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Bell Elkins #2
Bitter River
In the next stunning novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning Julia Keller, following the popular A Killing in the Hills , a pregnant teenager is found murdered at the bottom of a river.
Phone calls before dawn are never good news. And when you're the county's prosecuting attorney, calls from the sheriff are rarely good news, either. So when Bell Elkins picks up the phone she already knows she won't like what she's about to hear, but she's still not prepared for 16-year-old Lucinda Trimble's body has been found at the bottom of Bitter River. And Lucinda didn't drown―she was dead before her body ever hit the water.
With a case like that, Bell knows the coming weeks are going to be tough. But that's not all Bell is coping with these days. Her daughter is now living with Bell's ex-husband, hours away. Sheriff Nick Fogelsong, one of Bell's closest friends, is behaving oddly. Furthermore, a face from her past has resurfaced for reasons Bell can't quite figure. Searching for the truth, both behind Lucinda's murder and behind her own complicated relationships, will lead Bell down a path that might put her very life at risk.
In Bitter River , Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Keller once again weaves a compelling, haunting mystery against the stark beauty and extreme poverty of a small West Virginia mountain town.
Phone calls before dawn are never good news. And when you're the county's prosecuting attorney, calls from the sheriff are rarely good news, either. So when Bell Elkins picks up the phone she already knows she won't like what she's about to hear, but she's still not prepared for 16-year-old Lucinda Trimble's body has been found at the bottom of Bitter River. And Lucinda didn't drown―she was dead before her body ever hit the water.
With a case like that, Bell knows the coming weeks are going to be tough. But that's not all Bell is coping with these days. Her daughter is now living with Bell's ex-husband, hours away. Sheriff Nick Fogelsong, one of Bell's closest friends, is behaving oddly. Furthermore, a face from her past has resurfaced for reasons Bell can't quite figure. Searching for the truth, both behind Lucinda's murder and behind her own complicated relationships, will lead Bell down a path that might put her very life at risk.
In Bitter River , Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Keller once again weaves a compelling, haunting mystery against the stark beauty and extreme poverty of a small West Virginia mountain town.
416 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2013
254 people are currently reading
3606 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 534 reviews
March 8, 2015
The Hook - When one of my GR friends reviewed Summer of the Dead the third Bell Elkins Mysteries it occurred to me I hadn’t even read the second in the series. I loved #1, A Killing In the Hills so what was I waiting for?
The Line – “Sometimes it was better to leave people with a clean bright dream of what might have been—than to get involved in the ragtag mess of reality.”
The Sinker – Like the John Denver song, Country Roads, Julia Keller’s Bitter River evokes the beauty and the hardship of the West Virginia Mountains. In this second outing for county prosecuting attorney, Belfa (Bella) Elkins has spun another winning mystery. The small town fictional town of Acker’s Gap has seen better times. Businesses have closed, people are barely scraping a living, but it’s Bella’s home, her town and she’s mighty defensive of it. When sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimble is found dead in her car in the Bitter River, Bella and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong have a new case to solve.
Keller is adept at introducing the townspeople of Acker’s Gap to us, so well that they soon seem like old friends. She truly shines in her descriptions of this Appalachian region. She once lived here and can see it clearly in her mind’s eye. From start to finish this is a smartly written, well-crafted read. I can’t wait to read number three with promises of the fourth this summer.
I can’t resist quoting a few other passages that grabbed me:
Bell’s description of missing her daughter Carla who moved to DC with her dad:
“Missing her daughter, she had found, was an ache that never went away; it would rise and fall in intensity, depending upon the workload in the prosecutor’s office, but it was always there. It was like a severed limb: The phantom pain was a permanent presence.”
Maddie Trimble to Lucinda Trimble:
“Spring’s always looking out for our signal, she’d told Lucinda every March, from the time her daughter was a small child. The sooner we start going without our coats, the sooner spring’ll be here. Knows it’s time for it to arrive. Keeps an eye out.”
Describing a night at the County Fair:
“Back to back and belly to belly, was how Bell’s friend Dot Burdette liked to describe the crowds on those August nights, when the air was spiced with the overlapping smells of sweat, fried dough, and livestock excrement. Nick Fogelsong always topped Dot’s description with his own favorite line about the smushed-together multitude: People’re butt to nut out there”
The Line – “Sometimes it was better to leave people with a clean bright dream of what might have been—than to get involved in the ragtag mess of reality.”
The Sinker – Like the John Denver song, Country Roads, Julia Keller’s Bitter River evokes the beauty and the hardship of the West Virginia Mountains. In this second outing for county prosecuting attorney, Belfa (Bella) Elkins has spun another winning mystery. The small town fictional town of Acker’s Gap has seen better times. Businesses have closed, people are barely scraping a living, but it’s Bella’s home, her town and she’s mighty defensive of it. When sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimble is found dead in her car in the Bitter River, Bella and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong have a new case to solve.
Keller is adept at introducing the townspeople of Acker’s Gap to us, so well that they soon seem like old friends. She truly shines in her descriptions of this Appalachian region. She once lived here and can see it clearly in her mind’s eye. From start to finish this is a smartly written, well-crafted read. I can’t wait to read number three with promises of the fourth this summer.
I can’t resist quoting a few other passages that grabbed me:
Bell’s description of missing her daughter Carla who moved to DC with her dad:
“Missing her daughter, she had found, was an ache that never went away; it would rise and fall in intensity, depending upon the workload in the prosecutor’s office, but it was always there. It was like a severed limb: The phantom pain was a permanent presence.”
Maddie Trimble to Lucinda Trimble:
“Spring’s always looking out for our signal, she’d told Lucinda every March, from the time her daughter was a small child. The sooner we start going without our coats, the sooner spring’ll be here. Knows it’s time for it to arrive. Keeps an eye out.”
Describing a night at the County Fair:
“Back to back and belly to belly, was how Bell’s friend Dot Burdette liked to describe the crowds on those August nights, when the air was spiced with the overlapping smells of sweat, fried dough, and livestock excrement. Nick Fogelsong always topped Dot’s description with his own favorite line about the smushed-together multitude: People’re butt to nut out there”
May 1, 2014
When I read the first book in this series -- A Killing in the Hills -- I was frustrated by what seemed to be way too much back story in proportion to the amount of actual crime investigation, but chalked it up to setting the stage for the series. I expected this one to have less background -- we now know the characters and the town -- and more action. While there certainly was action -- much of it totally ridiculous -- there was also a ton of description of the run-down and hopeless town. It's rural West Virginia, the town is depressed, there aren't many opportunities -- we get it! I also felt that the author's descriptions of townspeople -- who all seemed to be overweight -- bordered on mean. At one point she describes a woman as "loaded into a lavender polyester pantsuit".
