Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In this fifth Bell Elkins novel (after Last Ragged Breath, 2015) from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Keller, two story lines one happening in the 1930s, one unfolding in the present day come together in a single gripping narrative. Bell, the prosecuting attorney in Acker's Gap, West Virginia, is asked by a law-school classmate to look into her father's death in a nearby Alzheimer's care facility. The classmate then dies in a car crash. Two women are murdered together in a tremendously moving passage. Bell's daughter, Carla, has made a sudden, unexplained return home. And Bell's relationship with Clay Mackling is in suspended animation. All of these events turn out to be interrelated, with resolution coming only after much reckoning, for all involved, with the collective trauma of their pasts. There is not much you can teach Bell about shock and terror and the wounds that never wash out. She grew up staring into the face of an evil that seemed to drench the world in endless darkness. Her incredible resilience has allowed her to move on, but she is beginning to realize that others, especially Carla, have not been so fortunate. That sense of endless darkness is matched by the relentlessly bleak and treacherous Appalachian winter and by the poverty and despair of the people trapped within it. The setting and the tone will appeal to fans of both Sharyn McCrumb and Julia Spencer-Fleming, and the introspective protagonist and literary quality recommend it to followers of Tana French and Louise Penny. Another outstanding entry in a superb series.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of Keller's lukewarm fifth Bell Elkins novel (after 2015's Last Ragged Breath), the West Virginia prosecutor gets a glimpse of the road not taken when she meets law school classmate Darlene Strayer for a drink in a rundown bar. Though the women grew up in similar circumstances, Bell, "who had seemed destined for a glittering career in a big city," has ended up in an obscure small town, and misfit Darlene went on to become a celebrated federal prosecutor. But now Darlene needs Bell's help. Darlene's father, Harmon, died the week before, but despite his advanced years, she feels guilt about his passing. In recent months, Harmon was bothered about something he wouldn't disclose, and his daughter believes it was connected with his death. Darlene's fears seem more credible to Bell when Darlene ends up the victim of a car crash. Keller writes well, but a soap opera of a subplot involving Bell's daughter, who has returned home with a secret, distracts from the main narrative. Author tour. Agent: Lisa Gallagher, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
As a record-breaking snowstorm wreaks havoc on the remote town of Acker's Gap, WV, Bell Elkins (Last Ragged Breath) anxiously awaits the arrival of her 21-year-old daughter, Carla, who insists on driving treacherous roads to get home. On the professional side of her life, the prosecuting attorney is investigating the deaths of several residents in an Alzheimer's care facility after a former law school classmate asks her to check out the circumstances of her father's demise. Keller deftly knits together these suspenseful stories that are tied to the nature of memory and how it affects the past and the present. Keller has roots in West Virginia and excels in creating a vast yet intimate sense of place. Welcoming readers into this region inhabited by warmhearted people and where history runs deep is skillfully contrasted with severe economic problems and the crimes that can result. Verdict Fans of Linda Castillo's Sworn to Silence, where another simple lifestyle abuts serious crime, will embrace this work. [See Prepub Alert, 2/29/16.]-Gloria Drake, Oswego P.L. Dist., IL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
