Angel's Rest

by Charles Davis

Growing up in Virginia's Allegheny Mountains, eleven-year-oldCharlie York lives at the foot of an endless peak called Angel's Rest,a place his momma told him angels rested before coming downto help folks. In 1967 his town was a poor boy's paradise…untila shotgun blast killed Charlie's father and put his mother on trialfor murder.

For mysterious reasons, his mother entrusts his care to an oldblack man named Lacy Albert Coe. Lacy tells simple stories aboutthe good and the bad that compose life's sweetest music. But whena reclusive Korean War veteran is linked to his father's death andLacy is victimized by hate crimes, Charlie hears only silence. It'snot until Charlie embarks on a dangerous midnight journey pittinghim against his darkest fears that he finally hears his own songplaying out.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Southern, Historical, Tragedy

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Charles Davis is a former federal law enforcement officer and U.S. Army soldier. In 1999 he moved from the coast of Maine to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, rented a beach house, got a part-time job as construction worker, and began writing his first novel. The author currently lives in New Hampshire with his wife, son and dog, where he's working on a second novel set in the hills and endless blue ridges of Virginia, the place he grew up and calls home.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent postal book club choice. This story of a young boy whose life is upended after his father is killed and his mother is put on trial for the murder. He winds up staying with an elderly black male named Lacy whom his mother trusts implicitly and begins to unravel exactly what happened the night his father was killed.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What seemed a slow start quickly accelerated into a book that I did not want to put down.
Angel's Rest is the name of a mountain where one of the characters lived mostly in solitude. He is only one of the inhabitants who was the fodder for the Southern town's gossip. So was Lacy, an aging black man who befriends the eleven-year-old boy voicing the story.
Charlie is left in Lacy's care when his mother is arrested for murdering his father. Many in the town don't think this is proper - it's a southern town in the 1960s.
Well plotted tale.

[Eliece · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story, and good writing. I enjoyed the author's way with words. As a southerner myself, having grown up in East Texas, I appreciated that he was able to write dialogue that truly reflected the time and place. I didn't feel like any of the characters were stereotypes. They felt very real.

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit slow going at first, but the author more than made up for that, with finely drawn characters and an interesting plot.

[S. Lynham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but sometimes it felt like there was just too much "filler"...parts of the story that meandered off to nowhere and just never really returned; portions of the story that were veiled until it really didn't matter anymore as you had already figured out what had really happened and the character was no longer important to the story line. Perhaps this was intended as the story was written from the point of view of an 11 year old boy but I have read other books with a young storyteller that didn't seem so jerky and/or unexplainable. At times, you feel like a waterbug, skittering over the best part of the story that, in places, seems deeply submerged. Perhaps I wanted more background on why this area seemed to be such a backwater when it came to race relations. Perhaps I needed a better sense of the years when the story happened or even how the major characters ended up linked to each other before the book was almost over. Given that this was a story of realisation, perhaps the author intended to make the nuts and bolts hazy and to make you wonder where this was all going.
I liked the actual "story" I was being told once I could see clearly (and this happened long before the storyteller realised the events) and it was obvious that the setting could have been anywhere as the race relations card was of no real importance whatsoever, it just contributed to the "filler".
This is a first novel which may explain some of the rough edges but I note he has written nothing else since this was published in 2006.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read. I liked the way Charles added lots of dimension to this book. We had the main story in the book which dealt with Charlie and his parents situation and then we had another deep issue of Lacy and the racial situation for Charlie and then we had Hollis which played a sinister role for Charlie. Charlie perfect little word was totally turned upside down for an eleven-year old for which he does not remember parts of which adds the drama- great story line. There were parts in the story that I was crying for Charlie, parts that had me cheering for him and later I was thinking "what in the world are you doing Charlie!" He sure did a lot of growing up and learned a lot about the world and himself and what he was capable (or anyone) is capable of doing. Not so sure about what they did to help Charlie was the best approach but they probably did the best they thought they could under their situation. Very touching read and a fast read

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

My latest audio book so this will take a while to listen to as I only listen on long car drives :)

I really liked this book - it's set in the mid-1960s in West Virginia and gives you a good idea of what it was like back then, living in a small rural town. There's a killing and a trail, but the narrator is 11 years old so you don't see the whole picture which really helps add to the suspense. This isn't a kids book even with the young protagonist. The reader did an excellent job with all the voices.

