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Bell Elkins #1
A Killing in the Hills
In A Killing in the Hills, a powerful, intricate debut from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller, a mother and a daughter try to do right by a town and each other before it's too late.
What's happening in Acker's Gap, West Virginia? Three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner, and seemingly half the town is there to witness the act. Still, it happened so fast, and no one seems to have gotten a good look at the shooter. Was it random? Was it connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker's Gap? Or were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted somehow?
One of the witnesses to the brutal incident was Carla Elkins, teenaged daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job.
After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? But could Carla also end up doing more harm than good—in fact, putting her own life in danger?
What's happening in Acker's Gap, West Virginia? Three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner, and seemingly half the town is there to witness the act. Still, it happened so fast, and no one seems to have gotten a good look at the shooter. Was it random? Was it connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker's Gap? Or were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted somehow?
One of the witnesses to the brutal incident was Carla Elkins, teenaged daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job.
After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? But could Carla also end up doing more harm than good—in fact, putting her own life in danger?
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
417 people are currently reading
5544 people want to read
About the author
Julia Keller
29 books482 followersJulia was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. She graduated from Marshall University, then later earned a doctoral degree in English Literature at Ohio State University.
She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and has taught at Princeton and Ohio State Universities, and the University of Notre Dame. She is a guest essayist on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS and has been a contributor on CNN and NBC Nightly News. In 2005, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.
Julia lives in a high-rise in Chicago and a stone cottage on a lake in rural Ohio.
She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and has taught at Princeton and Ohio State Universities, and the University of Notre Dame. She is a guest essayist on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS and has been a contributor on CNN and NBC Nightly News. In 2005, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.
Julia lives in a high-rise in Chicago and a stone cottage on a lake in rural Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 832 reviews
December 4, 2013
A Pulitzer prize-winning journalist writes a first novel about a murder of three elderly men in the West Virginia hill country. The possibilities intrigued me from the first few pages, and I expected a well-written piece of work--no fluff, no sloppiness, clean editing, and mature, solid plot and theme structure. A good journalist is experienced in the weight of a word, the sharpness of a sentence. Unfortunately, this debut novel turned out to be derivative and prosaic, with minimal tension and a telegraphed plot. It should also be billed as a YA/crossover, due to the immoderately frisky voice, heavy-handed platitudes, and transparent story.
In a rural mountain coffee shop, the Salty Dawg, in the small town of Acker's Gap, a door opens, a man aims a gun, and three men are shot in cold blood. One of the witnesses is Carla, the sixteen-year-old troubled daughter of the Raythune county prosecutor, thirty-eight-year-old Belfa "Bell Elkins. She recognizes the killer from a party she was at once, but doesn't want to tell her mother because she is afraid she will be grounded "for life" if she admits to being at this party, which was actually some time ago.
Really? That's too much to swallow, considering the horror of seeing three people killed in front of you at such a tender age. Worried about being grounded if you help your mother catch the killer? She's already been in trouble in the past for those petty teenage crimes with pot and cigarettes. It isn't news to Bell that her daughter has experimented, and considering how intelligent Carla is made to be, how could she be this recklessly stupid? It doesn't add up, but it was a lazy contrivance for the plot and theme.
Bell and Nick Fogelsong, the sheriff, go way back to when Bell was traumatized by a violent crime that landed her sister Shirley in jail, when Shirley was sixteen and Bell just ten. Bell became a ward of the state and lived unhappily in a series of foster homes. Shirley remains in jail and refuses to see Bell. Nick is one of her closest confidants, the only one that knows most of the story (along with her ex). The facts bluntly unfold, and it feels like a rehash of older, done before stories. The earnestly quirky characters tend to feel borrowed from clichéd novels.
Belfa was ambitious, and married an equally ambitious young man, Sam; they were sweethearts since before law school. Sam is now a topflight lawyer for a lobbyist firm in D.C. They are divorced now, as Sam was a bit of an egotist and skirt chaser, but they remain in regular contact. Bell wants to be here in Acker's Gap where she grew up; she is determined to infiltrate the cabals of illegal prescription drug dealers that have invaded her county and hometown. She wants Carla to stay here, but Carla wants to live with her dad, out of guilt and a desire to escape from telling her mother the truth.
The other plot thread concerns an adult male, Albie Sheets, with the IQ of a small child that is accused of murdering his six-year-old friend, Tyler Bevins, a boy he plays with daily. Bell is the prosecuting attorney, and she has concerns about this man's ability to understand the crime, and to comprehend right from wrong. The answers to this crime were telegraphed too clumsily and visibly, and has remnants of older stories covered in numerous past novels.
The author evidently did not feel the need to have the pathologist determine the cause of death of this little boy. Either Acker's Gap or the author dropped the ball. Apparently, they look at a crime scene and decide cause of death on sight and sound? On witness testimony exclusively? This made no sense to me. It wasn't stated that the medical examiner didn't conduct an official autopsy, but he couldn't have, based on information that was revealed. The author jettisoned the law, creating an implausible narrative with unwieldy gaps.
Supposedly, Bell is an outstanding prosecuting attorney, but I only know that because the author declares but doesn't show us. I see little evidence of intrepid crime-solving and questioning of witnesses--the little I do see was stock-in-trade. Moreover, perhaps my expectations were too high, but I thought a Pulitzer winner was going to write a fresh, bold story. Instead, the graceless muddling left no room for tension, while melodrama, high emotions and boiler plate banality took its place. And as we near the denouement, the pace of the story is handicapped by the hamstrung events.
Keller has potential, I see it, and I keep rooting for it to unearth itself. She periodically dazzles the reader with gemlike prose, which supports the theme--where violence and beauty live in a fraught and fragile frisson, but it gets buried by a workmanlike narrative and plot.
"She loved these mountains, loved their raw beauty, but it was a wary, cautious love, the kind of love you might have for a large animal with a vicious streak. You could love it all you liked, but you couldn't ever turn your back on it. You had to respect the fact of its wildness. It was a wildness that would outlast your love."
Nice, but not enough.
I suspect that the author left the door open for future installments. Let's hope she saves the day in her sophomore effort.
I received this book from Net Galley in e-format in exchange for an honest review.
