Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Freight: A Novel by Ryan Lowell

  

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.