Deep in the Meadows

by Lisa M. Cronkhite

Bianca “Bee” Thompson’s brother, Jimmy has been dead for ten months, yet she still feels his presence lingering. And one question haunts her: Was Jimmy’s death an accident?

Probing into the events on the night of Jimmy’s death, Bee hears strange voices. The voices lead her to a blood-splattered room, a terrifying threat, and a deadly trap. Is Bee on the trail of her brother’s murderer, or is she entangled in a totally different and much more diabolical plot?

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2014

About the author

Midwest Author Lisa M. Cronkhite’s love for writing started when she was a teen, journaling of her torrid romance with her first boyfriend then and now husband of over two decades. She picked up writing again after her first bipolar episode and psychotic break when her doctor recommended it as a coping skill. Once again, with pencil in hand, Lisa dove herself into crafting poetry. Through the years, Lisa has published her poems in print and online magazines such as Poetry Repairs, Grey Sparrow Press, Sacramento Poetry Center, Poetry Salzburg Review and many more. Lisa also has short stories in magazines like Suspense Magazine and YA Fiction magazine Suddenly Lost in Words.

Her novels include Dreaming a Reality, Demon Girl and Deep in the Meadows. Disconnected is her fourth novel. Lisa is currently working on her next novel, Blackwood Lake.

Reviews

[Yawatta Hosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The opening scene really caught my attention. There was some foreshadowing that something was wrong with Jimmy. If only he had a chance to speak with Bee…The story was written in Bee’s first point-of-view. I liked getting inside of her head because she had suspicions about her brother’s death. Readers were part of finding out the mystery alongside Bee. The author did a great job with red herrings–I was really shocked with the ending!

My favorite line was: “I know he’s gone, but my mind plays tricks on me.” Or did it? Bee’s brother, Jimmy, haunted her. I felt really bad for the family as a whole. The dad was trying to stay in denial while the mom was really hurting. She was depressed and needed help. It was sad that Bee couldn’t go to anyone for support; those family scenes were full of drama and emotion. She tried her best friend, Ryan, but he was preoccupied with his new girlfriend. Bee finally broke down and discussed things with her guidance counselor.

Lisa M. Cronkhite has a brilliant talent with characterization. The people in her story were three-dimensional. Even though the story was written in first-person, I felt like I really got to know all the characters. The bullies–I really hated. The good guys–I really liked. Some people even surprised me. I had rooted for Bee and Ryan to start a relationship. But could she find someone better? Are the good guys really decent human beings? Or is something dark lurking inside of them? You’ll have to read to find out.

I RECOMMEND this book to read.

[Tammy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep in the Meadows is the type of book that reaches out and grabs a hold of you then locks you down and sets you up for the biggest nail biting edge of your seat thrill ride! The element of mystery and suspense leaves you wondering what may lurk within each page. I enjoyed the that this story also had a bit of a paranormal side to it. As each character comes to light you quickly get a feel for each of them. Bee (Bianca) was almost obsessed with need to discover what really happened to her brother Jimmy. I liked her but at times Bee had me questioning my own sanity. Bee at times seemed almost reckless and on a path of self destruction by jumping into situation before thinking them through. Her parent were on two different paths themselves as her mom was truly heart broken and down right depressed dad was in complete denial and could not accept Jimmy's death. As the story became darker and the bad guys were exposed I found myself wanting to rip them apart. I found this story fairly interesting and intriguing through out most of it. Deep in the Meadows was a short read with an ending that will leave you in utter shock!

[Jolene Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to start off with a tangent.

Can I just say how excited I was to open the first page of the book and see a reference to hockey? I am a huge hockey fan. Huge. And it seems like hockey doesn’t exist in the YA world. And then I opened this book and read the first page. The main character’s brother sets his hockey gear down and steps over his bag and I was like YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I know it’s weird and I’m probably the only person in the world who cares, but I was pumped to see this. It was refreshing. *End weird hockey tangent*

Pacing – I was very pleased at how this book’s pacing went. I didn’t have to wait 40 pages for the action. All in the first chapter we have suspense, nerves, mystery, and a death! Yes, all in the opening chapter. I really liked that Lisa didn’t make us wait for the action. She brought it to us full force.

POV – I used to hate first person point of view. But after reading several books with it like Divergent, etc., I’ve actually started to really love it. I thought this book was done well in first person and I’m not sure it would have had the same effect told otherwise.

Dialogue – I found the dialogue to be very playful and fun to read, when it came to exchanges between Bianca and Ryan. It added a fun dimension to the novel.

All in all, I thought this was a fun read. I’d recommend it to lovers of suspense, dark literature, and playful banter.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://youngadultbookmadness.wordpres...

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty great book, great mystery, I enjoyed it, and yeah, just a good book!