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Bell Elkins #8
The Cold Way Home
In the next powerful mystery from Julia Keller, former West Virginia prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins investigates the murder of a teenager while continuing to rebuild her life.
Bell Elkins and Jake Oakes make a good team, so good that they decide after years of working together to hang out their shingle: BJ Investigations, LLC. With his former-cop’s instinctive approach and her former-prosecutor’s affinity for facts, they’re a perfect fit for the routine clients who come their way. It’s not until Amber Slight’s body is uncovered face down in the West Virginia woods that they get their first real challenge.
With most of the forensic evidence at the scene destroyed by a week of rain, Bell and Jake have to rely on their wits to figure out what really happened to Amber, a mystery that may lead back to the halls of Ackers Gap High School. As Bell tries to uncover the truth, an old friend returns to town with motives Bell doesn't quite trust. It’s up to Bell to face both challenges, those that could impact the living and those that honor the dead.
Pulitzer-prize winner Julia Keller returns to her acclaimed series that is as much about the life of a small Appalachian town as it is about the lives and deaths of its citizens.
Bell Elkins and Jake Oakes make a good team, so good that they decide after years of working together to hang out their shingle: BJ Investigations, LLC. With his former-cop’s instinctive approach and her former-prosecutor’s affinity for facts, they’re a perfect fit for the routine clients who come their way. It’s not until Amber Slight’s body is uncovered face down in the West Virginia woods that they get their first real challenge.
With most of the forensic evidence at the scene destroyed by a week of rain, Bell and Jake have to rely on their wits to figure out what really happened to Amber, a mystery that may lead back to the halls of Ackers Gap High School. As Bell tries to uncover the truth, an old friend returns to town with motives Bell doesn't quite trust. It’s up to Bell to face both challenges, those that could impact the living and those that honor the dead.
Pulitzer-prize winner Julia Keller returns to her acclaimed series that is as much about the life of a small Appalachian town as it is about the lives and deaths of its citizens.
306 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2019
189 people are currently reading
794 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 167 reviews
November 5, 2019
This is one of the rare series that I became attached after the first book. Now on number right, I am enjoying these more and more. These are not typical mysteries, but stories of a particular time and place. Yes, there is a murder, but it is a murder to hide secrets from over fifty years before.
Akers Gap, West Virginia has been hit hard by the opioid crisis, large number of unemployed and people with little about which to care. There are also good people, people who do care, sticking around to try to help the inflicted. It is also a town that harbors a dark secret. A mental institution that once stood in the woods, but now has crumbled to bare bones, nature overtaking much of what was left. A secret buried in the past of this once mighty institution.
The characters are fantastic, Bell, Jake and Nick, have been through much, but have now formed their own investigation agency. There back stories are interesting, some of the tendrils of their past are far reaching. These stories seem so very real, and I imagine things like what happen within, do happen in cities all over the US. Highlighting the plights of the Appalachians, a much marginalized people that are brought to the forefront in this series. Extremely well plotted and well written.
ARC from Edelweiss
Akers Gap, West Virginia has been hit hard by the opioid crisis, large number of unemployed and people with little about which to care. There are also good people, people who do care, sticking around to try to help the inflicted. It is also a town that harbors a dark secret. A mental institution that once stood in the woods, but now has crumbled to bare bones, nature overtaking much of what was left. A secret buried in the past of this once mighty institution.
The characters are fantastic, Bell, Jake and Nick, have been through much, but have now formed their own investigation agency. There back stories are interesting, some of the tendrils of their past are far reaching. These stories seem so very real, and I imagine things like what happen within, do happen in cities all over the US. Highlighting the plights of the Appalachians, a much marginalized people that are brought to the forefront in this series. Extremely well plotted and well written.
ARC from Edelweiss
September 14, 2019
Bell Elkins, former prosecutor in Akins Gap, W. Virginia, along with former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former detective Jake Oakes, have formed a private investigation team. They are given the task of investigating the murder of a woman when Bell discovers the body on the grounds of a psychiatric hospital which had burned to the ground many years ago.
I love Julia Keller's books and this was no exception - in fact in my opinion it was one of her best to date. The character of Bell is very likable, as well as the rest of the team. A murder, and the mystery of strange goings-on at the old hospital play a big part in the story, which comes to a satisfying conclusion. I could not put this book down!
5 stars
I love Julia Keller's books and this was no exception - in fact in my opinion it was one of her best to date. The character of Bell is very likable, as well as the rest of the team. A murder, and the mystery of strange goings-on at the old hospital play a big part in the story, which comes to a satisfying conclusion. I could not put this book down!
5 stars
August 24, 2019
My first book by Keller. It is part of a series I am told but it reads as a stand alone. Not for the fact that it takes place in West Virginia or that the author is from Ohio. This book took me on a ride and I loved every minute of it. I can't wait to get my hands on more of her books.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.
August 19, 2019
Ever since her first book in the Bell Elkins series, Killing in the Hills, I’ve been a huge Julia Keller fan and even on her 8th book in the series, she does not disappoint. Keller vividly paints a picture of Ackers Gap, WV, with all its local color. Always when reading her books, I feel like am a part of the setting.
