On a perfect August morning in 1967, above a river just outside a small town in the north of Canada, a young man meets his death. And so begins the unravelling of his best friend Tom's already precarious family...Eighteen months on, and the town of Struan is in the grip of winter. Still reeling from his friend's death, Tom has dropped out and spends his days driving a snow plough. His mother has yet another new baby and is nesting upstairs, increasingly lost in her own world. His father, Edward, retreats to his study and his diaries, unable to cope with his growing, unruly family. There are so many brothers in the house that Tom has almost lost count, but Adam, who is only four, somehow can't be ignored...Their one sister - capable, dependable, formidable Megan - who used to run the show, has escaped to London and is finally living her own life. But then come disturbing letters from home...In this masterful, enthralling, and tender novel, which takes us from the silver rush in Northern Ontario in the early 1900s to London in the 60s, Mary Lawson gently reveals the intricacies and anguish of family life, the push and pull of responsibility and individual desire, the way we can face tragedy and, in time, hope to start again.

Tender and surprising... A vivid and evocative tale New York Times Subtle but gripping... Beautifully written, with the locations brilliantly evoked -- Francesca Cookney Sunday Mirror Road Ends is beautifully written, evocative and tender. It will haunt you long after you've finished it and leave you impatient for more -- Richenda Miers Country Life Austere, humane and accomplished, Road Ends depicts a wilderness of the heart through which some roads pass -- Richard Greene Literary Review Lawson grasps the anguished allure of family life played out against the vast, wintry backdrop of the Canadian landscape. Deftly she keeps our interest by dividing up the chapters between the characters to give shifting points of view on some universal themes -- Rosanna Greenstreet Richmond Magazine

Mary Lawson's first novel, Crow Lake, was admired by critics and adored by readers all over the world; translated into 23 languages and published in 25 countries, it was a New York Times bestseller and spent 75 weeks on the bestseller lists in her native Canada. She was born and brought up in a farming community in Ontario, a distant relative of L. M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables. Lawson came to England in 1968, is married with two grown-up sons and lives in Kingston-upon-Thames. Her acclaimed first novel was chosen by You magazine for its Reading Group and won the McKitterick Prize. Her second novel, The Other Side of the Bridge, was longlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize and selected for the Richard & Judy book club. www.marylawson.ca