In a rural mountain coffee shop, the Salty Dawg, in the small town of Acker's Gap, a door opens, a man aims a gun, and three men are shot in cold blood. One of the witnesses is Carla, the sixteen-year-old troubled daughter of the Raythune county prosecutor, thirty-eight-year-old Belfa "Bell Elkins. She recognizes the killer from a party she was at once, but doesn't want to tell her mother because she is afraid she will be grounded "for life" if she admits to being at this party, which was actually some time ago.
Really? That's too much to swallow, considering the horror of seeing three people killed in front of you at such a tender age. Worried about being grounded if you help your mother catch the killer? She's already been in trouble in the past for those petty teenage crimes with pot and cigarettes. It isn't news to Bell that her daughter has experimented, and considering how intelligent Carla is made to be, how could she be this recklessly stupid? It doesn't add up, but it was a lazy contrivance for the plot and theme.
Bell and Nick Fogelsong, the sheriff, go way back to when Bell was traumatized by a violent crime that landed her sister Shirley in jail, when Shirley was sixteen and Bell just ten. Bell became a ward of the state and lived unhappily in a series of foster homes. Shirley remains in jail and refuses to see Bell. Nick is one of her closest confidants, the only one that knows most of the story (along with her ex). The facts bluntly unfold, and it feels like a rehash of older, done before stories. The earnestly quirky characters tend to feel borrowed from clichéd novels.
Belfa was ambitious, and married an equally ambitious young man, Sam; they were sweethearts since before law school. Sam is now a topflight lawyer for a lobbyist firm in D.C. They are divorced now, as Sam was a bit of an egotist and skirt chaser, but they remain in regular contact. Bell wants to be here in Acker's Gap where she grew up; she is determined to infiltrate the cabals of illegal prescription drug dealers that have invaded her county and hometown. She wants Carla to stay here, but Carla wants to live with her dad, out of guilt and a desire to escape from telling her mother the truth.
The other plot thread concerns an adult male, Albie Sheets, with the IQ of a small child that is accused of murdering his six-year-old friend, Tyler Bevins, a boy he plays with daily. Bell is the prosecuting attorney, and she has concerns about this man's ability to understand the crime, and to comprehend right from wrong. The answers to this crime were telegraphed too clumsily and visibly, and has remnants of older stories covered in numerous past novels.
The author evidently did not feel the need to have the pathologist determine the cause of death of this little boy. Either Acker's Gap or the author dropped the ball. Apparently, they look at a crime scene and decide cause of death on sight and sound? On witness testimony exclusively? This made no sense to me. It wasn't stated that the medical examiner didn't conduct an official autopsy, but he couldn't have, based on information that was revealed. The author jettisoned the law, creating an implausible narrative with unwieldy gaps.
Supposedly, Bell is an outstanding prosecuting attorney, but I only know that because the author declares but doesn't show us. I see little evidence of intrepid crime-solving and questioning of witnesses--the little I do see was stock-in-trade. Moreover, perhaps my expectations were too high, but I thought a Pulitzer winner was going to write a fresh, bold story. Instead, the graceless muddling left no room for tension, while melodrama, high emotions and boiler plate banality took its place. And as we near the denouement, the pace of the story is handicapped by the hamstrung events.
Keller has potential, I see it, and I keep rooting for it to unearth itself. She periodically dazzles the reader with gemlike prose, which supports the theme--where violence and beauty live in a fraught and fragile frisson, but it gets buried by a workmanlike narrative and plot.
"She loved these mountains, loved their raw beauty, but it was a wary, cautious love, the kind of love you might have for a large animal with a vicious streak. You could love it all you liked, but you couldn't ever turn your back on it. You had to respect the fact of its wildness. It was a wildness that would outlast your love."
Nice, but not enough.
I suspect that the author left the door open for future installments. Let's hope she saves the day in her sophomore effort.
I received this book from Net Galley in e-format in exchange for an honest review.
September 27, 2016
A Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller is a 2012 Minotaur publication.
This first book in the Bell Keller series gets off to a commanding start with a mass shooting, which takes place inside a local eatery.
Bell, the prosecuting attorney, and single mother, discovers her only child, Carla, was inside the café when the shooting broke out, which prompts a shift in their already tumultuous relationship.
While the manhunt begins for the shooter, Bell must also work a case that involves a mentally challenged man accused of murdering a young child.
This story manages to weave Bell’s disturbing past in Acker’s Gap into the present day challenges she faces, and introduces us to the cast of characters we will probably meet again in subsequent chapters, and still create a compelling crime drama.
The prose is lush and rich, which highly compliments the characterizations and the hauntingly sad story of Bell’s past, which reflects on her present day psyche in a number of ways.
I liked Bell, who is often torn between her work, her daughter, and living in a town that holds the key to all her tortured memories, but she is also an enigma, at times.
The author did a terrific job of describing the West Virginia landscape, and the troubled atmosphere of the community that seems to feel the oppression in the air that signals something sinister is on its way.
The conclusion is shocking and disturbing and probes a moral dilemma, we probably all feel some outrage over, but left me slightly bewildered by the extreme measures taken, no matter how desperate the situation.
However, this is a solid beginning for this series, and I look forward to seeing how it progresses from here.
3.5 stars
This first book in the Bell Keller series gets off to a commanding start with a mass shooting, which takes place inside a local eatery.
Bell, the prosecuting attorney, and single mother, discovers her only child, Carla, was inside the café when the shooting broke out, which prompts a shift in their already tumultuous relationship.
While the manhunt begins for the shooter, Bell must also work a case that involves a mentally challenged man accused of murdering a young child.
This story manages to weave Bell’s disturbing past in Acker’s Gap into the present day challenges she faces, and introduces us to the cast of characters we will probably meet again in subsequent chapters, and still create a compelling crime drama.
The prose is lush and rich, which highly compliments the characterizations and the hauntingly sad story of Bell’s past, which reflects on her present day psyche in a number of ways.
I liked Bell, who is often torn between her work, her daughter, and living in a town that holds the key to all her tortured memories, but she is also an enigma, at times.
The author did a terrific job of describing the West Virginia landscape, and the troubled atmosphere of the community that seems to feel the oppression in the air that signals something sinister is on its way.
The conclusion is shocking and disturbing and probes a moral dilemma, we probably all feel some outrage over, but left me slightly bewildered by the extreme measures taken, no matter how desperate the situation.
