Freight
(Little, Brown, August 2026) is a dynamic piece of noir, set in an anonymous
Maine long distance trucking company and told from the perspective of multiple
employees. Lowell doesn’t believe in back story, the reader is plunged headlong
into the life of Billy Trask, an amoral piece of work always on the make. He
complains early that the lady who’d cut his hair for 16 years had selfishly
died and left him to the mercies of someone he doesn’t like. Trask has decided
moving illicit drugs by the box isn’t generating income fast enough and plans
to steal a truck full of pills from a Canadian pharmaceutical company. He enlists
the assistance of another truck driver named Jimmy, who simply follows Trask
without questioning.
Curtis, the
night shift dispatcher, is juggling his job responsibilities just barely well
enough to keep his paycheck. Curtis wants to be a writer and tries to crank out
a few pages at night when things are quiet but they rarely are. Phil is broke
and bitter after a divorce and is driving to stay busy. Theo is having an
affair and hopes his wife Lauren doesn’t find out. He takes Sarah along with
him on his trip, against company policy, and he hopes the company doesn’t find
out. Sarah is her own kind of crazy which is well concealed until she’s backed
into a corner. People underestimate Sarah at their peril. Sarah does not tell
anyone she will be away for a few days when she leaves with Theo, and her
family and coworkers search for her frantically, believing she is in danger.
The quick
changes of speakers and perspectives give the overall narrative a scattered
feeling. They also offer fascinating insight into the logistics that move our
consumables from factory to distributor. With a riveting theft that seems all
too realistic, this original debut is a thought-provoking read.
·
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
·
Publication date: August 11, 2026
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 224 pages
·
ISBN-10: 0316596515
·
ISBN-13: 978-0316596510
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4hW0gyw
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
