In the Cold Way Home, Bell’s story continues as she and her two friends and business partners try to solve a murder that takes them on a scavenger hunt into Ackers Gap’s sordid and not talked about past. Each character is brought to life and very real, including Bell herself. Keller is genius in creating just the right amount of suspense throughout and this was a definite page-turner. The series and writing style is similar to that of Paul Doiron and Allen Eskens. I loved everything about this and highly recommend it to all fans of contemporary mysteries. This is a series not to be missed!
Many thanks to Edelweiss, Minotaur Books and Julia Keller for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
In the Cold Way Home, Bell’s story continues as she and her two friends and business partners try to solve a murder that takes them on a scavenger hunt into Ackers Gap’s sordid and not talked about past. Each character is brought to life and very real, including Bell herself. Keller is genius in creating just the right amount of suspense throughout and this was a definite page-turner. The series and writing style is similar to that of Paul Doiron and Allen Eskens. I loved everything about this and highly recommend it to all fans of contemporary mysteries. This is a series not to be missed!
Many thanks to Edelweiss, Minotaur Books and Julia Keller for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
September 5, 2019
Wow. Keller managed to take another deeply depressing facet of life in Acker’s Gap, resolve a confusing mystery and still leave a sense of optimism for the reader and for Bell and her friends.
May 28, 2020
In Acker's Gap, West Virginia resides an investigative firm made up of "formers". Bell Elkins, 54, is a former prosecutor, Nick Fogelsong, 68, is the former sheriff, and Jake Oakes, 30, is a former deputy. They consult with the prosecutors office and take other cases on their own. Maggie Folsom needs them to find her runaway daughter Dixie Sue.
Bell finds a body at Wellstone, the old burned down mental hospital out in the woods. No, not Dixie Sue but definitely another case to solve.
If you don't like the three main characters and their personal lives, you might not like this book. Yes, there is a mystery but mostly I liked and was impressed by the characters. It was easy to see the poverty described in the book. I am so glad Bell got a dog in the story because we all know dogs enrich people's lives. I didn't know the killer until it was revealed.
Somehow I've missed this series in my reading life but I definitely want to find and read the others.
Bell finds a body at Wellstone, the old burned down mental hospital out in the woods. No, not Dixie Sue but definitely another case to solve.
If you don't like the three main characters and their personal lives, you might not like this book. Yes, there is a mystery but mostly I liked and was impressed by the characters. It was easy to see the poverty described in the book. I am so glad Bell got a dog in the story because we all know dogs enrich people's lives. I didn't know the killer until it was revealed.
Somehow I've missed this series in my reading life but I definitely want to find and read the others.
September 1, 2019
I have developed an affinity for Julia Keller’s Bell Elkins series. Acker’s Gap exists in that foggy neverland between fiction and reality, modeled after a real-world small town on the outskirts of Huntington, West Virginia, which has been assimilated into its big brother’s city limits but continues to function as a neighborhood. Bell Elkins, Keller’s complex heroine, has lived in the area all her life. Her circumstances have changed as the series has evolved, and the former town prosecutor is now self-employed as a private investigator.
The story of how this came to be is set out in full in the previous seven volumes but is summarized in the newly published THE COLD WAY HOME, which gives Elkins’ experience as a resident of the area a leg up on solving a bizarre crime that has its roots many decades in the past.
The opioid crisis that plagues Appalachia generally and the Huntington area specifically is displayed front and center as the book commences with a startling vignette that will launch any number of readers (including this one) out of their seats. Keller, who honed her writing chops as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch and the Chicago Tribune, knows how to get the attention of her audience and keep it, and she displays this knowledge early on. The vignette in question hovers over the book like a shadow from beginning to end. However, it shares space with a search that is undertaken when a young woman, who has not learned the lesson of the evil of bad companions, goes missing. Her mother hires Elkins’ team of investigators, which includes former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes, to find her.
A rumor here and a tip there lead Elkins to a grim discovery: a body with a fatal wound that is obviously anything but self-inflicted. The corpse is found on the ruins of Wellwood, a notorious psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. The woods around the destroyed building was a play area for Elkins during her childhood, but for the most part, it has anything but good memories for her.
Elkins and her team, not to mention local law enforcement, are faced with an uphill battle while trying to speak for the dead woman. They must uncover why she was where she was at the time of her death and the motive for killing her in order to bring the murderer to justice. All that they have going for them, at least at first, is a mysterious meeting that the deceased had with someone at the town diner. Then a package is received at Elkins’ office, which helps to slowly unravel the dark and mysterious ribbon that is wrapped around the box that hides the mystery.
Meanwhile, Elkins, Fogelsong and Oakes are each attempting to deal with their own issues in both the past and the present, all of which have an effect on the ultimate outcome of the story and with the series going forward. Surprises abound as revelations occur. Keep yourself strapped in as you read.
Keller reminds me of Helen Fuller Orton, a prolific children’s mystery author who wrote books that often took place in rustic settings. Orton could wring every bit of mystery out of a situation without the reader knowing it and make it look interesting, while populating her books with identifiable and sympathetic characters. Although this series is most definitely not for children, Keller’s ability to dig less than obvious plots out of dark landscapes is noteworthy. One has the feeling that she is just getting started with her tales of Bell Elkins and the streets of Acker’s Gap. I, for one, will be happy to read these novels as long as she continues to write them.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
The story of how this came to be is set out in full in the previous seven volumes but is summarized in the newly published THE COLD WAY HOME, which gives Elkins’ experience as a resident of the area a leg up on solving a bizarre crime that has its roots many decades in the past.