However, this is a solid beginning for this series, and I look forward to seeing how it progresses from here.
3.5 stars
August 20, 2012
My sincere thanks to Alison Fisher, Library Marketing Coordinator, Adult Trade of Macmillan for getting the e-galley to me at my request. A Killing in the Hills will be published August 21st.
The highest compliment I can give Julia Keller's debut novel is that I'd like to read another featuring prosecutor, Belfa Elkins; Bell for short. I'm not a fan of series fiction as a whole, but I say, bring on the next one!
The story starts out with a bang, literally. "Pock, Pock Pock." The gunman enters The Salty Dawg, a chain hamburg restaurant and 3 old men are dead. Angry teen, Carla Elkins is witness to the demise of the men, whom seconds earlier, Carla describes as losers, old farts,geezers with greenish yellow-brown teeth, the color of old lettuce.
This is just one of the cases to be solved in these West Virginia hills. The other case Bell's working on is whether to indict 28 year old Albie Sheets, a mentally deficient man for the murder of six year old, Tyler Bevins. Found strangled with a length of garden hose, Tyler and Sheets were friends and had been playing in the Bevin basement. Something had gone terribly wrong.
Acker's Gap. Keller paints a descriptive and flavorful picture of this small town. Though small, it's not exempt from big city problems; pills, drugs, dealers, all these corrupting Acker's youth. Bell's daughter, Carla is in the thick of it all. Bell, a single mother, teeters on the brink as she tries to balance job and motherhood. The mother/daughter conflict rings true.
This is not to mention Bell's ex, or the demons she is dealing with from her past. Bell is a a tough protagonist, one who seldom shows her softer side. She's smart, speaks with an edgy tongue and I just plain liked her. Keller writes lifelike scenes with clarity.
Reviews for Keller's debut have been all over the place. It seems to be one of these love it or not reads. I've never read Keller's Chicago Tribune pieces and didn't realize she was a Pulitzer prize winner so perhaps this makes me less critical them some. A Killing in the Hills has my vote.
The highest compliment I can give Julia Keller's debut novel is that I'd like to read another featuring prosecutor, Belfa Elkins; Bell for short. I'm not a fan of series fiction as a whole, but I say, bring on the next one!
The story starts out with a bang, literally. "Pock, Pock Pock." The gunman enters The Salty Dawg, a chain hamburg restaurant and 3 old men are dead. Angry teen, Carla Elkins is witness to the demise of the men, whom seconds earlier, Carla describes as losers, old farts,geezers with greenish yellow-brown teeth, the color of old lettuce.
This is just one of the cases to be solved in these West Virginia hills. The other case Bell's working on is whether to indict 28 year old Albie Sheets, a mentally deficient man for the murder of six year old, Tyler Bevins. Found strangled with a length of garden hose, Tyler and Sheets were friends and had been playing in the Bevin basement. Something had gone terribly wrong.
Acker's Gap. Keller paints a descriptive and flavorful picture of this small town. Though small, it's not exempt from big city problems; pills, drugs, dealers, all these corrupting Acker's youth. Bell's daughter, Carla is in the thick of it all. Bell, a single mother, teeters on the brink as she tries to balance job and motherhood. The mother/daughter conflict rings true.
This is not to mention Bell's ex, or the demons she is dealing with from her past. Bell is a a tough protagonist, one who seldom shows her softer side. She's smart, speaks with an edgy tongue and I just plain liked her. Keller writes lifelike scenes with clarity.
Reviews for Keller's debut have been all over the place. It seems to be one of these love it or not reads. I've never read Keller's Chicago Tribune pieces and didn't realize she was a Pulitzer prize winner so perhaps this makes me less critical them some. A Killing in the Hills has my vote.
February 5, 2013
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Book Description: In this powerful, intricate debut from a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller, a mother and a daughter try to do right by a town and each other before it's too late.
What's happening in Acker's Gap, West Virginia? Three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner, and seemingly half the town is there to witness the act. Still, it happened so fast, and no one seems to have gotten a good look at the shooter. Was it random? Was it connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker's Gap? Or were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted somehow?
One of the witnesses to the brutal incident was Carla Elkins, teenaged daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job.
After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? But could Carla also end up doing more harm than good—in fact, putting her own life in danger?
My Review: Very journalistic. Bell, the prosecutor heroine, has a difficult relationship with her teenaged only child. (Duh! That’s called “teenaged daughter syndrome,” and afflicts all parents for at least 4 to 5 child-rearing years.) She’s divorced. (Duh! This is called “the wages of sin,” aka marrying outside one’s species. Never a good idea. Seldom works for very long.) She’s poor. (Duh! She works for the gummint, and not only that, the gummint of one of the poorest states!)
Murder and mayhem and drug-dealing and small-town woes. Not bad, not particularly good, and if you want to read something excellent on the same themes, read Winter’s Bone. This? Well, if you want to. But borrow it, don’t buy it.
The Book Description: In this powerful, intricate debut from a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller, a mother and a daughter try to do right by a town and each other before it's too late.
What's happening in Acker's Gap, West Virginia? Three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner, and seemingly half the town is there to witness the act. Still, it happened so fast, and no one seems to have gotten a good look at the shooter. Was it random? Was it connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker's Gap? Or were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted somehow?
One of the witnesses to the brutal incident was Carla Elkins, teenaged daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job.
After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? But could Carla also end up doing more harm than good—in fact, putting her own life in danger?
My Review: Very journalistic. Bell, the prosecutor heroine, has a difficult relationship with her teenaged only child. (Duh! That’s called “teenaged daughter syndrome,” and afflicts all parents for at least 4 to 5 child-rearing years.) She’s divorced. (Duh! This is called “the wages of sin,” aka marrying outside one’s species. Never a good idea. Seldom works for very long.) She’s poor. (Duh! She works for the gummint, and not only that, the gummint of one of the poorest states!)
Murder and mayhem and drug-dealing and small-town woes. Not bad, not particularly good, and if you want to read something excellent on the same themes, read Winter’s Bone. This? Well, if you want to. But borrow it, don’t buy it.
July 25, 2017
Three stars because I liked the characters and the first two-thirds of the book very much. Not sure what happened after the story got established. When the plot resolutions were revealed, they were riddled with sloppy clichés, improbable police work mistakes, and a cheesy deathbed confession. Disappointing after such a good start.