[Alfredo Jara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this book is a real good book. I recomend people to read this book. This book is about a kid who grew up in a very confused life after the death of his father. They put his mom on trial because they believe she killed him. But the truth is he was the one who killed his father but he doesn't remember because his dad hit him so hard in the head that caused him to forget about everything that day.

[John Agostino · Rating 5 out of 5]

This debut novel by Charles Davis caught me off guard at first. As an author, I found myself cringing at the misuse of grammar until I realized that Mr. Davis was utilizing the voice and dialect of the region of West Virginia where the story was set.

Once I relaxed and just went with the story flow, I really enjoyed this book. It even brought a tear to my eyes near the end for the unlikeliest of reasons. See if it happens to you!

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book about a little boy having to make sense of things going on around him while he has all the people he knows pulling at him from all sides. All of his friends have left him alone except for one very unlikely one.

[Cricket Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to place as a genre. Since the narrator is mainly eleven throughout the book, the simple way the story is related makes it seem more of a middle read or a YA, yet there is a deeper underlying story underneath Charlie’s perception of the events happening that assures its place as an adult read. I would recommend the book for 13 through adult.
Davis captures well the voice and raw emotions of a young boy, caught up in events bigger than he can understand. It’s a riveting mystery throughout the story of what happened the night Charlie’s father was shot and killed. The ending is worth the wait. Due to some unanswered plot holes, such as where the money for Charlie’s care came from when Lacey watched over him and how Charlie and his family was able to live without any sort of suspicion are minor detractors. Overall, a riveting story of the truth gets buried in the name of love.

[Jan Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pick this book up at a thrift store so that I could release it for a Christmas in July release challenge in the crossing. But something called me to read it and I am so glad that I did. Charlie grows up in a little town in Virginia and his father is accidentally shot. His mother is arrested for the murder of his father. The story intertwines some unlikely characters into Charlie’s life. I was hooked from the time I started. I am going to look to see if there’s any more books by Charles Davis.

[Dianna Applebaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

A slow and gentle read, but it wandered off the path so much, by the time it looped back, the reader figured out what was going on anyway. The twist at the end fell short because of the length of the book and then the happy epilogue sewed things up a bit too neatly.
This novel skims over topics of racism, love, loss, grief and faith, mostly from the perspective of an 11 year old boy, but it all seemed very one dimensional. The characters are interesting albeit a bit flat and it just dragged on too long with repetitiveness.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in the voice of a young boy from Virginia, using all the poor grammar you might expect, but no bad language. Usually it's hard for me to digest that kind of writing, but knowing it was a little boy talking, it was ok.
The story was somewhat of a stretch from my reality. The way different people express love was well illustrated in the story.
I would recommend this book, maybe for young adults.

[Lina Olivia Bass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book. I was skeptical when I found it at the book store but something told me to get it and I am so glad that I did. I loved everything about this story, especially all of the characters. This book was written so beautifully and I am so happy that it crossed my path.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, disappointed as I have been wanting to read this for a long time. The story dragged and did not capture my interest. I did not care for the writing style or the premises behind at about 100 pages in and I am giving it up

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one even though I figured out a major plot point very early on. Told from the perspective of the boy, he is so endearing. Recommended.

[Chris Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting point of view for a murder mystery (from a child). Too much time spent in some areas making it sometimes slow paced. A bit predictable by the time ‘all’ is revealed.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a great read...The writing was so easy to read. I read it in one sitting! I did figure one fact out early on and another before the ending but I thoroughly enjoyed it. almost a 4

[Marlis Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit slow at times, and felt that the end was a bit abrupt, but after reading the epilogue, I felt a sense of satisfaction and peace with how the story ended!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good solid story.

[DONNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Annette Thueson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly touching book. A very young biy's struggle to love and trust and ignore cruel racial injustice.

[Julie Kaidor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome tale of a tragedy.

[Margi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!!!

[Dana Dinowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read. Lacy was the whole book. What an amazing character written with such beauty and bravery. A very good book club book.

[DelorisWise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Julie Burenga · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story, great character development. I fell in love with young Charlie.

[Cristo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this up and put it down multiple times but just couldn't get into this book. Didn't find anything engaging about the story or the characters although it sounded interesting in the blurb.

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the 1st 5 chapters and could not get into the story. Just did not catch my attention. So, I skipped to chapter 20 and read the last few chapters.