The opioid crisis that plagues Appalachia generally and the Huntington area specifically is displayed front and center as the book commences with a startling vignette that will launch any number of readers (including this one) out of their seats. Keller, who honed her writing chops as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch and the Chicago Tribune, knows how to get the attention of her audience and keep it, and she displays this knowledge early on. The vignette in question hovers over the book like a shadow from beginning to end. However, it shares space with a search that is undertaken when a young woman, who has not learned the lesson of the evil of bad companions, goes missing. Her mother hires Elkins’ team of investigators, which includes former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes, to find her.
A rumor here and a tip there lead Elkins to a grim discovery: a body with a fatal wound that is obviously anything but self-inflicted. The corpse is found on the ruins of Wellwood, a notorious psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. The woods around the destroyed building was a play area for Elkins during her childhood, but for the most part, it has anything but good memories for her.
Elkins and her team, not to mention local law enforcement, are faced with an uphill battle while trying to speak for the dead woman. They must uncover why she was where she was at the time of her death and the motive for killing her in order to bring the murderer to justice. All that they have going for them, at least at first, is a mysterious meeting that the deceased had with someone at the town diner. Then a package is received at Elkins’ office, which helps to slowly unravel the dark and mysterious ribbon that is wrapped around the box that hides the mystery.
Meanwhile, Elkins, Fogelsong and Oakes are each attempting to deal with their own issues in both the past and the present, all of which have an effect on the ultimate outcome of the story and with the series going forward. Surprises abound as revelations occur. Keep yourself strapped in as you read.
Keller reminds me of Helen Fuller Orton, a prolific children’s mystery author who wrote books that often took place in rustic settings. Orton could wring every bit of mystery out of a situation without the reader knowing it and make it look interesting, while populating her books with identifiable and sympathetic characters. Although this series is most definitely not for children, Keller’s ability to dig less than obvious plots out of dark landscapes is noteworthy. One has the feeling that she is just getting started with her tales of Bell Elkins and the streets of Acker’s Gap. I, for one, will be happy to read these novels as long as she continues to write them.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
February 20, 2021
The Bell Elkins series is one I have loved from the beginning. Set in rural West Virginia, the books have concentrated on the opioid crisis that has wreaked havoc in many communities. Bell is no longer a prosecutor and has formed a private investigation agency with two other characters we have followed through the series. There is a valid reason for this change, but the adjustment to new circumstances has modified the central theme somewhat and Bell's scrappy nature is subdued.
In this entry, a body is found in the decaying ruins of a mental hospital. Bell and her colleagues are hired by the Prosecutor's office to investigate a crime that seemingly has no motive. Here is where I had some trouble. In my opinion, the eventual rationale for the murder is flimsy. That aside, I enjoyed catching up with Bell's inner circle in Acker's Gap. The richly drawn setting populated by some exceptional people is what keeps me coming back.
In this entry, a body is found in the decaying ruins of a mental hospital. Bell and her colleagues are hired by the Prosecutor's office to investigate a crime that seemingly has no motive. Here is where I had some trouble. In my opinion, the eventual rationale for the murder is flimsy. That aside, I enjoyed catching up with Bell's inner circle in Acker's Gap. The richly drawn setting populated by some exceptional people is what keeps me coming back.
September 1, 2019
I'm a big fan of the Bell Elkins series. It features intriguing characters, a colorful setting, and compelling mysteries. This newest installment is no exception. It was fun to see Bell acting in her new capacity as a private investigator, along with Jake Oakes and Nick Fogelsong. We get a few glimpses into all of their personal lives, where they're each struggling with different conflicts, as well as their professional ones. I'm intrigued by the treatment of mental illness in the 1800s and early 1900s, so I like that THE COLD WAY HOME featured that subject. While it was disturbing, it was also fascinating. The mystery in this installment is, admittedly, a little thin, as is the killer's motive, but the murderer's identity did surprise me. All in all, I enjoyed this one and will, as always, look forward to the next book in the series.
August 25, 2019
I received this book from St. Martins Press in return for my honest review:
I had no idea going into to this book that it was part of a series. With that being said it was great as a stand alone. I didn't feel as if I was missing information by not reading the first 7 books. I actually want to work backwards now and start at the beginning that is how much I enjoyed the book.
The Cold Way Home is set in a small town rich with problems! Ackers Gap WV. It follows Bell Elkins as she try's to uncover a murder that many don't understand. Bell is an former prosecutor who has starting an investigation business with Nick (a former sheriff) and Jake (a former deputy). While trying to track down a killer Bell learns some disturbing history about the town she has grown up in. A very well kept secret in a very small town. While uncovering the truth she finds herself in a bit of a jam. Who killed Darla and what happened at Wellwood??
I had no idea going into to this book that it was part of a series. With that being said it was great as a stand alone. I didn't feel as if I was missing information by not reading the first 7 books. I actually want to work backwards now and start at the beginning that is how much I enjoyed the book.