I must be crazy, because I'd like to read another.
I must be crazy, because I'd like to read another.
August 14, 2023
This is one of those series that takes its strength from the setting, in this case, Appalachia. I read the first three books some years ago, and I will happily return to it some day. The protagonist is a single mother prosecuting attorney, Bell Elkins, relocated to her rural home town from D.C.
Bell is a great character, as she struggles with her personal life while trying to resolve crimes that are generally tied to the impoverished region in some way. I found the plotting in this first entry to be especially clever.
Bell is a great character, as she struggles with her personal life while trying to resolve crimes that are generally tied to the impoverished region in some way. I found the plotting in this first entry to be especially clever.
August 27, 2017
Here is a fresh female author with an original and engaging voice who has been writing for years. However this award winning journalist has left her successful newspaper career to forge a new identity as an author and return to teaching to pass on her craft.
I really enjoyed this debut novel, it is beautifully written, well paced and captures you from page one. A crime thriller that has a good plot but isn't stuck in the genre, you care about the people and believe the actions and outcomes. Here is a creative force with an eye for original characters in realistic situations; an ear for authentic dialogue and the genuine heart of a storyteller.
Hopefully this is the start of a series of books set in Acker's Gap, West Virginia, if such a thing were possible it will put this fictional place on the map.
I'm a convert already and unreservedly recommend this book to you. It is good to be in at the start and I look forward to following Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County in all her unfolding life. One of the best books I've read this year.
I really enjoyed this debut novel, it is beautifully written, well paced and captures you from page one. A crime thriller that has a good plot but isn't stuck in the genre, you care about the people and believe the actions and outcomes. Here is a creative force with an eye for original characters in realistic situations; an ear for authentic dialogue and the genuine heart of a storyteller.
Hopefully this is the start of a series of books set in Acker's Gap, West Virginia, if such a thing were possible it will put this fictional place on the map.
I'm a convert already and unreservedly recommend this book to you. It is good to be in at the start and I look forward to following Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County in all her unfolding life. One of the best books I've read this year.
December 4, 2013
I don't get the buzz on this book. It was a real disappointment. There are a number of aspects about it to criticize:
1. The book really needed an editor. It's incredibly repetitious; there are descriptions of people that are repeated and ideas that are re-stated numerous time.
2. Too often, Keller strives for the memorable sentence, but usually just falls flat and sounds self-consciously literary.
3. The characters are two-dimensional, not at all subtle.
4. This is supposed to be a suspense novel, but there's little suspense. In fact, there's none until near the end.
5. The big reveal at the end of the book is absolutely not believable. In fact, at various times throughout the novel, the actions of certain characters are just not credible.
Keller is a successful, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, but there is, obviously, a big difference between writing non-fiction and writing fiction. Keller has a lot of work to do before she will have mastered the art of fiction writing.
1. The book really needed an editor. It's incredibly repetitious; there are descriptions of people that are repeated and ideas that are re-stated numerous time.
2. Too often, Keller strives for the memorable sentence, but usually just falls flat and sounds self-consciously literary.
3. The characters are two-dimensional, not at all subtle.
4. This is supposed to be a suspense novel, but there's little suspense. In fact, there's none until near the end.
5. The big reveal at the end of the book is absolutely not believable. In fact, at various times throughout the novel, the actions of certain characters are just not credible.
Keller is a successful, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, but there is, obviously, a big difference between writing non-fiction and writing fiction. Keller has a lot of work to do before she will have mastered the art of fiction writing.
August 24, 2012
Predictable, chock-full of cliches, and stiffly written. My first thought upon finishing it was, "Wow, that was like a bad episode of The Closer."
SPOILERS ABOUND.
Three guys get shot in a diner. It's
a) a crazy lunatic
b) some complex vendetta/revenge scheme
c) because of DRUGZ
Protagonist's headstrong 15-year-old daughter knows the killer. She will
a) hunt him down herself
b) help her mom turn him in
c) get kidnapped and held at gunpoint in an abandoned factory
The actual mastermind behind the drug ring is
a) the main character's asshole ex-husband
b) the main character's alternate personality
c) the sweet old man from down the street who would never harm a fly
If you answered C to all of the above, congratulations - you know how a predictable crime novel works.
The dialogue is completely unbelievable. The main character's partner will say to her, "Bell, the phone's for you. It's Shirley, your sister. The one who got thrown in jail all those years ago for reasons you still won't tell us. Or your daughter." And there will be huge gaps in the narrative so Bell and the other characters can reminisce about Bell's mysterious childhood, or how the town used to be, or what Crazy Old So-And-So did back in the 70's. In inner monologue, no less!
Also, how the fuck does the main character get away with being named BELFA in a town where everyone else is Tom, Mary, Shirley, Carla, and Sam? Belfa? Really!?
SPOILERS ABOUND.
Three guys get shot in a diner. It's
a) a crazy lunatic
b) some complex vendetta/revenge scheme
c) because of DRUGZ
Protagonist's headstrong 15-year-old daughter knows the killer. She will
a) hunt him down herself
b) help her mom turn him in
c) get kidnapped and held at gunpoint in an abandoned factory
The actual mastermind behind the drug ring is
a) the main character's asshole ex-husband
b) the main character's alternate personality
c) the sweet old man from down the street who would never harm a fly
If you answered C to all of the above, congratulations - you know how a predictable crime novel works.
The dialogue is completely unbelievable. The main character's partner will say to her, "Bell, the phone's for you. It's Shirley, your sister. The one who got thrown in jail all those years ago for reasons you still won't tell us. Or your daughter." And there will be huge gaps in the narrative so Bell and the other characters can reminisce about Bell's mysterious childhood, or how the town used to be, or what Crazy Old So-And-So did back in the 70's. In inner monologue, no less!
Also, how the fuck does the main character get away with being named BELFA in a town where everyone else is Tom, Mary, Shirley, Carla, and Sam? Belfa? Really!?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2012
A Killing in the Hills seemed like a good literary mystery novel, something I would enjoy. While I would still go with the assessment that it's more of a literary novel, I have to say I didn't enjoy it. It was very wordy and full long, windy descriptive phrases that distracted me from the story itself. Here's one: "Bell Elkins tore through the tape as if it were tinsel on last year's Christmas tree--as it were, that is, superfluous, out of place, and certainly nothing that ought, under the present circumstances, to be impeding her progress (11)." The book is loaded with long descriptive sentences like this, and this is a case of less is more. The more adjectives and adverbs the author threw at me, the less meaningful the description was. I ultimately began skipping them just to get to the story itself. The author doesn't trust the reader to get her meaning so she over-explains and over-writes the novel. I have some sympathy for her because I'm an over-writer myself and I find I have to go over and over what I've written with a knife and edit out the extra unnecessary words.
