I was lucky enough to beta read this for C.B. and it was truly an exhilarating experience. Every chapter comes with a pressing question built in: what is the next rule of the road going to be? It demands you read on, and resulted in me blazing through this in two days.

Part novel, part short story collection, The Rules of the Road features a diverse cast of characters who find themselves in varying degrees of peril. Jones does a fantastic job of getting you invested in each one despite you not getting 300 pages with them. The fact that you care about these weary travelers makes the tension that much higher!

It would be easy for a book like this to feel repetitive, but C.B. builds the stakes so masterfully that I never once had time to rest. There's no point in wondering where he's going to take the story next; he pulls you along like a trusty tow truck.

The mark of a truly great book is if it stays with you after completion. Well, it's been a couple months now, and I can say with certainty that every time I see a lost shoe on the side of the freeway, I think of The Rules of the Road.