A History of Hangings

by A.M. Rau

Trap. Kill. Bury. Repeat.

Throughout the 1990's, a string of underreported disappearances in the area surrounding Kesseene, Oklahoma caught the attention of investigative reporter Edna Ruth Bland. Once retired from her position with Channel 6 News, she was determined to find the answers to the haunting rumors that she refused to ignore.

In search of work, Toby found himself in the City of Kesseene, where his newly acquired position as a commercial vehicle operator drew the ire of the locals resident. His desperation to provide for his wife and son masked the warning signs of the threats quickly closing in around them.

Their stories would culminate in the discovery of a string of tragedies at the hands of a sadistic, manipulative killer, who orchestrated a chilling series of macabre rituals, weaving a web of terror that transcended time, connecting the victims through a dark and haunting history.

Edna Ruth Bland would be left to unravel the sinister secrets hidden within the shadows of the past.

*This is the first book in a series, The Kesseene Killings. The story continues in the second book, Don't Leave Me With Them*

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 19, 2024

Reviews

[Reader Views · Rating 5 out of 5]

Toby and his wife Faye move to a town inhabited by Native Americans because Toby managed to get a job there. However, because they are white and not members of the tribe, they are treated with hostility and ignorance. This leads to a lot of problems for them, and A.M. Rau’s novel, “A History of Hangings” is about what happens to this family of three that has happened to other non-tribal members living there for many years before. No one would have ever known a thing about it if it hadn’t been for the work of Edna Ruth, a journalist investigating the disappearances in this town.

As I read this story, I was saddened by how terribly Toby, his wife, and young child were treated by the tribe. I get it that some members of the tribe hate the white people swooping into their town and stealing jobs. The tribe’s rage over the failure of the railroad line that once ran through the town being replaced by a trucking company that brings in non-local truckers is completely understandable, but it’s unfortunate that the people only looking for jobs to feed their families are the ones being treated so unkindly. The author does a good job of showing us that there are two sides to a story and that there is not a “right” side and a “wrong” side.

This book is a gripping read. And as a former journalist, I could totally understand Edna’s persistence in trying to get her story. People try to scare her away. And supernatural things happen that would have most folks running for the hills. But Edna is determined. She’s strong and she’s smart.

This novel is told from the viewpoint of the main characters involved in the story: Toby, Faye, Sheriff Tanuho, and Edna. All their stories grabbed my attention and kept me reading. As Toby gets deeper and deeper into trouble, into the clutches of the tribal members out to get him, Edna gets closer to discovering more about the missing people. The story pulled me in from the very beginning as I kept trying to figure things out.

I sincerely enjoyed reading this story! This was certainly a book that was hard to put down. There is so much mystery and an atmosphere of suspense and dread over the supernatural events that take place. The supernatural elements were not over the top or overdone. They were just enough to cause fright yet seemed realistic enough to support and validate all the murmurs and gossip among the locals about the mysterious happenings.

“A History of Hangings” by A.M. Rau is a novel that will appeal to fans of paranormal mysteries as well as Native American stories. A tale of questionable characters and unsolved crimes, it had my attention from beginning to end, offering a good dose of entertainment.

[Breezy Squires · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had a slow start, but the story was there in the beginning that I was curious enough and kept reading. The two characters' stories within the book merged nicely and had me guessing until the end on how they would come together. Overall, it's a nice short thriller story.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A History of Hangings is an indigenous horror thriller. It is the kind of novel that hooks you in from the start. It’s creepy and mysterious, but what really delivers the chills is its depth of history, so ever-present in the novel even though it is never fully explained. It is, in a sense, that shrouded, veiled element of indigenous history, emphasized by the erasure of indigenous rights and history that is so compelling, so horrific; I think that underlying premise makes the book palpably terrifying.

Indeed, the novel and its horror can’t be understood without an acknowledgement of what has happened to indigenous communities in North America. As a reader and historian I greatly appreciate Rau’s attention to indigenous experiences, and the way in which Rau weaves in those awful legacies of settler colonialism.

The novel runs on two timelines: Toby, Faye, and Braxton in one thread of time, Edna Bland in the other, bound together by the captives of the Kesseene people of Oklahoma (a fictitious indigenous tribal community and tribe) in a small, rural Oklahoma town that has disintegrated into poverty and isolation. The Kesseene People’s vengeance has become embodied in something — or someone — and this is the terror Toby, Faye, Braxton, and Edna encounter. I’ll leave it at that; the novel is well-worth the read to discover what happens to them and to the Kesseene people. I finished A History of Hangings in less than a day; I had to know what was going on, who was creeping around, why Toby and Faye were so unwelcome — and what would happen to them.

Rau’s story, compelling as it is, is also very well-crafted and this is a major attraction of the book. Rau’s prose is descriptive, and evocative, with a few well-chosen words; Toby, Faye, Edna, Gil, Tim Jim, and the Sheriff — and even the minor characters they encounter — are fully tangible to the reader. The mood is perfectly captured and sustained throughout the book. Rau’s pace is swift too, delivering the reader to the end where all is explained; it is a satisfying and perplexing ending, perfect for a novel of this genre.

[Nicole Mowery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Good Reads raffle. It was a quick read for me, and I was able to finish the book in a few hours. It was a slow start to the story, and I kept wondering where the plot of the story was going. This was not a negative thing, though, as I usually can figure out where the storyline is going in books. This was a nice break from typical books I read where it's obvious what's going to happen.

The story goes back and forth between "before" and "after," though you do not realize it until you are about 3/4 through the book. The story flows together, and you quickly realize how the two main character stories are connected. The plot has a mythical, bad spirit, other worldly, poltergeist like storyline with a murder mystery and missing people. The storyline kept me intrigued and interested all the way to the end!

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great quick horror read!

I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. A quick horror\thriller read, the story is incredibly well done and causes feelings of anxiety and fear. The only critique (and reason for the one lost star) is that I wish there had been more. The book reads more like a lengthy short story, and while it is great, there are things within the story that I would have liked to see further developed.

4 stars! Thank you to goodreads and the publisher for my copy.

[Jenn Puggini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book in exchange for a review. This book definitely is worth the read!

Remember to know if the locals tell you to leave. They mean it and don't want you there. It's a matter of what are they hiding for the reasoning they don't want you. Will you stay before it's too late, or will you listen and leave?

[Kaitlyn Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable quick read! I finished it in a single day. While short in pages, the story is not short in detail. I really enjoyed how descriptive the author wrote out the scenery and characters.

I really enjoyed the addition of a Native American tribe and the spiritual aspects the author added as well.

I wish the story had been longer as I was really enjoying the plot development.

[Sophie K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway (kindle version).

This was a very enjoyable short read. I liked the different povs, and the story was very creepy! Definitely worth it if you like eerie vibes.

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway & I can say it did not disappoint. It's definitely not what I expected based upon the title, but I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline. The book would be boosted to five stars if it was written in first person.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super quick read. It had the beginnings of a creepy horror story, but I really wanted more from the story. More creep. More horror. Just more.

Thanks to Goodreads for the ARC of this book.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy!!

Running between two parallel timelines that bleed into one, AHoH will leave you sleeping with the lights on and one eye open!!

[Leslie Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy thriller read. It definitely didn't go in the direction I thought it was going.

Thanks for my gifted copy.

[Kailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, creepy read about a small town and the length the locals will go to protect it. Glad I read this in the morning and not at night or I never would’ve slept!

[Megan Harvell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a creepy and thrilling read. I was hooked from the beginning!

[StitchnmommaReads · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF- Strange. Creepy. Weird. Just couldn’t finish