Despite all this, if I ask myself if I would read Bell Elkins #3, I don't automatically say no. Bell is a compelling character and there is something redeemable about these books. Maybe for an airplane read.
Despite all this, if I ask myself if I would read Bell Elkins #3, I don't automatically say no. Bell is a compelling character and there is something redeemable about these books. Maybe for an airplane read.
August 27, 2017
This is another wonderful story set in Acker's Gap, West Virginia. Bell Elkins is the star of the novel, a promising lawyer who returned home to become Raythune County's prosecuting attorney. Helped and assisted by her friend and long time anchor after a troubled childhood, Sheriff Nick Fogelsong.
With such main characters the series is crime centred; here it is an investigation into the murder of a pregnant teenager.
However the canvas is as broad as the Appalachian Mountains which brood over these communities and the books are more a reflection of Keller's wonderful writing, her rich sense of place, country folf and their language.
In reading a few paragraphs you are transported to a far away place, not as a voyeur but in a sense of being there. The plot is ok and the crime is well investigated and deduced by honest police work but is the interactions with the assorted well-drawn characters who may only be mentioned over a few pages that make me love this series.
It has deep themes that matter to real people; you can identify with their hopes and dreams and the realities of hard times and encroaching poverty. Yet their spirit sings even in adversity, and subjects as diverse as "family", "home", "integrity" "honest labour" and "relationships" are covered in the story telling. At its heart this book has people and the potential for hope and redemption enables the reader to reflect as well as be entertained.
I love the tales of Garrison Keillor around Lake Wobegon and Julia Keller's books give me that same sense of ease and leave a smile on my face.
However, reader beware, this is a sugary account; life is hard and in sleepy towns horrors do occur and the body count stakes up here quickly in the second part of the book. But amid the loss and the grief it is the wonderful writing about the Mother's anguish at the graveside of her murdered daughter and the finality of gravestones recording each lifespan that moved me and told me more about death than any recalled modern thrillers and crime mysteries have that I have read.
With such main characters the series is crime centred; here it is an investigation into the murder of a pregnant teenager.
However the canvas is as broad as the Appalachian Mountains which brood over these communities and the books are more a reflection of Keller's wonderful writing, her rich sense of place, country folf and their language.
In reading a few paragraphs you are transported to a far away place, not as a voyeur but in a sense of being there. The plot is ok and the crime is well investigated and deduced by honest police work but is the interactions with the assorted well-drawn characters who may only be mentioned over a few pages that make me love this series.
It has deep themes that matter to real people; you can identify with their hopes and dreams and the realities of hard times and encroaching poverty. Yet their spirit sings even in adversity, and subjects as diverse as "family", "home", "integrity" "honest labour" and "relationships" are covered in the story telling. At its heart this book has people and the potential for hope and redemption enables the reader to reflect as well as be entertained.
I love the tales of Garrison Keillor around Lake Wobegon and Julia Keller's books give me that same sense of ease and leave a smile on my face.
However, reader beware, this is a sugary account; life is hard and in sleepy towns horrors do occur and the body count stakes up here quickly in the second part of the book. But amid the loss and the grief it is the wonderful writing about the Mother's anguish at the graveside of her murdered daughter and the finality of gravestones recording each lifespan that moved me and told me more about death than any recalled modern thrillers and crime mysteries have that I have read.
May 12, 2014
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for the ARC of this book.
Oh dear; unfortunately this is a really bad book.
The writing is really clunky. It uses far too many adjectives, loads of tautology, and there is lots of unnecessary detail – it’s fine just to tell me the sheriff opened his notebook; I don’t need to know it’s one of those ones with a cardboard front and spiral wire binding.
With crime and thriller books, you can sometimes forgive poor language if the plot is exciting and twisty or the characters are really engaging, however this book fails on both those accounts also.
The book is a crime novel set in a dying mountain town in West Virginia. It opens with the police finding the body of a murdered school girl, Lucinda Trimble, in a car in the eponymous Bitter River, and follows local law enforcement as they try (not all that hard or efficiently) to solve her murder.
Because the main protagonist, Bell Elkins, is a prosecutor rather than the police, it’s not actually her job to investigate the crime. Therefore, rather than watching the interesting bits of a criminal investigation, such as interviews with witnesses or searching the victim’s possessions for clues, we watch Bell bumbling around, drinking lots of coffee, helping her friend find a place to stay and having awkward conversations with her boyfriend. This also means that an awful lot of the book fails the ‘show don’t tell’ rule with Bell receiving reports second or third hand on the investigation, rather than discovering things for herself. Half way through the book, the only thing which seems to have been achieved as part of the investigation is the autopsy which confirms that Lucinda was murdered.
I was reading the book thinking ‘hang on a moment, the book starts with the discovery of Lucinda’s body, it’s clearly the most important plot line, why are we not spending more time trying to figure out who killed her?’.
Half-way through the book an explosion occurs and it’s clear there is an additional ridiculous terrorism/revenge storyline and obviously Lucinda’s murder is not interesting enough to warrant a whole book. The explosion storyline is a pointless attempt to add a bit of excitement to the plot, but it is just daft and it’s fairly obvious what is behind it. Once we get back to the Lucinda plot line and her killer is finally revealed, it’s not a great pay-off as there haven’t been enough clues to give the reader any inclination about the culprit.
This book is the second in a series following Bell Elkins, maybe if I had read the first book in the series I would care more about Bell and I would be invested in her relationships with her boyfriend, daughter and sister, but I simply did not care at all, they were an unwelcome distraction from the crime procedural which I was expecting to read. I certainly wouldn’t pick up any other books in this series as it was a real effort to read this one.
Oh dear; unfortunately this is a really bad book.
The writing is really clunky. It uses far too many adjectives, loads of tautology, and there is lots of unnecessary detail – it’s fine just to tell me the sheriff opened his notebook; I don’t need to know it’s one of those ones with a cardboard front and spiral wire binding.
With crime and thriller books, you can sometimes forgive poor language if the plot is exciting and twisty or the characters are really engaging, however this book fails on both those accounts also.
The book is a crime novel set in a dying mountain town in West Virginia. It opens with the police finding the body of a murdered school girl, Lucinda Trimble, in a car in the eponymous Bitter River, and follows local law enforcement as they try (not all that hard or efficiently) to solve her murder.
Because the main protagonist, Bell Elkins, is a prosecutor rather than the police, it’s not actually her job to investigate the crime. Therefore, rather than watching the interesting bits of a criminal investigation, such as interviews with witnesses or searching the victim’s possessions for clues, we watch Bell bumbling around, drinking lots of coffee, helping her friend find a place to stay and having awkward conversations with her boyfriend. This also means that an awful lot of the book fails the ‘show don’t tell’ rule with Bell receiving reports second or third hand on the investigation, rather than discovering things for herself. Half way through the book, the only thing which seems to have been achieved as part of the investigation is the autopsy which confirms that Lucinda was murdered.