The Cold Way Home is set in a small town rich with problems! Ackers Gap WV. It follows Bell Elkins as she try's to uncover a murder that many don't understand. Bell is an former prosecutor who has starting an investigation business with Nick (a former sheriff) and Jake (a former deputy). While trying to track down a killer Bell learns some disturbing history about the town she has grown up in. A very well kept secret in a very small town. While uncovering the truth she finds herself in a bit of a jam. Who killed Darla and what happened at Wellwood??
November 2, 2019
Author Julia Keller captures so much of the Appalachian culture in her books. Set in West Virginia, she describes not just the geography but the people, the history, the devastation of the opioid crisis. And she does it through the wonderful characters she creates. Reading her Bell Elkins mysteries is like being transported to a different world.
This is the latest in the series, and I suggest that you begin with the first one: A Killing in the Hills. If you like mysteries, you won't be disappointed.
This is the latest in the series, and I suggest that you begin with the first one: A Killing in the Hills. If you like mysteries, you won't be disappointed.
September 8, 2019
Another exquisitely written novel about life in Acker's Gap, WV with Belfa Elkins and Nick Fogelsong. In this installment they have now formed a detective agency with former deputy Jake Oakes. They're hired to find a missing teenager, but what they find instead is a local woman murdered. As they begin to investigate, dark secrets surrounding a former local state hospital are revealed. Julia Keller's books are so rich in characterization and the setting has become for me, like another character for me..the most interesting one. She clearly loves this area and that love comes through in her writing..the kind that makes me stop and read lines twice just to appreciate them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2019
Bitter River was my introduction to Acker's Gap, West Virginia and Bell Elkins. Acker's Gap, a small town in Appalachia must deal with the problems of poverty, unemployment, and drugs that have typified areas of Appalachia. The Cold Way Home is the 8th book in the series, and an awful lot has happened to the characters since Bitter River. (I intended to continue with the series, but somehow never did.)
Although I missed all the books in between, The Cold Way Home can be read as a stand-alone as the plot is contained within the pages of the novel.
At least ten years have past since Bitter River, and Bell has had quite a few live changes: she is no longer the county prosecutor, her daughter is grown, Nick Fogleman has retired and there is a new sheriff. The lives of the characters have continued and situations have changed--as they do in the normal course of living.
Currently, Bell, Nick , and Jake Oakes have formed a small detective agency, often assisting the sheriff and prosecutor when they are overwhelmed with other problems. The three decide to take the case of a missing young woman: Dixie Sue is nineteen, but "simple" as her mother tells Bell.
Someone has seen Dixie Sue and her new boyfriend in the woods near Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital that burned to the ground in the 1960's, and when Bell treks up the ruins of the hospital, she discovers the body of a woman. The body is face down, and Bell assumes it is Dixie Sue, but once the sheriff and coroner arrive, the body turns out to be Darla Gilley.
Who would want to kill Darla? The detective team gets involved with the investigation and all kinds of secrets eventually come to light--especially concerning the hospital itself and those who worked there.
The early treatment of the mentally ill was especially grotesque, and patients were committed for reasons that were not always medical. Although Wellwood may be a fictional facility, Walter F. Freeman was a real person and practiced until 1967. Spoiler:
NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Mystery. August 20, 2019. Print length: 320 pages.
Although I missed all the books in between, The Cold Way Home can be read as a stand-alone as the plot is contained within the pages of the novel.
At least ten years have past since Bitter River, and Bell has had quite a few live changes: she is no longer the county prosecutor, her daughter is grown, Nick Fogleman has retired and there is a new sheriff. The lives of the characters have continued and situations have changed--as they do in the normal course of living.
Currently, Bell, Nick , and Jake Oakes have formed a small detective agency, often assisting the sheriff and prosecutor when they are overwhelmed with other problems. The three decide to take the case of a missing young woman: Dixie Sue is nineteen, but "simple" as her mother tells Bell.
Someone has seen Dixie Sue and her new boyfriend in the woods near Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital that burned to the ground in the 1960's, and when Bell treks up the ruins of the hospital, she discovers the body of a woman. The body is face down, and Bell assumes it is Dixie Sue, but once the sheriff and coroner arrive, the body turns out to be Darla Gilley.
Who would want to kill Darla? The detective team gets involved with the investigation and all kinds of secrets eventually come to light--especially concerning the hospital itself and those who worked there.
The early treatment of the mentally ill was especially grotesque, and patients were committed for reasons that were not always medical. Although Wellwood may be a fictional facility, Walter F. Freeman was a real person and practiced until 1967. Spoiler:
NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Mystery. August 20, 2019. Print length: 320 pages.
August 25, 2019
The Cold Way Home – Julia Keller
It’s another night in Ackers Gap, WV, and Deputy Brinksneader is ready to call his shift done, and head home to his wife’s cooking, when a call comes in to assist with an incident at the Burger Boss. Upon entering, it becomes apparent that paramedics are treating yet another drug overdose in the grimy bathroom stall. Until they find a just birthed infant in the toilet…
Meanwhile Bell, a former prosecutor, Nick, the former Sheriff & Jake, a deputy who is wheelchair bound after line of duty injury, are settling into their investigative office to review their ongoing cases. Most pressing is the disappearance of a young teenager. Following a lead, Bell walks deep in the woods to the grounds of an old psychiatric hospital in search of the missing Dixie Sue, and stumbles across a prone body that bears the evidence of a homicide.