Aside from the verbosity, I had other problems with this novel. Within the first 100 pages, the author reveals who the killer is and his reason for the killings. You, the reader, are left to follow Bell and her daughter Carla as they try to discover this themselves. The only unknown aspect of the novel is figuring out who the mastermind is, and since I found the whole novel rather boring with a less-than-compelling plot, I wasn't much interested in the unveiling of the Bad Guy at the end of the novel.
The slow-as-molasses pace of the story is another problem. The only reason I finished this book within two days is because I was sick and it hurt my head to watch tv. The author has to give a fairly detailed back story of every character who shows up in this book. Not just the characters, but also some of the places (the buildings themselves) in the novel. It was exhausting because I didn't find anyone interesting. No one. Not the main characters, not the villains, no one. I didn't like Carla or Bell which would have been okay if I had found them interesting or compelling. Unfortunately, I didn't.
Overall, I didn't care for it. I have a feeling this is the first in a series, but I will avoid any future books. The one description that did ring true to me is the roads in West Virginia being scary to drive. They are. They swoop up and down and curve dramatically and if you have a weak stomach for that type of driving (as I do), it's best to avoid the state. Much of the scenery can be very pretty, but the roads will give you panic attacks.
Aside from the verbosity, I had other problems with this novel. Within the first 100 pages, the author reveals who the killer is and his reason for the killings. You, the reader, are left to follow Bell and her daughter Carla as they try to discover this themselves. The only unknown aspect of the novel is figuring out who the mastermind is, and since I found the whole novel rather boring with a less-than-compelling plot, I wasn't much interested in the unveiling of the Bad Guy at the end of the novel.
The slow-as-molasses pace of the story is another problem. The only reason I finished this book within two days is because I was sick and it hurt my head to watch tv. The author has to give a fairly detailed back story of every character who shows up in this book. Not just the characters, but also some of the places (the buildings themselves) in the novel. It was exhausting because I didn't find anyone interesting. No one. Not the main characters, not the villains, no one. I didn't like Carla or Bell which would have been okay if I had found them interesting or compelling. Unfortunately, I didn't.
Overall, I didn't care for it. I have a feeling this is the first in a series, but I will avoid any future books. The one description that did ring true to me is the roads in West Virginia being scary to drive. They are. They swoop up and down and curve dramatically and if you have a weak stomach for that type of driving (as I do), it's best to avoid the state. Much of the scenery can be very pretty, but the roads will give you panic attacks.
January 18, 2023
2 stars
I listened to this on audio. There were 11 discs, and if I am honest, all the good in this book combined would have fit on one disc.
I have been trying out new series and I thought the premise of this one sounded good and had an angle that most others didn't - the female prosecuting attorney of a small town. The beginning was not too bad - an unidentified gunman kills three elderly men sitting in the local cafe, in broad daylight - and no one could identify the killer. But the story seemed to go down hill from there.
There was not a character that I liked - not even the female attorney. Nor her annoying daughter, who was added to keep things stirred up.
Again, being honest, I ended up only partially listening to the last 3 or 4 discs. I was over this audio book by about the 4th disc and just wanted to get to the end. This is one series that I will not be following up on.
I listened to this on audio. There were 11 discs, and if I am honest, all the good in this book combined would have fit on one disc.
I have been trying out new series and I thought the premise of this one sounded good and had an angle that most others didn't - the female prosecuting attorney of a small town. The beginning was not too bad - an unidentified gunman kills three elderly men sitting in the local cafe, in broad daylight - and no one could identify the killer. But the story seemed to go down hill from there.
There was not a character that I liked - not even the female attorney. Nor her annoying daughter, who was added to keep things stirred up.
Again, being honest, I ended up only partially listening to the last 3 or 4 discs. I was over this audio book by about the 4th disc and just wanted to get to the end. This is one series that I will not be following up on.
August 27, 2016
I picked this up because of a librarian recommendation, and it was a good read. Interesting characters, good descriptions and a story that kept me turning the pages. This is apparently the first of a series and since I'm not a big fan of mysteries and this one wrapped up nicely for me at the end, I'll probably stop with this one. However, since it's better than most, I'd recommend it for fans of the genre.
January 18, 2018
This was absolutely terrible. The author won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing and has sat on the Pulitzer jury, so I have to believe that she knows what good writing is. This was utterly horrible. Every paragraph felt like a sentence written in draft format, then written again in the longest form possible and then written one more time for luck. I'm not sure if the editor was supposed to choose, but they seem to have all made the final version. I have never been so exhausted by dreary, drawn-out expository nonsense with every single point hammered home with a wrecking ball. I take no pleasure in my response to this book. It's not that it's incompetent, it's actually willfully bad. Manipulative, boring, repetitive and just plain shite.
June 22, 2016
This was a solid start to the series. I liked the characters a lot and the locale was something different for me. I'm holding back a star here because I thought it was a little too long and had the tendency to be repetitive. But I enjoyed it for the most part, especially the side plot. I actually thought that was the stronger story-line. I plan on checking out the next book in the series soon. 3 solid stars.
June 26, 2017
3.5 A well crafted mystery, slow building suspense but a bit wordy. I did skim a bit. I will read the next offering in this series.
June 18, 2018
This one came to my list from a Goodreads suggestion and I found it in my local library service. Bell Elkins nee Dolan is the current elected Prosecuting Attorney in Raythune County in West Virginia. She is on a crusade to clear up the trade in supply of prescription drugs being sold to High School pupils, when her daughter is a witness to a walk in shooting where 3 older men are gunned down in a local Salty Dawge diner.