I was reading the book thinking ‘hang on a moment, the book starts with the discovery of Lucinda’s body, it’s clearly the most important plot line, why are we not spending more time trying to figure out who killed her?’.
Half-way through the book an explosion occurs and it’s clear there is an additional ridiculous terrorism/revenge storyline and obviously Lucinda’s murder is not interesting enough to warrant a whole book. The explosion storyline is a pointless attempt to add a bit of excitement to the plot, but it is just daft and it’s fairly obvious what is behind it. Once we get back to the Lucinda plot line and her killer is finally revealed, it’s not a great pay-off as there haven’t been enough clues to give the reader any inclination about the culprit.
This book is the second in a series following Bell Elkins, maybe if I had read the first book in the series I would care more about Bell and I would be invested in her relationships with her boyfriend, daughter and sister, but I simply did not care at all, they were an unwelcome distraction from the crime procedural which I was expecting to read. I certainly wouldn’t pick up any other books in this series as it was a real effort to read this one.
March 28, 2016
Wow and wow again! I read book #1 "A Killing in the Hills" and enjoyed the setting of West Virginia and the character of Bell Elkins. I knew I wanted to read the second book of the series but got distracted by so much new stuff - you know, all the pledges of the next "Gone Girl". Well, this is teaching me to not neglect my series books. I loved this addition and it took some very unexpected turns that were quite shocking. I know I will not be taking so long to read the next one.
In this edition, Bell is still the district attorney of Acker's Gap and is juggling life with work, her daughter, and her new love, Clay Meckling. Her daughter Carla has moved to Washington, DC to live with her father and Bell takes as much time as she can to shuttle between Washington, DC and West Virginia about a 5 hour drive. During one of these trips, Bell meets up with an old friend, Matt Harless, who approaches Bell about coming back to Acker's Gap for a break from the world. Bell agrees that she will help Matt find a place to stay while relaxing and enjoying the peace of the mountains. In the meantime, Bell has the murder of a teenager, Lucinda Trimble, to try and solve.
Highly recommend this book to those who enjoy a good series with a strong woman protagonist.
In this edition, Bell is still the district attorney of Acker's Gap and is juggling life with work, her daughter, and her new love, Clay Meckling. Her daughter Carla has moved to Washington, DC to live with her father and Bell takes as much time as she can to shuttle between Washington, DC and West Virginia about a 5 hour drive. During one of these trips, Bell meets up with an old friend, Matt Harless, who approaches Bell about coming back to Acker's Gap for a break from the world. Bell agrees that she will help Matt find a place to stay while relaxing and enjoying the peace of the mountains. In the meantime, Bell has the murder of a teenager, Lucinda Trimble, to try and solve.
Highly recommend this book to those who enjoy a good series with a strong woman protagonist.
February 14, 2014
Maybe it's sophomore slump, I hope, but this book was less successful on every level than her first. The description of the West Virginia mountain town is the best thing about the book. The characters, except for Bell and Nick the sheriff, are pretty forgettable, or unlikeable, or both.
There are too many plot lines, and several of them are just plain silly - the whole terrorist thing, for one - and the final reveal of the killer of the young woman found dead in the first chapter comes from so far out in left field that it's beyond annoying.
There are too many plot lines, and several of them are just plain silly - the whole terrorist thing, for one - and the final reveal of the killer of the young woman found dead in the first chapter comes from so far out in left field that it's beyond annoying.
September 22, 2019
Bitter River is the 2nd book in the Bell Elkins series by Julia Keller. I enjoyed the first book, A Killing in the Hills, but this one was even better. Keller is an excellent author spinning a tense mystery and crafting excellent characters.
Bell Elkins is the DA of a small town in West Virginia. She is called out by the sheriff, her friend Nick Fogelsong, when a body is discovered in her car in the Bitter River. The body is that of a young girl, Lucinda Trimble, a high school senior, who is also pregnant. The story basically involves their investigation of the murder of the girl. Complicating the story is the fact that Nick had previously had a relationship with the girl's mother, Maddie many years ago. Both had moved on, Nick marrying someone else and Maddie marrying as well.
Besides this main story, Bell is also dealing with a number of issues, her ongoing relationship with a younger man, Clay; the fact that her daughter has moved to Washington to live with her father and Bell's ex-husband; the absence of Bell's sister after her release (in the last story) from prison. As well, an ex-friend of both Bell moves to Raythune County to get away from things for awhile. He has some issues, it appears. Will these affect anything?
This is more than simply a murder mystery, as things begin to spiral out of control as the story moves along. The tension builds nicely and there are a number of surprise happenings that add to it. Judith Keller is an excellent story - teller. She develops characters very nicely, making them more than words on paper. She presents the locale and events clearly and in a manner that draws you in to the story.
I found the story flowed along smoothly and could feel the tension of the characters and events as they occurred. I enjoyed it very much. Some of the events seemed far-fetched, but in Keller's hands they just mde for a more entertaining story. Well worth reading. I look forward to continuing the series. Next in line is Summer of the Dead (4.5 stars)
Bell Elkins is the DA of a small town in West Virginia. She is called out by the sheriff, her friend Nick Fogelsong, when a body is discovered in her car in the Bitter River. The body is that of a young girl, Lucinda Trimble, a high school senior, who is also pregnant. The story basically involves their investigation of the murder of the girl. Complicating the story is the fact that Nick had previously had a relationship with the girl's mother, Maddie many years ago. Both had moved on, Nick marrying someone else and Maddie marrying as well.
Besides this main story, Bell is also dealing with a number of issues, her ongoing relationship with a younger man, Clay; the fact that her daughter has moved to Washington to live with her father and Bell's ex-husband; the absence of Bell's sister after her release (in the last story) from prison. As well, an ex-friend of both Bell moves to Raythune County to get away from things for awhile. He has some issues, it appears. Will these affect anything?
This is more than simply a murder mystery, as things begin to spiral out of control as the story moves along. The tension builds nicely and there are a number of surprise happenings that add to it. Judith Keller is an excellent story - teller. She develops characters very nicely, making them more than words on paper. She presents the locale and events clearly and in a manner that draws you in to the story.