As local police arrive and turn the victim over, Bell realizes it’s not the missing teen at all – its Darla Gilley, the sister of a local, Joe Gilley. But why in the world would she be up at the old Wellwood Hospital site? And who would want to kill her? Why?
Nick & Bell visit the family in hopes of finding some clues, and what they learn is perplexing. As they work to find the missing teen, they also work to solve Darla’s murder, As Bell digs deep, she finds and old diary, and learns some very unpleasant things about the old psychiatric hospital in the woods…and in doing so, she inadvertently crosses paths with a killer. A killer determined to keep the past where it belongs…
This is my first novel by Julia Keller and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The main characters are all likeable and I enjoy the insights into their pasts as well as who they are today, particularly the dilemma that Jake and girlfriend Molly have to contend with. I do not know if this is a standalone or not, but I sincerely hope that these characters appear in future works – I’d love to learn more of Nick & Bell’s past, which she alludes to a bit in this story. So, here’s hoping!! Ms. Keller gets an A+ from this reader! I look forward to reading more of her works!
I was fortunate to receive this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review. This review will also publish to my blog, tropicaldelusions.blog,.
It’s another night in Ackers Gap, WV, and Deputy Brinksneader is ready to call his shift done, and head home to his wife’s cooking, when a call comes in to assist with an incident at the Burger Boss. Upon entering, it becomes apparent that paramedics are treating yet another drug overdose in the grimy bathroom stall. Until they find a just birthed infant in the toilet…
Meanwhile Bell, a former prosecutor, Nick, the former Sheriff & Jake, a deputy who is wheelchair bound after line of duty injury, are settling into their investigative office to review their ongoing cases. Most pressing is the disappearance of a young teenager. Following a lead, Bell walks deep in the woods to the grounds of an old psychiatric hospital in search of the missing Dixie Sue, and stumbles across a prone body that bears the evidence of a homicide.
As local police arrive and turn the victim over, Bell realizes it’s not the missing teen at all – its Darla Gilley, the sister of a local, Joe Gilley. But why in the world would she be up at the old Wellwood Hospital site? And who would want to kill her? Why?
Nick & Bell visit the family in hopes of finding some clues, and what they learn is perplexing. As they work to find the missing teen, they also work to solve Darla’s murder, As Bell digs deep, she finds and old diary, and learns some very unpleasant things about the old psychiatric hospital in the woods…and in doing so, she inadvertently crosses paths with a killer. A killer determined to keep the past where it belongs…
This is my first novel by Julia Keller and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The main characters are all likeable and I enjoy the insights into their pasts as well as who they are today, particularly the dilemma that Jake and girlfriend Molly have to contend with. I do not know if this is a standalone or not, but I sincerely hope that these characters appear in future works – I’d love to learn more of Nick & Bell’s past, which she alludes to a bit in this story. So, here’s hoping!! Ms. Keller gets an A+ from this reader! I look forward to reading more of her works!
I was fortunate to receive this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review. This review will also publish to my blog, tropicaldelusions.blog,.
October 2, 2019
Minotaur Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Cold Way Home. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.
Bell Elkins is no longer a prosecutor in the small West Virginia town of Acker's Gap, but is trying to help law enforcement fill in the cracks in the system by working as a private investigator. Joined in partnership with former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes, the team is given the case of a missing teenager that leads them straight into the tortured past of the region. Will the investigation lead the trio straight into danger?
I have read all of the previous novels featuring Bell Elkins and I do not necessarily like the direction that the author has taken. Bell's abilities as a member of the legal profession gave her more depth, leading the character on a very different path than now. The historical background was more interesting than the novel itself, which was a disappointment to me. I really like Bell for her honesty, her intelligence, and her abilities as a first rate investigator and lawyer, but none of this came through in this novel. Readers new to the series should absolutely start at the beginning, but I am hesitant to recommend this novel.
Bell Elkins is no longer a prosecutor in the small West Virginia town of Acker's Gap, but is trying to help law enforcement fill in the cracks in the system by working as a private investigator. Joined in partnership with former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes, the team is given the case of a missing teenager that leads them straight into the tortured past of the region. Will the investigation lead the trio straight into danger?
I have read all of the previous novels featuring Bell Elkins and I do not necessarily like the direction that the author has taken. Bell's abilities as a member of the legal profession gave her more depth, leading the character on a very different path than now. The historical background was more interesting than the novel itself, which was a disappointment to me. I really like Bell for her honesty, her intelligence, and her abilities as a first rate investigator and lawyer, but none of this came through in this novel. Readers new to the series should absolutely start at the beginning, but I am hesitant to recommend this novel.
September 9, 2019
3.5 stars. Two different storylines going on in this one -- both were good, but they were so distinctly different that they didn't seem to work with each other. A woman is killed in West Virginia, found dead in the woods in the ruins of an old asylum, near where her grandmother (who had worked at the asylum) had been killed years before. Keller digs into the history of asylums and the way women were sent away -- and in some cases lobotomized to make them "more compliant". Solid mystery with an end I didn't see coming.
September 10, 2019
Got this on reserve at the library, hooray! But sadly this is not the best of the series. The author has moved her character from prosecutor to PI (maybe she thought that would work better?) but the approach seems half-baked as is the plot of this book. A lot of plot lines are left hanging, probably for the next book? Hope Keller doesn't lose her way entirely, I really like the main character.