There are some great descriptions of the intimidating presence of the local mountains that dominate the background of Acker's Gap where the the local coal mines are closing down and the whole local economy is in recession with many loosing their livelihoods and homes, young people begin to see no future for themselves. Bell has the case of the murders and a mentally deficient young man is accused of a killing of a six year old. I was worried here that Bell was trying to determine his mental state without any psychological input but there is an unexpected twist. Everything ends in a shoot out with the sheriff and another twist. In the background is Bell's own past and the fact that her sister has been in prison for 29 years.
A very good read and recommended.
There are some great descriptions of the intimidating presence of the local mountains that dominate the background of Acker's Gap where the the local coal mines are closing down and the whole local economy is in recession with many loosing their livelihoods and homes, young people begin to see no future for themselves. Bell has the case of the murders and a mentally deficient young man is accused of a killing of a six year old. I was worried here that Bell was trying to determine his mental state without any psychological input but there is an unexpected twist. Everything ends in a shoot out with the sheriff and another twist. In the background is Bell's own past and the fact that her sister has been in prison for 29 years.
A very good read and recommended.
August 27, 2012
Bell Elkins grew up in Acker's Gap, West Virginia. After a tragic upbringing that includes a fire and the death of her father, she then goes from foster home to foster home. She goes away to college, gets married and has a child. She feels drawn to return to Acker's Gap to make a difference. Her marriage falls apart and she takes her daughter home to West Virginia. She runs and is elected prosecuting attorney for Raythune County. The county has a serious drug problem and Bell is determined to clean up the county.
While Bell is working on another tragic case where a child was killed she learns that 3 elderly men have been gunned down in a local diner. The same diner where her now 17 year old daughter Carla was waiting for her Bell to her up. The eatery was full of witnesses but it happened so fast no one really saw the shooter. Why were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted? Was it random? Drug related? Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be able to help her mother do her job. Bell vows to find and bring the killer to justice not knowing her daughter may already know who he is or that Carla may be putting herself in danger to help her.
Dollycas's Thoughts
A Great Debut to a new series!!
Julie Keller has created some wonderfully flawed characters and set them loose in West Virginia.
This first story has more than one mystery for readers to follow and she has woven them together seamlessly. We learn about Belfa's (yes, that her real name) past and her dysfunctional family that made her the woman she is today. A young boy is killed and Bell has to decide how to move forward charging a mentally challenged 28 year old. Three elderly residents are gunned down by an unknown assailant. Add to that Bell's teenage daughter going through normal growing pains and then she witnesses this terrible shooting.
Bell has a true friend in the sheriff and he is there to walk with her through the mayhem and he does his best to protect her. I love the meetings over pieces of pie as they try to sort out the clues. Last one to arrive buys the pie!
Bell has a lot on her plate besides her job a prosecuting attorney for the county. Her sister has just been paroled from prison and her daughter would rather be living with her dad. With this a foundation has been laid for the series moving forward. Bell is a strong woman with a noble agenda that will probably get her in lot of trouble.
One of my favorite parts of this story was Bell driving in the mountains to question the mother of the mentally challenged suspect. The author's description of the winding roads, cliff drop offs, up and down the mountains, made me feel like I was right in the vehicle holding on for dear life. Extra tension was added when she was being followed. It was a white knuckle moment holding on to my kindle as I couldn't read the pages fast enough.
I am looking forward to my return to this "shabby afterthought of a town". If you are a mystery lover you too will enjoy this story.
While Bell is working on another tragic case where a child was killed she learns that 3 elderly men have been gunned down in a local diner. The same diner where her now 17 year old daughter Carla was waiting for her Bell to her up. The eatery was full of witnesses but it happened so fast no one really saw the shooter. Why were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted? Was it random? Drug related? Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be able to help her mother do her job. Bell vows to find and bring the killer to justice not knowing her daughter may already know who he is or that Carla may be putting herself in danger to help her.
Dollycas's Thoughts
A Great Debut to a new series!!
Julie Keller has created some wonderfully flawed characters and set them loose in West Virginia.
This first story has more than one mystery for readers to follow and she has woven them together seamlessly. We learn about Belfa's (yes, that her real name) past and her dysfunctional family that made her the woman she is today. A young boy is killed and Bell has to decide how to move forward charging a mentally challenged 28 year old. Three elderly residents are gunned down by an unknown assailant. Add to that Bell's teenage daughter going through normal growing pains and then she witnesses this terrible shooting.
Bell has a true friend in the sheriff and he is there to walk with her through the mayhem and he does his best to protect her. I love the meetings over pieces of pie as they try to sort out the clues. Last one to arrive buys the pie!
Bell has a lot on her plate besides her job a prosecuting attorney for the county. Her sister has just been paroled from prison and her daughter would rather be living with her dad. With this a foundation has been laid for the series moving forward. Bell is a strong woman with a noble agenda that will probably get her in lot of trouble.
One of my favorite parts of this story was Bell driving in the mountains to question the mother of the mentally challenged suspect. The author's description of the winding roads, cliff drop offs, up and down the mountains, made me feel like I was right in the vehicle holding on for dear life. Extra tension was added when she was being followed. It was a white knuckle moment holding on to my kindle as I couldn't read the pages fast enough.
I am looking forward to my return to this "shabby afterthought of a town". If you are a mystery lover you too will enjoy this story.
August 15, 2014
Acker's Gap, West Virginia could literally be any small town within the United States. The problems found there are found elsewhere. And the growing problem faced in many small towns is a problem with drugs (meth as well as prescription drug abuse). Prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins is working hard to see that Acker's Gap doesn't become tainted by the ever-increasing drug problems.
A native West Virginian, Bell has seen plenty of trouble in her life and was able to succeed despite the rough start. She had even left West Virginia after completing school and worked in Washington, D.C. Bell became restless with the fast-paced life in DC and yearned to return home to West Virginia and make a difference. She had hoped her husband would feel the same, but he never wanted to return to his West Virginia roots. Bell returns to West Virginia, as a divorcee and single, working mother. Her daughter, Carla, does not like the small-town feel of Acker's Gap. She misses her friends from DC and the social life. After getting into trouble again, she is seriously thinking of asking her father if she can move in with him and return to DC. One single moment changes everything for both Carla and Bell . . . a shooting that ends in the murder of three older men, a shooting that is linked to the drug problem in Acker's Gap, a shooting that Carla was misfortunate enough to witness.