I found the story flowed along smoothly and could feel the tension of the characters and events as they occurred. I enjoyed it very much. Some of the events seemed far-fetched, but in Keller's hands they just mde for a more entertaining story. Well worth reading. I look forward to continuing the series. Next in line is Summer of the Dead (4.5 stars)
October 3, 2013
WSJ gave good review, checked Amazon, there were some bad reviews, but most were good. I should have believed the bad ones: "Ordinary, and maybe plain bad," "Bogged Down in Details," and "Good Book Spoiled by Excess." I second all those emotions. This author apparently has a series featuring small-town D.A. Bell Elkins, and has a following, but I jumped in on this one, and I almost "returned" the Kindle version for a refund. Keller never met a modifier she doesn't love, and sets a record for tangents "gone off on," and I know that's gramatically poor. Twice I thought, thankfully, that she had written the ending, but no, it kept struggling on to, finally, a third denouement. Much of the story line just rang false. Very disappointing.
May 1, 2014
I didn't think the 2nd in the series was as good a read as "A Killing in the Hills". The CIA plot seemed contrived. The murderer seemed fabricated for surprise with too little foreshadowing. I think there is hope for this series. The author has made it clear that Bell Elkins loves West VIrginia so let's move on to the real problems and crime in Appalachia and not rely on unlikely terrorist plots. I loved getting a glimpse of Mary Sue ( sheriff's wife) and hope her character plays a more prominent role In future books. The ending certainly gave me enough hope to return for the next volume. Great potential here but the author needs to allow the characters and the setting to be as one to drive the plot. If she needs help she should read Nevada Barr as she is a master of integrating place with her character, Anna Pigeon.
July 19, 2015
3 1/2 Stars
March 4, 2017
I have it generous stars. It hovered between a 2.5 & a 3. Decent story line, but seeming like it's never ending. Kind of a tedious, dragged out read for me. I couldn't wait to just finish it and move on to my next book.
July 23, 2013
I posted my review on BookBrowse since my review copy came from them. I am giving it two stars "It was O.K." and gave it the rating of "Average" on BookBrowse. Here's what I said on BookBrowse:
Set in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, it centers on solving a pregnant teenage girl’s murder in the small mountain town of Acker’s Gap in Rathune County. Belfa Elkins is prosecuting attorney of Raythune County and although the story is told in third person, it is mostly her point of view; her thoughts on returning to and living in this small mountain town.
When Bell learns of the dead girl, she is driving back from Washington, DC after spending a brief amount of time with her own teenage daughter now living with her father (at sixteen, she had a choice as to which parent to live with and thus chose to get off the mountain). The dead girl is Lucinda Trimble, a star student being raised by her off-beat, hippie mother, Maddie, who lives in a cottage on Route 4 with a perpetual yard sale of home-made trinkets. “Maddie Trimble was everything Bell Elkins despised about some of the people who lived in this area. She had raised eccentricity to an art form, and helped perpetuate the stereotype that ‘mountain folk’ were exotic characters running around in bare feet and cutoff shorts, mixing up weeds and herbs to make nutty potions intended to heal everything from heartaches to hemorrhoids.”
Sheriff Nick Fogelsong is Bell’s counterpart in the investigations and a good friend. But the two of them get off to bad start with this investigation. Nick used to see Maddy years ago, before Maddy started seeing Lucinda’s father. That was over seventeen years ago, “Except in these parts, the story never ended. No matter how long ago it was, Nick Fogelsong had a link to Maddie Trimble, a tie. When he talked to her these days, Bell thought, he probably had to raise his voice a little bit to be heard over a soft confusion of echoes.” Nick has a blind eye to Maddy... and Bell bluntly points this out.
There are two other main story threads running through this novel. Bell’s sister was released on parole nearly 5 months earlier after almost 30 years in jail for killing their father. Bell expected to pick her up at the prison and take her back to Acker’s Gap to help her get back on her feet, but when she went to get Shirley, Shirley had already left, and did not leave any contact information. Bell feels confident that Shirley will make her way back to Acker’s Gap and thus is compelled to stay there until she does. The reason for Shirley’s imprisonment and the debt that Belfa owes here sister is backdrop to help provide an understanding as to Bell’s reasons for being/staying there.
The third thread involves Matt Harless, an old family friend/neighbor from when Bell and Sam were still married. On Bell’s latest trip to D.C., she is surprised when Matt joins them (her ex-husband Sam, his girlfriend and their daughter, Carla) for dinner. As it turns out Matt has retired from the military and needs time to decompress and wants to see Acker’s Gap, the place that he heard so much about from Bell all those years ago when they used to run together. As it turns out, Matt has as many secrets as anyone in Acker’s Gap. And may or may not be involved in the a tragic explosion that occurs about halfway through the book.
Although this is technically a murder mystery, it is a literary one in that the setting plays as much a role in the story as the characters. Bell (or the author Julia Keller) shares insight into this community, such as the familiarity of people, the long memories, the fact that “In a small town everybody is next of kin to everybody else.” She also spends a bit of time reflecting on the socio-economics and the inherit problems. For example, she explains how the prescription drug problem is far worse problem than the more widely known Meth problem --- and why it is more difficult for law enforcement to deal with. Or, “The fact that over half of the children in Raythune County go to bed hungry a night...” And even reveals a bit of interesting history as to how West Virginia because a state under Abraham Lincoln.
Julia Keller creatively uses metaphors to bring home a point. But to be honest, some of them just left me scratching my head as I tried to figure them out. For example, “The flounce and swoop of his accent reminded Bell of a dust ruffle on a bedspread.” Huh? Or “Her hair was the color of a dirty Q-tip...” (I prefer not to think on this one too long.) and “she heard a faint and sustained jingle in the distance, almost a choral singing. The sound, she knew, came for Paw Paw Creek...” (Choral singing? Please, just give me the gurgling brook!)
But every now and then she comes up with some really good analogies: “Gossip leaked out of a county courthouse like chicken broth through a slotted spoon;” or “Dumping coffee on an empty stomach-- which she’d just done-- was akin to walking in a biker bar and calling the first guy you see a candy-ass. Just asking for trouble;” or “Seeing Wendy Doggett in a cell in the Raythune County Jail would be a little jarring, Bell had assumed, like finding escargot on the menu at White Castle.”
From the start, it is assumed that the murderer is someone that knows Lucinda. “Statistics tell the tale, folks. Look around. You’ve got a heck of a lot more to fear from that person sitting right next to you on the couch night after night than you do from a stranger hanging out in a dark alley.” Even at that, in a small town there are a lot of people that know this girl, and thus a lot of suspects to get through.
“Small towns, Bell thought. Jesus.”
Set in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, it centers on solving a pregnant teenage girl’s murder in the small mountain town of Acker’s Gap in Rathune County. Belfa Elkins is prosecuting attorney of Raythune County and although the story is told in third person, it is mostly her point of view; her thoughts on returning to and living in this small mountain town.