September 12, 2019
I always like her books. They're mysteries set in the real world, with characters facing real-world problems. Read the one that comes before this (I forget the name) if you want a tutorial on how the opiod epidemic has wreaked havoc on America.
Read
December 6, 2022Bell, Nick & Jake have started a private investigations service & while Bell is searching for a missing teenager, she discovers a body in the woods near the ruins of Wellwood, an old psychiatric hospital outside of Acker's Gap, where Bell used to play as a child. Bell & Nick go with the sheriff to notify victim, Darla Gilley's family because Nick is a close friend of the victim's brother Joe & they learn that his wife Brenda gave Darla a ride to town that morning and that Darla & Joe's grandmother had been murdered at Wellwood and the case had never been solved.
Meanwhile, Jake had gotten some tips about the missing girl & took Malik with him to check out the trailer where she reportedly was hanging out with her boyfriend & some of his cousins in a trailer outside of town. Malik followed the directions Jake gave him & together they convincingly staged a SWAT-like rescue of Dixie Sue.
The team then works with the prosecutor & sheriff to unravel both murders, all the while individually dealing with issues in their personal lives - Jake's dilemma about Molly wanting to become a parent; Nick's secret relationship with Jackie who runs JP's, the local diner; and Bell's new dog Arthur & her continuing struggle with her past & options for the future.
Darla had recently left her husband and was living in the attic of the family home, where Joe & Brenda now live. She had discovered a diary written by her grandmother Bessie & learned that both Bessie & her brother had stopped going to school & started working when they were 14 - Bessie had worked at Wellwood and talked about some of the people who worked there & described some of the mistreatment of patients. Before she was killed, Darla had mailed the diary to Nick at the new investigations office because he was her brother's best friend, and asked for his advice about what to do with it.
Darla's husband was quickly dismissed as a suspect. The next possible suspect was the truck driver had picked her up in town and was identified when he returned Darla's purse to her family home. When Nick checked on Brenda's comment that Darla mentioned she was meeting someone at JP's, he reported that Jackie didn't remember Darla sitting with anyone but would check with her staff. When the team talked about the diary & how Bessie included notes suggesting she suspected her brother was looking at her diary but she would "outsmart him," Bell wondered about the possibility of a second diary.
During another visit to Joe & Brenda's, Brenda told Bell that when they first met, Joe had told her about something awful that had happened in his family - his Uncle Donnie had to quit school and work for a man who repaired cars even though the family knew the man sexually abused the boys he hired; and that Joe's great-grandmother had been a patient at Wellwood when she had post-partum depression and that the family had hear stories about cold baths, shock treatments, and other awful things. Then Bell started wondering how the truck driver knew to bring the purse back to Joe & Brenda's house. When she contacted him, he said she was upset when he picked her up and had asked that he bring her to "a big old farmhouse" and then to Briney Hollow, where Wellwood was. When she came out of the house, she was carrying what looked like a pillowcase and she looked even more agitated than when he picked her up outside the diner.
The next day, when Bell went to the woods near Wellwood and searched around the Monster Tree where she had played as a kid, she found the pillowcase with the second diary in it. It revealed that Bessie had actually assisted with the secret procedures that were performed at Wellwood but that she had changed her mind and begun to record the names of women who had been victims at Wellwood, identified the staff who directed the activities, described the procedures that were used to shock & lobotomize the women. In the entry from the day before she was killed, Bessie reported that Ophelia Browning, who was the doctor's assistant & lover, had seen her writing the names in the palm of her hand, and that Bessie had run from her & would leave the next day after she picked up her paycheck.
After she had read the diary & was trying to piece things together, Bell heard someone approaching & saw it was Jackie. Not sure why she was there, Bell started talking to Jackie & learned the rest of what happened by telling her what the team knew so far & letting Jackie fill in the story -
* it was Jackie Darla had met with at the diner because Ophelia Browning was Jackie's grandmother;
*Darla had called Jackie the day before to tell her about the diary and Jackie had been frantic & threatened to destroy it because she had promised her mother, who knew about what had happened at Wellwood, she would not let anyone trash their family name;
* when they met & Darla was more specific about what was in the diary, Jackie realized the information in the diary wasn't as damning as she had imagined & she wondered if there was another diary;
* Jackie's different reaction must have made Darla realize there must be a second diary & that is why she went back to find it;w
* when Jackie took her afternoon break to get fire wood for the stove, she went to Briney Hollow because the truck she had seen Darla get into was headed out of town toward there;
* when she found Darla, Jackie asked where the second diary was & when Darla wouldn't tell her, she chased her & threw her hatchet at her.
When Bell told her the second diary was basically a confession by Bessie that she had been involved & Darla probably buried the diary so it would never be found, Jackie realized Bell was the only one who knows the truth she approached her with the hatchet. But Bell's new dog Arthur & Nick arrive on the scene in time to prevent another death. At Bell's house later that evening, Nick & Bell finally have an honest conversation about Nick's relationship with Jackie & the next evening Jake & Molly see Bell at the facility that cares for infants born to drug-addicted moms where the child they hope to adopt is being cared for.