Bell, due to her job, must investigate the murders but she is also concerned about the impact this event may have on Carla. Carla, somewhat traumatized by the murders, decides she wants to help her mom with this investigation. As both Carla and Bell seek to find answers to why this event happened, they put their lives in jeopardy. Will Bell be able to protect her daughter from possible retribution? Is it really possible these murders are tied to the illegal drug trade in Acker's Gap?
Ms. Keller presents a story that is all too familiar; the effects of the illegal drug trade on small towns. Bell's back story provides just as much intrigue as the investigation into the murders and drug trafficking problems. She struggles with overcoming her past, while doing everything possible to ignore it. Carla is a typical teenage girl and yearns for excitement, difficult to find in a small town (or so she thinks). A Killing In The Hills is a dramatic and suspenseful story that drew me in from the first page. I found the characters and the action realistic and plausible. This story doesn't denigrate the small town life; it just shines a spotlight on the problems found there. I finished A Killing In The Hills in one sitting and look forward to more from Ms. Keller.
A native West Virginian, Bell has seen plenty of trouble in her life and was able to succeed despite the rough start. She had even left West Virginia after completing school and worked in Washington, D.C. Bell became restless with the fast-paced life in DC and yearned to return home to West Virginia and make a difference. She had hoped her husband would feel the same, but he never wanted to return to his West Virginia roots. Bell returns to West Virginia, as a divorcee and single, working mother. Her daughter, Carla, does not like the small-town feel of Acker's Gap. She misses her friends from DC and the social life. After getting into trouble again, she is seriously thinking of asking her father if she can move in with him and return to DC. One single moment changes everything for both Carla and Bell . . . a shooting that ends in the murder of three older men, a shooting that is linked to the drug problem in Acker's Gap, a shooting that Carla was misfortunate enough to witness.
Bell, due to her job, must investigate the murders but she is also concerned about the impact this event may have on Carla. Carla, somewhat traumatized by the murders, decides she wants to help her mom with this investigation. As both Carla and Bell seek to find answers to why this event happened, they put their lives in jeopardy. Will Bell be able to protect her daughter from possible retribution? Is it really possible these murders are tied to the illegal drug trade in Acker's Gap?
Ms. Keller presents a story that is all too familiar; the effects of the illegal drug trade on small towns. Bell's back story provides just as much intrigue as the investigation into the murders and drug trafficking problems. She struggles with overcoming her past, while doing everything possible to ignore it. Carla is a typical teenage girl and yearns for excitement, difficult to find in a small town (or so she thinks). A Killing In The Hills is a dramatic and suspenseful story that drew me in from the first page. I found the characters and the action realistic and plausible. This story doesn't denigrate the small town life; it just shines a spotlight on the problems found there. I finished A Killing In The Hills in one sitting and look forward to more from Ms. Keller.
December 3, 2012
I thought this book started out a bit slow although the descriptive language gives the reader a good sense of life in a depressed little town in West Virginia. The momentum builds as you get further into the story. I give it 4 stars.
Read
January 29, 2020Predictable.
December 14, 2019
Keller’s mystery takes on the opioid crisis with a real love for the people of West Virginia. Her descriptions of poverty and addiction come from a place of care and respect—even for people who do despicable things.
In spite of showing the devastation of opioid trafficking and use in this part of America, her book is hopeful. The main character left to get her law degree, but chose to came back as a prosecutor because she wanted to be part of healing her community. Prosecution is certainly a small part of the investment needed, and the feeling of futility for those in the criminal justice system is tackled straight on.
But Belfa persists and it’s hard not to want her faith in West Virginia to come to something. You want things to get better almost as bad as she does.
Read this if you like to approach complex issues through fiction—offering both some distance from painful, intense and sometimes depressing realities and the intimacy of living within that world while you read.
In spite of showing the devastation of opioid trafficking and use in this part of America, her book is hopeful. The main character left to get her law degree, but chose to came back as a prosecutor because she wanted to be part of healing her community. Prosecution is certainly a small part of the investment needed, and the feeling of futility for those in the criminal justice system is tackled straight on.
But Belfa persists and it’s hard not to want her faith in West Virginia to come to something. You want things to get better almost as bad as she does.
Read this if you like to approach complex issues through fiction—offering both some distance from painful, intense and sometimes depressing realities and the intimacy of living within that world while you read.
September 24, 2017
I live in the Appalachians Mountains of Virginia, so this book really resonated with me in so many ways. Though this book takes place in West Virginia, it really didn't matter. Everything you see, hear, feel, everything that happens in this book with exception of the main story line is happening or has happened here in my part of the mountains. The drug epidemic, or the killing of innocents is so odd here because it never use to happen.
I felt very close to the town as it could have been mine.
Great writing, loved the characters, especially the setting, the story line was unique, as I haven't read too many that take place in the Appalachia's and the ending was all wrapped up perfectly.
I totally did not see it coming on who was behind the murders. Wow..
I highly recommend this.
July 29, 2016
A Killing in the Hills is the first book I have read by Julia Keller. She does a great job of describing the scenery and the culture of small-town life. Further, her ability to write about the feelings of a teenager are spot on. I enjoyed reading her comparisons throughout the entire book especially her comparing athletes to attorneys. Although the main character annoyed me at times by the way she neglects her daughter, I still enjoyed the book. The mystery and plot were well written. I look forward to reading the second book in the series. 4 stars
May 21, 2014
I really enjoyed this book, a great mystery and with the family issues, makes me think this might be the start of a great series.
This story is set in a small town (fictional Acker's Gap) in West Virginia, but frankly, this small town reminded me a lot of my hometown in SE Ohio.
The book starts out with people in a diner. All of a sudden, three older gentleman (sitting together at a table) are shot. The prosecutor's daughter witnesses the shooting and the story takes off from there ...
Besides the prosecutor(Belfa "Bell" Elkins) and her daughter, Carla. this story also has some great supporting characters -- some are nice, some are true mentors, while others are -- well, words cannot adequately describe some of these characters ...
There are a couple of red herrings, but in the end, you will be surprised by who the truly guilty party is.
Also, there is a side story involving Bell, Carla, Bell's ex-husband and Bell's sister, Shirley. It is from this family dynamic, that I think a series might be in the works.
This story is set in a small town (fictional Acker's Gap) in West Virginia, but frankly, this small town reminded me a lot of my hometown in SE Ohio.