When Bell learns of the dead girl, she is driving back from Washington, DC after spending a brief amount of time with her own teenage daughter now living with her father (at sixteen, she had a choice as to which parent to live with and thus chose to get off the mountain). The dead girl is Lucinda Trimble, a star student being raised by her off-beat, hippie mother, Maddie, who lives in a cottage on Route 4 with a perpetual yard sale of home-made trinkets. “Maddie Trimble was everything Bell Elkins despised about some of the people who lived in this area. She had raised eccentricity to an art form, and helped perpetuate the stereotype that ‘mountain folk’ were exotic characters running around in bare feet and cutoff shorts, mixing up weeds and herbs to make nutty potions intended to heal everything from heartaches to hemorrhoids.”
Sheriff Nick Fogelsong is Bell’s counterpart in the investigations and a good friend. But the two of them get off to bad start with this investigation. Nick used to see Maddy years ago, before Maddy started seeing Lucinda’s father. That was over seventeen years ago, “Except in these parts, the story never ended. No matter how long ago it was, Nick Fogelsong had a link to Maddie Trimble, a tie. When he talked to her these days, Bell thought, he probably had to raise his voice a little bit to be heard over a soft confusion of echoes.” Nick has a blind eye to Maddy... and Bell bluntly points this out.
There are two other main story threads running through this novel. Bell’s sister was released on parole nearly 5 months earlier after almost 30 years in jail for killing their father. Bell expected to pick her up at the prison and take her back to Acker’s Gap to help her get back on her feet, but when she went to get Shirley, Shirley had already left, and did not leave any contact information. Bell feels confident that Shirley will make her way back to Acker’s Gap and thus is compelled to stay there until she does. The reason for Shirley’s imprisonment and the debt that Belfa owes here sister is backdrop to help provide an understanding as to Bell’s reasons for being/staying there.
The third thread involves Matt Harless, an old family friend/neighbor from when Bell and Sam were still married. On Bell’s latest trip to D.C., she is surprised when Matt joins them (her ex-husband Sam, his girlfriend and their daughter, Carla) for dinner. As it turns out Matt has retired from the military and needs time to decompress and wants to see Acker’s Gap, the place that he heard so much about from Bell all those years ago when they used to run together. As it turns out, Matt has as many secrets as anyone in Acker’s Gap. And may or may not be involved in the a tragic explosion that occurs about halfway through the book.
Although this is technically a murder mystery, it is a literary one in that the setting plays as much a role in the story as the characters. Bell (or the author Julia Keller) shares insight into this community, such as the familiarity of people, the long memories, the fact that “In a small town everybody is next of kin to everybody else.” She also spends a bit of time reflecting on the socio-economics and the inherit problems. For example, she explains how the prescription drug problem is far worse problem than the more widely known Meth problem --- and why it is more difficult for law enforcement to deal with. Or, “The fact that over half of the children in Raythune County go to bed hungry a night...” And even reveals a bit of interesting history as to how West Virginia because a state under Abraham Lincoln.
Julia Keller creatively uses metaphors to bring home a point. But to be honest, some of them just left me scratching my head as I tried to figure them out. For example, “The flounce and swoop of his accent reminded Bell of a dust ruffle on a bedspread.” Huh? Or “Her hair was the color of a dirty Q-tip...” (I prefer not to think on this one too long.) and “she heard a faint and sustained jingle in the distance, almost a choral singing. The sound, she knew, came for Paw Paw Creek...” (Choral singing? Please, just give me the gurgling brook!)
But every now and then she comes up with some really good analogies: “Gossip leaked out of a county courthouse like chicken broth through a slotted spoon;” or “Dumping coffee on an empty stomach-- which she’d just done-- was akin to walking in a biker bar and calling the first guy you see a candy-ass. Just asking for trouble;” or “Seeing Wendy Doggett in a cell in the Raythune County Jail would be a little jarring, Bell had assumed, like finding escargot on the menu at White Castle.”
From the start, it is assumed that the murderer is someone that knows Lucinda. “Statistics tell the tale, folks. Look around. You’ve got a heck of a lot more to fear from that person sitting right next to you on the couch night after night than you do from a stranger hanging out in a dark alley.” Even at that, in a small town there are a lot of people that know this girl, and thus a lot of suspects to get through.
“Small towns, Bell thought. Jesus.”
December 19, 2014
3-1/2 stars
This was a really good mystery; different from most I've read lately. Bell Elkins has returned to her home in Ackers Gap to "do good" but she's not some young idealistic girl with no idea what she's getting into. She grew up in this Appalachian town in West Virginia and has lived in Washington DC, but wants to use her skill and education to make a difference where it's needed more.
Her high-school age daughter has recently moved to DC to live with her father and Bell is on her own now, working as the county prosecutor in a poverty-stricken area beset by the crime common to such a situation. Bell is smart, resourceful, mostly level-headed. This is a refreshing change from many of the mysteries I've read lately where the main character is so foolhardy you want to slap them upside the head for running headlong into trouble (on their own, of course, and without informing anybody.) Bell doesn't cause her own trouble or make it worse; she's professional and careful-- there's enough trouble without her adding to it
A young woman with a promising future is murdered and the autopsy reveals that she's pregnant. There's little physical evidence and either a dearth or plethora of suspects -- depends how you look at it. In the meantime, an old friend of Bell's shows up in town, perhaps complicating her love life with a younger man; there's a potshot taken at the courthouse; and a horrible fatal bombing of the local diner. How these pieces fit together and how Bell and the Sheriff, her friend Nick Fogelsong, figure it all out, are the story.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next Bell Elkins mystery, which is being released this month (August, 2014). I won't be going back to read the first one, tho. There were allusions to an earlier case where Bell's daughter was kidnapped and almost killed. This is another type of story line that bugs the hell out of me: the close friend/family member of the investigator who is in jeopardy. I prefer that the investigator just do her job without the added drama of involving personal motives to solve the case or having the bad guy after the investigator.
This was a really good mystery; different from most I've read lately. Bell Elkins has returned to her home in Ackers Gap to "do good" but she's not some young idealistic girl with no idea what she's getting into. She grew up in this Appalachian town in West Virginia and has lived in Washington DC, but wants to use her skill and education to make a difference where it's needed more.
Her high-school age daughter has recently moved to DC to live with her father and Bell is on her own now, working as the county prosecutor in a poverty-stricken area beset by the crime common to such a situation. Bell is smart, resourceful, mostly level-headed. This is a refreshing change from many of the mysteries I've read lately where the main character is so foolhardy you want to slap them upside the head for running headlong into trouble (on their own, of course, and without informing anybody.) Bell doesn't cause her own trouble or make it worse; she's professional and careful-- there's enough trouble without her adding to it
A young woman with a promising future is murdered and the autopsy reveals that she's pregnant. There's little physical evidence and either a dearth or plethora of suspects -- depends how you look at it. In the meantime, an old friend of Bell's shows up in town, perhaps complicating her love life with a younger man; there's a potshot taken at the courthouse; and a horrible fatal bombing of the local diner. How these pieces fit together and how Bell and the Sheriff, her friend Nick Fogelsong, figure it all out, are the story.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next Bell Elkins mystery, which is being released this month (August, 2014). I won't be going back to read the first one, tho. There were allusions to an earlier case where Bell's daughter was kidnapped and almost killed. This is another type of story line that bugs the hell out of me: the close friend/family member of the investigator who is in jeopardy. I prefer that the investigator just do her job without the added drama of involving personal motives to solve the case or having the bad guy after the investigator.