Meanwhile, Jake had gotten some tips about the missing girl & took Malik with him to check out the trailer where she reportedly was hanging out with her boyfriend & some of his cousins in a trailer outside of town. Malik followed the directions Jake gave him & together they convincingly staged a SWAT-like rescue of Dixie Sue.
The team then works with the prosecutor & sheriff to unravel both murders, all the while individually dealing with issues in their personal lives - Jake's dilemma about Molly wanting to become a parent; Nick's secret relationship with Jackie who runs JP's, the local diner; and Bell's new dog Arthur & her continuing struggle with her past & options for the future.
Darla had recently left her husband and was living in the attic of the family home, where Joe & Brenda now live. She had discovered a diary written by her grandmother Bessie & learned that both Bessie & her brother had stopped going to school & started working when they were 14 - Bessie had worked at Wellwood and talked about some of the people who worked there & described some of the mistreatment of patients. Before she was killed, Darla had mailed the diary to Nick at the new investigations office because he was her brother's best friend, and asked for his advice about what to do with it.
Darla's husband was quickly dismissed as a suspect. The next possible suspect was the truck driver had picked her up in town and was identified when he returned Darla's purse to her family home. When Nick checked on Brenda's comment that Darla mentioned she was meeting someone at JP's, he reported that Jackie didn't remember Darla sitting with anyone but would check with her staff. When the team talked about the diary & how Bessie included notes suggesting she suspected her brother was looking at her diary but she would "outsmart him," Bell wondered about the possibility of a second diary.
During another visit to Joe & Brenda's, Brenda told Bell that when they first met, Joe had told her about something awful that had happened in his family - his Uncle Donnie had to quit school and work for a man who repaired cars even though the family knew the man sexually abused the boys he hired; and that Joe's great-grandmother had been a patient at Wellwood when she had post-partum depression and that the family had hear stories about cold baths, shock treatments, and other awful things. Then Bell started wondering how the truck driver knew to bring the purse back to Joe & Brenda's house. When she contacted him, he said she was upset when he picked her up and had asked that he bring her to "a big old farmhouse" and then to Briney Hollow, where Wellwood was. When she came out of the house, she was carrying what looked like a pillowcase and she looked even more agitated than when he picked her up outside the diner.
The next day, when Bell went to the woods near Wellwood and searched around the Monster Tree where she had played as a kid, she found the pillowcase with the second diary in it. It revealed that Bessie had actually assisted with the secret procedures that were performed at Wellwood but that she had changed her mind and begun to record the names of women who had been victims at Wellwood, identified the staff who directed the activities, described the procedures that were used to shock & lobotomize the women. In the entry from the day before she was killed, Bessie reported that Ophelia Browning, who was the doctor's assistant & lover, had seen her writing the names in the palm of her hand, and that Bessie had run from her & would leave the next day after she picked up her paycheck.
After she had read the diary & was trying to piece things together, Bell heard someone approaching & saw it was Jackie. Not sure why she was there, Bell started talking to Jackie & learned the rest of what happened by telling her what the team knew so far & letting Jackie fill in the story -
* it was Jackie Darla had met with at the diner because Ophelia Browning was Jackie's grandmother;
*Darla had called Jackie the day before to tell her about the diary and Jackie had been frantic & threatened to destroy it because she had promised her mother, who knew about what had happened at Wellwood, she would not let anyone trash their family name;
* when they met & Darla was more specific about what was in the diary, Jackie realized the information in the diary wasn't as damning as she had imagined & she wondered if there was another diary;
* Jackie's different reaction must have made Darla realize there must be a second diary & that is why she went back to find it;w
* when Jackie took her afternoon break to get fire wood for the stove, she went to Briney Hollow because the truck she had seen Darla get into was headed out of town toward there;
* when she found Darla, Jackie asked where the second diary was & when Darla wouldn't tell her, she chased her & threw her hatchet at her.
When Bell told her the second diary was basically a confession by Bessie that she had been involved & Darla probably buried the diary so it would never be found, Jackie realized Bell was the only one who knows the truth she approached her with the hatchet. But Bell's new dog Arthur & Nick arrive on the scene in time to prevent another death. At Bell's house later that evening, Nick & Bell finally have an honest conversation about Nick's relationship with Jackie & the next evening Jake & Molly see Bell at the facility that cares for infants born to drug-addicted moms where the child they hope to adopt is being cared for.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2021
This is the 8th in this series and I have no idea if it would stand alone. Julia Keller is a Pulitzer winner - previously a reporter. This series blows me away. I urge all readers who want a good read to go back to the first of the series and follow it. Bell, educated as an attorney, is the former public defender in her small Kentucky town. She has just returned home from several years in prison and I can not write the reason - you have to read the series. She remains an honest woman and gathers the former sheriff and an injured deputy sheriff to form an investigative firm - in a dirt-poor mountain town. Will they ever have any business?? However, the three of them are good natured people and they would take the jobs without pay. They are asked to search for a young woman who has been missing for too many days. Along the way, Bell discovers a corpse. Who is it? Why is she dead just beside the old mental hospital? It is a riveting story, as are all the books in this series. I only hope Keller continues with Bell as a private detective.
January 24, 2021
I'm happy to report that after Book #7, in which I wanted to punch Bell in her whiny face, #8 come roaring back. Bell, retired sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes, have formed their own detective agency. The 3 main characters are actually, almost, happy. Bell has a dog, Jake is wildly in love with Molly and her handicapped brother Malik, and Nick, well, readers will just have to pick up the book.