The book starts out with people in a diner. All of a sudden, three older gentleman (sitting together at a table) are shot. The prosecutor's daughter witnesses the shooting and the story takes off from there ...
Besides the prosecutor(Belfa "Bell" Elkins) and her daughter, Carla. this story also has some great supporting characters -- some are nice, some are true mentors, while others are -- well, words cannot adequately describe some of these characters ...
There are a couple of red herrings, but in the end, you will be surprised by who the truly guilty party is.
Also, there is a side story involving Bell, Carla, Bell's ex-husband and Bell's sister, Shirley. It is from this family dynamic, that I think a series might be in the works.
March 20, 2017
I got into this about 3-4 chapters and decided to move along. While reading reviews for another book, one reviewer said she wanted to like that book because she has not found a good book she could be happy about for quite awhile. And oh boy you just hope, "This will be the one." I feel this way about this dud. I love stacks of books in a library, but if all the books with no substance and deepness or an insult to my intelligence were gone, imagine how easy it would be to actually find a book worth reading. Maybe this book would have gotten better, but most of the time I trust the one and two-star reviews to let me know this fact and it was not promising. I am spoiled by good books I guess and when You reach that point, it is really hard to hang on when the book makes you cringe to pick it up and when you try to read it your mind wanders and you find yourself skipping pages to get to the point. No more of this series for me. I do not have a big amount of time to read and I want it to be awesome when I do.
July 18, 2012
I loved this novel from Julia Keller. It was very clear from her descriptions that she had an excellent grasp of small town living. Living in a town of 400, I loved when authors paint a picture of small town life and she was definitely detailed in her descriptions of Ackers Gap. Second, the book unraveled like a slowly and methodically, leaving me as the reader begging for more, with a knock down twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Normally I can determine "the bad guy" at the end of the book...not with this one nor why!
So, why 4 stars? I honestly felt that, particularly as a journalist/professional writer, the author could have written the story a bit tighter than it was. It seemed like there were alot of moments of somewhat "babbling" that didn't add to the storyline.
So, why 4 stars? I honestly felt that, particularly as a journalist/professional writer, the author could have written the story a bit tighter than it was. It seemed like there were alot of moments of somewhat "babbling" that didn't add to the storyline.
September 24, 2018
I liked this book, I really did. However, being a native West Virginian, I was slightly affronted by the description of our state. I know that parts of it resemble the poverty and despair that she describes, but by no means is this indicative of our entire state. I would recommend native West Virginians to read it, because they know the truth, but, if an "outsider" read it, I would hate to think that they consider it a completely accurate picture of West Virginia.
February 28, 2021
Some of the more critical reviewers have called this book over-written and repetitive. They may be right, but in the midst of all of those metaphors and lengthy descriptions, Keller has given us some truly beautiful writing. So even if some things are over explained (debatable-- I didn't really mind this), it is worth reading through it all just to come across a sentence so perfectly written that you just have to stop for a second to take it in. I especially loved her descriptions of the mountain and the scenery-- the setting almost felt like another character. I thought the depiction of the opioid crisis and the crime and poverty of the area of West Virginia she depicted were handled well-- she showed the utter despair of these people but didn't strip them of their dignity. I would go back to Acker's Gap, and definitely plan on reading the next book.
June 1, 2023
Good murder, mystery, thriller set in mostly poor WV. The author intertwined three plots. The first, drugs and murder, second, the trial of a mentally handicapped man, and third, a family suffering abuse (when young) and divorce with a teen daughter when older. Good stuff!
October 24, 2012
A Killing in the Hills is set deep in the mountains of West Virginia, and the place is as important to the story as any of the characters. Keller's lyrical descriptions of the setting makes the mountain and the surrounding woods and towns and roads and houses and shacks and abandoned mines come alive. At times when reading I had to consciously pull myself out of the setting--I felt like I too lived in this town and saw these places.
There's also a good mix of interesting characters and a solid mystery in the book. After getting her law degree,Bell Elkins has returned to Raythune County, scene of her dark and unhappy childhood, to become the prosecuting attorney. Her war on the drugs she sees taking over the poverty-stricken county has led the boss of the drug runners to strike back. The murder of three old men in the local coffee shop starts off the novel.
One of the witnesses to the shooting is Bell's teenaged daughter, Carla. Mother and daughter are not getting along as the story opens, and most of Carla's actions throughout the story are grounded in this fact. See, Carla told her mother and the sheriff that she didn't recognized the shooter, but that wasn't entirely the truth.
Carla's efforts to find the killer are the only part of the story I found a little unbelievable. I know that teens can some mind-boggling things, but Carla's naive efforts to track down the killer didn't ring entirely true.
The reader doesn't have to wait for Carla to put a name to the shooter. We know who he is early on, since the point of view shifts back and forth between the shooter, Carla, Bell, and the sheriff throughout the story. We also learn more about Bell's background as the story progesses; this subplot is interesting but not really necessary, or related, to the main story.
The beauty of the language in the book is what sets it apart. It's also a interesting perspective on the war on drugs with its rural setting. A Killing in the Hills is Keller's first novel, and I look forward to reading her second one.
There's also a good mix of interesting characters and a solid mystery in the book. After getting her law degree,Bell Elkins has returned to Raythune County, scene of her dark and unhappy childhood, to become the prosecuting attorney. Her war on the drugs she sees taking over the poverty-stricken county has led the boss of the drug runners to strike back. The murder of three old men in the local coffee shop starts off the novel.
One of the witnesses to the shooting is Bell's teenaged daughter, Carla. Mother and daughter are not getting along as the story opens, and most of Carla's actions throughout the story are grounded in this fact. See, Carla told her mother and the sheriff that she didn't recognized the shooter, but that wasn't entirely the truth.
Carla's efforts to find the killer are the only part of the story I found a little unbelievable. I know that teens can some mind-boggling things, but Carla's naive efforts to track down the killer didn't ring entirely true.
The reader doesn't have to wait for Carla to put a name to the shooter. We know who he is early on, since the point of view shifts back and forth between the shooter, Carla, Bell, and the sheriff throughout the story. We also learn more about Bell's background as the story progesses; this subplot is interesting but not really necessary, or related, to the main story.
The beauty of the language in the book is what sets it apart. It's also a interesting perspective on the war on drugs with its rural setting. A Killing in the Hills is Keller's first novel, and I look forward to reading her second one.
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