Keziah Dane

by Sue Grafton

Keziah Dane is a widow who lives on the brink of poverty with her children in a small Kentucky town. She lost her husband in a flood that also devastated their town. Keziah will meet a passing drifter who will bring unexpected complications for the Dane family.

Genres: Fiction

220 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Sue Grafton was a #1 New York Times bestselling author. She is best known for her “alphabet series” featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. Prior to success with this series, she wrote screenplays for television movies. Her earlier novels include Keziah Dane (1967) and The Lolly-Madonna War (1969), both out of print. In the book Kinsey and Me she gave us stories that revealed Kinsey's origins and Sue's past.

Grafton never wanted her novels to be turned into movies or TV shows. According to her family she would never allow a ghost writer to write in her name. Because of these things, and out of respect for Sue’s wishes, the family announced the alphabet now ends at “Y”

Grafton was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, the Ross Macdonald Literary Award, three Shamus Awards, and many other honors and awards.

Grafton had three children from previous marriages and several grandchildren, including a granddaughter named Kinsey. She and her husband lived in Montecito, California, and Louisville, Kentucky.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I'm pretty sappy about books and movies, and I'd probably like any book that makes me cry in the first ten pages. We get a very good picture of the dynamic of the Dane family in less than a week of their lives in this book. Keziah tries to be a good mother to her kids with no money, and we see how much the 4 older kids care about and respect their mother, and Ezra and Matthias also try to fill in for their father following the death of him and the oldest son Urie. This novel is very different from Grafton's Kinsey Milhone alphabet series, which are a series of mysteries set in the 1980s in California. This novel would be classified as "literature" by those who would ignore the Milhones because they fall into the mystery genre. I enjoyed this novel, but I can see possibly why it went out of production. There is some very good writing, but there are things that verge on bizarre and almost science-fictional. I have a hard time understanding how the river could flood into the town and the water still be there two years later unless the town was built in a big hole. I also had a hard time completely following the fight scene between Mammaw and Web. Somehow his hand is on the floor in a position to be run over by her rocker, yet it sounds like she's still holding on to him because she grabs him to her right after that happens. She must be extremely strong if she can basically pick up a grown man off the floor. All the descriptions of Mammaw are so disgusting and creepy, like her kissing poor Hiram on the mouth and tasting like she ate a dead animal fur and all, and how she tries to suckle Web. Which reminds me, if she is telling the truth about Floyd bringing his mistresses home to have sex with them at his mother's cabin while she's there, that shows he had some serious problems, too. Then Ezra has to undress Mammaw, which would be bad enough for anyone to see their dead grandmother naked, but she's grossly overweight, has worn the same dress and not bathed in who knows how long, goes to the bathroom in a big jar, and had Web's vomit and a bit mark on her chest, although the last two things are not mentioned after the fight scene. Still, I'm left with a sense of satisfaction at the end, since the characters we're supposed to care about sound like they will live happily every after. At least, there should be enough money for food and clothing for the family, and Matthias is going to marry Mina Jo, and maybe she'll even grow out of being a spoiled brat. The two bad guys in this story, Mammaw and Web, are punnished, although in very odd ways. Those highbrow literary types would probably criticize this type of ending, but that's why books are sometimes better than real life, and the author is allowed to make up a future for the characters. I am grateful for one of Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand mysteries, or I would have never have even known this book existed. I read all the alphabet mysteries, but you wouldn't know from any of them or Grafton's website that she ever wrote anything else. Hart's book actually mentions Grafton's other early novel, The Lolly-Madonna War, which led me to Keziah Dane after looking it up. Both books should be easier to find.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Keziah Dane is a struggling single mother in 1939. Her husband died two years before in a flood, trying to rescue other townspeople, and her son was taken too. This leaves Keziah with no money, and she has to look after four remaining sons and two daughters. In addition, her mother-in-law has gone a little batty with the loss of her son, leaving Keziah to take care of her too. A passing drifter sees the family burying the family dog and figures if they are burying something, it must be money. He ingratiates himself into the family posing as an unconventional minister, and tries to figure out how to get the money. The sub-stories are fairly straightforward – the oldest son wants to go back to the flooded town and dive for salvage, despite the danger; the second oldest son is working for a local farmer and falling in love with the daughter; and the remaining family members are struggling through being at school with much wealthier families.
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WHAT I LIKED:
The sub-story with the second oldest son falling in love with the local farmer’s daughter is really well-done. Her mother is a hypochondriac with a small problem with her foot, but it is interesting to see how the son deals with her, ending up as an excuse to spend time in the house near the daughter. The blossoming romance between the two of them – one practical, one romantic – is really well done, and natural, albeit perhaps mis-placed in time (would work even better in the 1800s, except for the physical side perhaps). I also like the hook for using the farmer himself to drive a plot twist near the end. There is a scene with the drifter and the buried treasure that is beyond disgusting, and made me shudder – a perfectly done description by Grafton. I could see it and I really didn’t want to anymore. Blech. In a good way. The struggle of the children to adapt to their situation, the realization that they are poor and what that means, is strongly written, and captures the heartache, pride, jealousy, desire, fear, happiness, and importance of family that goes along with it. I thought there were a few too many young kids to talk about in the story, and Grafton could have got by with two fewer in my view, but it was not a complete distraction.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The opening is fairly basic, reminiscent of Old Yeller, and doesn’t do much to hook the reader. I’m almost ambivalent towards Keziah Dane herself as she seems like the perfect mother – understanding when she needs to be, long-time sufferer or martyr who soldiers on, but I would have liked to see more conflict within her. A lover perhaps that she goes to visit occasionally. In addition, there is a conflict near the end of the story that is bizarre in detail, although so confused and disjointed in places that it is hard to tell what exactly is happening. The ending is also a little pat, with everyone better off. Grafton potentially missed an opportunity with the chronology – setting the story in November 1939 could have included a hint of the outside world intruding, but no wind of change is blowing their way. It could have easily been set in the 1800s with no real loss of story.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
Grafton can write stories without detectives

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good story but it ended really abruptly. I actually thought my book was missing pages. The storyline built up and then wham, the book was over!

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p4: On this twenty-first of November, 1939, Keziah Dane stared out at the bleak dawn, morning fog as far as the bend, heavy white rising and receding like some remembered tide lapping, silent, at the sides of the boat, the distant dirt shore.

I was concerned that the scumbag might amount to something much worse.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

first impression of Poverty worse than my own. So identified with this little girl

[L Santoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as well written as the Lolly Madonna War, but compelling and hard to put down.