February 18, 2015
Julia Keller follows up last year’s terrific debut novel, A Killing in the Hills, with another gripping mystery set in West Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains.
In "Bitter River'', Prosecutor Bell Elkins continues to struggle with her personal life. She desperately misses her teen daughter Carla, who is living with Bell’s ex-husband in Washington, D.C. She is seeing a man 15 years younger than her and is trying to keep their relationship hidden. She keeps hoping her sister Shirley will finally come home after being released from prison for killing their child-molester father many years ago. She is also distracted by a friend from the past, a former CIA agent who wants to spend some time in the town, looking for peace and quiet.
But solitude can be hard to come by in Ackers Gap. When 16-year-old Lucinda Trimble’s body is found in the Bitter River, her murder rocks the poor town. Lucinda had shown great promise and was hoping to be one of the few teens from Acker’s Gap to go to college. Elkins and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong team up to solve the murder and learn that Lucinda was pregnant at the time of her death. The leading suspect is Lucinda’s boyfriend, who insists he loved the girl and wanted to marry her. The boy’s mother, who disapproved of the relationship, also is a prime suspect.
Keller, who grew up in West Virginia, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing while working at the Chicago Tribune. She clearly is a talented writer, and her novels are full of descriptive, authentic prose and wonderful character development. Packed with plot twists, Bitter River will keep the reader going to the very end. Keller has created a fascinating, fiery protagonist in Bell Elkins whose adventures I look forward to continue following.
In "Bitter River'', Prosecutor Bell Elkins continues to struggle with her personal life. She desperately misses her teen daughter Carla, who is living with Bell’s ex-husband in Washington, D.C. She is seeing a man 15 years younger than her and is trying to keep their relationship hidden. She keeps hoping her sister Shirley will finally come home after being released from prison for killing their child-molester father many years ago. She is also distracted by a friend from the past, a former CIA agent who wants to spend some time in the town, looking for peace and quiet.
But solitude can be hard to come by in Ackers Gap. When 16-year-old Lucinda Trimble’s body is found in the Bitter River, her murder rocks the poor town. Lucinda had shown great promise and was hoping to be one of the few teens from Acker’s Gap to go to college. Elkins and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong team up to solve the murder and learn that Lucinda was pregnant at the time of her death. The leading suspect is Lucinda’s boyfriend, who insists he loved the girl and wanted to marry her. The boy’s mother, who disapproved of the relationship, also is a prime suspect.
Keller, who grew up in West Virginia, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing while working at the Chicago Tribune. She clearly is a talented writer, and her novels are full of descriptive, authentic prose and wonderful character development. Packed with plot twists, Bitter River will keep the reader going to the very end. Keller has created a fascinating, fiery protagonist in Bell Elkins whose adventures I look forward to continue following.
November 21, 2013
I was disappointed in this sequel to A Killing in the Hills. I loved the first book, thought it was well written, suspenseful, smart, with a beautifully evoked setting.
The sequel was thinner, straining with a series of plot twists right up to the climax. The ending, though a shock, lacked credulity. A good ending to a mystery/thriller should be unexpected, but make perfect sense once you arrive there. This ending was yanked out of the blue and was absurd, not in keeping with the characters, as they were developed. I won't spoil anyone's read by revealing more.
The novel is padded out with recaps of the first book and does not possess the lyrical prose and pace of the debut. It feels hastily done and is manipulative.
I had trouble with the character of Fogelsong's wife who is mentally ill, and who in a scene I've seen in movies sees something real and is not believed, later has a kind of clichéd paranoia (they're after me), is both frightened and passive and withdrawn, and then suddenly, lurches out of her near-catatonia to help Bell save the day.
I felt the author pulling all kinds of marionette strings in this novel. Not sure if I will continue in the series.
The sequel was thinner, straining with a series of plot twists right up to the climax. The ending, though a shock, lacked credulity. A good ending to a mystery/thriller should be unexpected, but make perfect sense once you arrive there. This ending was yanked out of the blue and was absurd, not in keeping with the characters, as they were developed. I won't spoil anyone's read by revealing more.
The novel is padded out with recaps of the first book and does not possess the lyrical prose and pace of the debut. It feels hastily done and is manipulative.
I had trouble with the character of Fogelsong's wife who is mentally ill, and who in a scene I've seen in movies sees something real and is not believed, later has a kind of clichéd paranoia (they're after me), is both frightened and passive and withdrawn, and then suddenly, lurches out of her near-catatonia to help Bell save the day.
I felt the author pulling all kinds of marionette strings in this novel. Not sure if I will continue in the series.
July 29, 2016
Fabulous book...loved it as much as the first novel in the series, A Killing in the Hills. Julia Keller can write and she can tell a mean story. Bitter River can stand alone but I absolutely recommend reading the first novel as well as it is so good.
Bell Elkins, a lawyer who is the prosecutor in the small town in West Virginia where she grew up, is faced with the murder of a 16 year old girl who was found murdered in the Bitter River. Bell had a traumatic and violent childhood but has risen above everything to become a strong woman and mother. She has tried city life in Washington, DC but she belongs in Acker's Gap. Before the mystery of the young girl's murder is solved an explosion rips through a local restaurant tearing Bell's world apart anew.
Excellent writing accompanied by an amazing story make this a book to remember. There were so many twists at the end that it was definitely hard to identify the murderer. I was kept in suspense until the end. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!
Bell Elkins, a lawyer who is the prosecutor in the small town in West Virginia where she grew up, is faced with the murder of a 16 year old girl who was found murdered in the Bitter River. Bell had a traumatic and violent childhood but has risen above everything to become a strong woman and mother. She has tried city life in Washington, DC but she belongs in Acker's Gap. Before the mystery of the young girl's murder is solved an explosion rips through a local restaurant tearing Bell's world apart anew.
Excellent writing accompanied by an amazing story make this a book to remember. There were so many twists at the end that it was definitely hard to identify the murderer. I was kept in suspense until the end. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!
June 30, 2018
This is the second installment of the Bell Elkins series.
Though I liked the first, I felt as if the follow-up was better.
If you're looking for a fast-paced suspense or a non-stop action thriller, this is not it.
