Cannery Road — Kay Chandler

With so much trauma in her past, a young widow with a teen-age son clings to the belief that things can only get better. She's wrong. When the grandfather with whom they live brings a conniving, selfish woman into the house, they are evicted from the only real home they've ever known. Driving down an unfamiliar road at night, on the way to seek a new life, a deer darts in front of the car, causing her to wreck. She watches helplessly as the automobile goes up in flames. A gruesome-looking character shows up out of nowhere and takes them to his cabin in the woods. Finding a way of escape from the wiles of this horrid man, becomes an obsession. But with no car, no money, and a badly sprained ankle her chance of getting away look grim. Why do bad things happen to good people?