This is a "slow" moving mystery in which the actual mystery (or in this case interweaving mysteries) is background music for the real story which is the development of the town and the people in it.
Keller is a talented writer who loves her metaphors and similes. She also takes great care in her descriptions, sometimes to the point of overload as it does slow down the pace. But that's her style. Personally, I like it.
I am also enjoying the characters who I think are multidimensional. The setting, poverty stricken Acker's Gap of West Virginia, is in its own way a character, and the hopelessness of the people there gives the series a touch of Southern Gothic. It's probably the reason I'm liking it as much as I am.
I felt Keller did a better job wrapping this one up as that was one of the things I didn't like about the first book. The twist here is still a little over the top, but I felt as if she did a better job laying down the groundwork.
Overall, I would recommend this book to people who like Southern Gothic, who enjoy slow developing mysteries, and who don't mind a very stylistic(sometimes overly descriptive) prose.
Though I liked the first, I felt as if the follow-up was better.
If you're looking for a fast-paced suspense or a non-stop action thriller, this is not it.
This is a "slow" moving mystery in which the actual mystery (or in this case interweaving mysteries) is background music for the real story which is the development of the town and the people in it.
Keller is a talented writer who loves her metaphors and similes. She also takes great care in her descriptions, sometimes to the point of overload as it does slow down the pace. But that's her style. Personally, I like it.
I am also enjoying the characters who I think are multidimensional. The setting, poverty stricken Acker's Gap of West Virginia, is in its own way a character, and the hopelessness of the people there gives the series a touch of Southern Gothic. It's probably the reason I'm liking it as much as I am.
I felt Keller did a better job wrapping this one up as that was one of the things I didn't like about the first book. The twist here is still a little over the top, but I felt as if she did a better job laying down the groundwork.
Overall, I would recommend this book to people who like Southern Gothic, who enjoy slow developing mysteries, and who don't mind a very stylistic(sometimes overly descriptive) prose.
December 7, 2018
Concealed beneath the water, her body waits to be found.
Sixteen-year-old pregnant Lucinda Trimble from Acker's Gap High-school is found dead in a car in the Bitter River.
Sheriff Nick Fogelsong had a relationship with Lucinda's mother Maddie Trimble twenty seven years ago. Telling Maddie that her daughter was dead was the hardest thing that he ever had to do in his life.
Maddie did not understand how her daughter was dead. She had checked her daughter before she went to bed and could see that her daughter was fast a sleep.
The questions police are asking is why would a sixteen-year-old want to sneak out of her house and drive away.?
Maddie seems to blame herself for the death of her daughter as she told Lucinda being pregnant that she was so disappointed in her.
Who would want to kill a pregnant sixteen-year-old and then shove her car in the river?
Bell Elkins wants information and facts about Lucinda. The closer Bell gets to receiving this information, the closer Bell would become to getting a possible motive for Lucinda's murder and from there, Bell would become closer to finding the indentity of Lucinda's killer.
I did like reading Bitter River but I have only gave this three stars as I did not find the story had any real nail biting tension moments.
Sixteen-year-old pregnant Lucinda Trimble from Acker's Gap High-school is found dead in a car in the Bitter River.
Sheriff Nick Fogelsong had a relationship with Lucinda's mother Maddie Trimble twenty seven years ago. Telling Maddie that her daughter was dead was the hardest thing that he ever had to do in his life.
Maddie did not understand how her daughter was dead. She had checked her daughter before she went to bed and could see that her daughter was fast a sleep.
The questions police are asking is why would a sixteen-year-old want to sneak out of her house and drive away.?
Maddie seems to blame herself for the death of her daughter as she told Lucinda being pregnant that she was so disappointed in her.
Who would want to kill a pregnant sixteen-year-old and then shove her car in the river?
Bell Elkins wants information and facts about Lucinda. The closer Bell gets to receiving this information, the closer Bell would become to getting a possible motive for Lucinda's murder and from there, Bell would become closer to finding the indentity of Lucinda's killer.
I did like reading Bitter River but I have only gave this three stars as I did not find the story had any real nail biting tension moments.
February 22, 2017
Where to begin? This was just a hot mess, and a real disappointment. I tired of reading the italicized inner dialogues Bell had with herself, but even more than that, poor editing made this one begin to run off the rails early on. To wit: a big point is made that Bell doesn't allow her lover, Clay, to ever spend the night with her because Acker's Gap is a small town and people talk.... and then a few chapters later, we open to the two of them having breakfast after spending the night together, with not a hint that this wasn't their usual routine. That sort of sloppy story editing bugs me, but add to that multiple, increasingly implausible storylines and way too many pointless red herrings, and this just failed miserably. Her first novel, A Killing in the Hills, was so outstanding that I will give the next in the series a go, even so.
May 10, 2015
Meh. Takes lots of patience to read all the way to the end.
February 5, 2023
In 2022 I did a challenge to read a book set in every state in the US. Late in the year, I read A Killing in the Hills, set in the fictional town of Acker's Gap, West Virginia. I love books set in small towns where the town is a character itself.
Belfa Elkins, the county prosecuting attorney, is driving back to West Virginia after visiting her teenage daughter in Washington DC where she lives with Bell's ex-husband. Sheriff Nick Fogelsburg calls to let her know he's at the scene of an accident. Pregnant sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimble's body has been found at the bottom of Bitter River. And Lucinda didn't drown - she was dead before her body ever hit the water.
The initial murder is still being investigated when more criminal acts are committed. There were so many twists throughout the book that it was difficult to figure out who the bad guys were. Many of the peripheral characters are drawn clearly enough that one can recognize in them somebody we know and with whom we can empathize.
In 2005, Keller won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for a three-part narrative series and you can see why when she portrays strong characterizations, complex family relationships, and small town politics.
Bell is an interesting character who appears to be unreasonably cold and angry with almost everyone. In the first book we find out she had a tragic upbringing. She spends time reflecting on the socio-economics of West Virginia. Bitter River had some great plot twists and I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series.
Belfa Elkins, the county prosecuting attorney, is driving back to West Virginia after visiting her teenage daughter in Washington DC where she lives with Bell's ex-husband. Sheriff Nick Fogelsburg calls to let her know he's at the scene of an accident. Pregnant sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimble's body has been found at the bottom of Bitter River. And Lucinda didn't drown - she was dead before her body ever hit the water.
The initial murder is still being investigated when more criminal acts are committed. There were so many twists throughout the book that it was difficult to figure out who the bad guys were. Many of the peripheral characters are drawn clearly enough that one can recognize in them somebody we know and with whom we can empathize.
In 2005, Keller won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for a three-part narrative series and you can see why when she portrays strong characterizations, complex family relationships, and small town politics.
Bell is an interesting character who appears to be unreasonably cold and angry with almost everyone. In the first book we find out she had a tragic upbringing. She spends time reflecting on the socio-economics of West Virginia. Bitter River had some great plot twists and I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series.
August 21, 2017
PROTAGONIST: Bell Elkins, county prosecuting attorney
SETTING: Ackers Gap, WV
SERIES: #2
RATING: 4.25
WHY: Bell Elkins had a conflicted history in the small town of Acker's Gap, WV, but decided to return and put her demons behind her. She is the county prosecuting attorney and works closely with the local sheriff. She is called in when a pregnant 16-year-old girl is found underwater in a car. As they investigate, tragedy hits the town in the form of an explosion that kills 6 people. This was such a good book until the end when the girl's killer comes out of left field and a really far-fetched plot explains the explosion. Ended feeling cheated.
SETTING: Ackers Gap, WV
SERIES: #2
RATING: 4.25
WHY: Bell Elkins had a conflicted history in the small town of Acker's Gap, WV, but decided to return and put her demons behind her. She is the county prosecuting attorney and works closely with the local sheriff. She is called in when a pregnant 16-year-old girl is found underwater in a car. As they investigate, tragedy hits the town in the form of an explosion that kills 6 people. This was such a good book until the end when the girl's killer comes out of left field and a really far-fetched plot explains the explosion. Ended feeling cheated.
April 23, 2018
I like Bell, the main character. At times I am disgusted with her for her actions and how she treats people -- but she always works hard and follows through on her promises. She has a bad temper which shows sometimes in not very flattering ways. In other words, she is realistic! I love that about her. Great writer! I plan to read more of her books.
August 8, 2017
This is the first book I've read by Julia Keller. I picked it up at a yard sale a couple of years ago and put it in my pile of books to read. Now that I've gotten introduced to her books, I'll be sure to read more! I really loved the setting and the characters. It is a great suspense!
January 11, 2019
This is an intriguing mystery with wonderfully fully developed characters that I feel I would recognize if I bumped into them on the street.
November 3, 2024
I really enjoyed Bitter River. Some twists and turns. The main character, Bell Elkins, was very likable. Interesting setting in West Virginia. Ready to read the first book in the series.
February 10, 2019
Kept me wondering - loved it!
February 21, 2023
It's been about a year since I read the first book, so I'm glad there was a little backstory in this one to catch me up with the characters. It's a strong mystery with a surprise ending I did not see coming - on several fronts. Lots of innocent lives lost in this one which did make it difficult at times to read, but it is also a testament to the author who is so good at defining the characters it's hard to not relate to them and grieve for them. Jumping right into the third in the series.
May 23, 2023
Second book in the series - I really like this author! 4.5 stars rounding up.
This book starts with a car found in the river that runs through the small town of Acker's Gap. When a body is found inside, so the mystery begins. Some of the same characters from the first book and adding in some new, Acker's Gap is starting to feel a bit like home.
I have noticed in these two books that Keller has a main story but then also at least one more secondary story. She does a nice job of advancing both stories in a fluid way that feels natural.
More fabulous similes in this book although I was not on the Kindle so highlighting is not as convenient.
"They're sleeping together, Bell realized. Interesting. She wasn't shocked was a notorious and proudly indiscreet philanderer, and this certainly wouldn't be the first time he hired an employee for an attribute other than familiarity with a spreadsheet - although the word 'spread' surely was applicable."
"Greif unleashed something primitive in people. Something elemental and unpredictable and uncontrollable. If nothing ever happened to knock it loose, if they never - thank God - experienced the sudden loss of someone they loved with a passion past all reckoning, then the grief might stay safely tucked up inside them forever. But if released, it packed vast power..."
"detaching from a difficult day was like rising after a deep dive, she believed. You couldn't do it too quickly. You'd get the bends. You had to be gradual about it, careful, measured, or you'd pay the price on account of the pressure differential. The weight of the terrible crushing sadness had to be broken down slowly into smaller increments so that it could be balanced against normal life" This section then talked about how you can relieve the pressure quickly through alcohol, drugs, food, sex and more. "go slow, Bell reminded herself. She had learned that. Learned to go slow when, at the end of a hard day, she tried to separate herself from the sorrow or the frustration of the job. She couldn't shuck it off too fast" Interesting.
This book starts with a car found in the river that runs through the small town of Acker's Gap. When a body is found inside, so the mystery begins. Some of the same characters from the first book and adding in some new, Acker's Gap is starting to feel a bit like home.
I have noticed in these two books that Keller has a main story but then also at least one more secondary story. She does a nice job of advancing both stories in a fluid way that feels natural.
More fabulous similes in this book although I was not on the Kindle so highlighting is not as convenient.
"They're sleeping together, Bell realized. Interesting. She wasn't shocked was a notorious and proudly indiscreet philanderer, and this certainly wouldn't be the first time he hired an employee for an attribute other than familiarity with a spreadsheet - although the word 'spread' surely was applicable."
"Greif unleashed something primitive in people. Something elemental and unpredictable and uncontrollable. If nothing ever happened to knock it loose, if they never - thank God - experienced the sudden loss of someone they loved with a passion past all reckoning, then the grief might stay safely tucked up inside them forever. But if released, it packed vast power..."
"detaching from a difficult day was like rising after a deep dive, she believed. You couldn't do it too quickly. You'd get the bends. You had to be gradual about it, careful, measured, or you'd pay the price on account of the pressure differential. The weight of the terrible crushing sadness had to be broken down slowly into smaller increments so that it could be balanced against normal life" This section then talked about how you can relieve the pressure quickly through alcohol, drugs, food, sex and more. "go slow, Bell reminded herself. She had learned that. Learned to go slow when, at the end of a hard day, she tried to separate herself from the sorrow or the frustration of the job. She couldn't shuck it off too fast" Interesting.
August 30, 2016
I've pretty much hit the motherlode of great mysteries in the last few reads. After A Great Reckoning by the wonderful Louise Penny, I just thoroughly enjoyed Julia Keller's second book featuring the very appealing heroine Bell Elkins. This one was terrific. Bell lives in a depressed area of West Virginia in a small mountain town that once thrived with working coal mines. Now times are really, really hard, and this book's vivid description of the ethos and struggle of a hardscrabble life here in contrast to the stunning beauty of the land itself makes for fascinating reading. Bell has struggles, too...many in her job as county prosecuting attorney, and struggles in her personal life. Her teenage daughter is living with her ex in DC, Bell's difficulties with the men in her life continue, and now the murder of a pregnant teenage girl has devastated the community. Then to really spice things up, the author introduces an element of terrorism and some tragic and shocking events occur as the plot develops. Love this series, love Bell, and I would love for Keller to keep churning these out. She's a heck of a writer.
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