In this adventure, the detectives are asked to find a runaway daughter, aged 19, but a bit "slow," according to her mother. While Jake works the phones, Bell takes a walk in the woods where she and her sister used to play as kids. In the middle of the deep forest stands the ruins of a mental hospital that burned to the ground in the 1960s. Near one of the caved in walls, Bell finds a body.
As to be expected in a Bell Elkins story, there is sorrow, anger, a touch of mystery and even some hope. Of course I want more!
In this adventure, the detectives are asked to find a runaway daughter, aged 19, but a bit "slow," according to her mother. While Jake works the phones, Bell takes a walk in the woods where she and her sister used to play as kids. In the middle of the deep forest stands the ruins of a mental hospital that burned to the ground in the 1960s. Near one of the caved in walls, Bell finds a body.
As to be expected in a Bell Elkins story, there is sorrow, anger, a touch of mystery and even some hope. Of course I want more!
August 18, 2019
I tend to be partial to books set in West Virginia, not because I'm prejudiced or anything, but it is my home state. This series by Ms. Keller, set in the fictional town of Acker's Gap, is one of the best. The latest entry in the series is exceptional.
Bell Elkins finds herself immersed in a baffling murder mystery with ties to a dark part of the area's history. With the help pf her two partners she will unravel horrid truths and deep secrets to discover the killer.
Ms. Keller has a realistic grasp of the problems that plague this beautiful state, from drug addiction, mental illness, to economic stagnation. Underlying it all, submerged in the human soul, is HOPE.
Highly recommended!
Bell Elkins finds herself immersed in a baffling murder mystery with ties to a dark part of the area's history. With the help pf her two partners she will unravel horrid truths and deep secrets to discover the killer.
Ms. Keller has a realistic grasp of the problems that plague this beautiful state, from drug addiction, mental illness, to economic stagnation. Underlying it all, submerged in the human soul, is HOPE.
Highly recommended!
March 8, 2024
I picked up this book on a whim because I scanned the description and it sounded great, and I have heard wonderful things about Julia Keller. The Cold Way Home is a mystery thriller with a lot of depth to the plot and the characters. When I realized it was the eighth book in a series, I worried I’d struggle to connect to the story. I didn’t experience that at all. This could have been the first book, which is a compliment to a long-running series author.
The book centers around a complex woman named Bell Elkins, who has lived in Ackers Gap, West Virginia her whole life. Elkins works as a self-employed private investigator, though we learn that she was previously the town prosecutor. This story arc happened in the first seven books, but Keller does a great recap of it in The Cold Way Home that helped me understand Elkins—her history and who she is now.
Bell’s past as a prosecutor in West Virginia makes her a uniquely qualified character to solve the complex mystery in this small town. Bell’s experience as a lawyer isn’t her only experience with the law—we learn that she also served a prison term for killing her abusive father as a child. As the book opens, Bell is waiting to reapply for her law license and working as a private investigator in the meantime with two friends and colleagues: retired sheriff Nick Fogelsong who is in the process of a divorce, and former police officer Jake Oakes who was shot in the line of duty and is now in a wheelchair.
The Appalachia are in the midst of the opioid crisis, particularly the Huntington area where they live. The story opens with a startling and powerful scene that launches the reader straight into the story. A teenager named Dixie Sue is missing and her mother has contracted Bell, Nick, and Jake to find her. Jake is pursuing leads to locate Dixie Sue. Meanwhile a body is discovered in the woods near the ruins of a former mental institution outside of Ackers Gap and Bell accompanies the sheriff to notify the family.
It turns out the victim is not Dixie Sue. It’s a woman named Darla Gilley who had left her husband and was living in her family’s attic. Her brother Joe is close friends with Nick. Joe’s wife Brenda had given Darla a ride to town that morning. They also learn that her grandmother had been murdered at psychiatric facility, but the case has gone cold.
Darla mailed a family diary to Nick before her death that was written by her grandmother Bessie who worked at the young age of 14 at the mental institution, Wellwood. Bessie’s diary details her time working there and people she met, as well as horrible accounts of the lobotomies performed at the psychiatric institution and mistreatment of patients.
Bell and her colleagues pursue and clear different suspects and follow leads, including Darla’s ex-husband and a truck driver who had given her a ride and returned her purse to her family. Other leads suggest the possibility that a second diary exists. As the investigation continues, the case gets more complicated and information from the diaries seems to hold the key to solve the case.
A troubling case with compelling characters and relationships make this a gripping mystery. I liked Bell and want to go back and visit books where she was still serving as a prosecutor. I would imagine she was even more tenacious and intelligent than she was in this book. This is a story about despair, family, pain, and loyalty. It’s also a novel that ultimately provides hope despite darker themes.
The book centers around a complex woman named Bell Elkins, who has lived in Ackers Gap, West Virginia her whole life. Elkins works as a self-employed private investigator, though we learn that she was previously the town prosecutor. This story arc happened in the first seven books, but Keller does a great recap of it in The Cold Way Home that helped me understand Elkins—her history and who she is now.
Bell’s past as a prosecutor in West Virginia makes her a uniquely qualified character to solve the complex mystery in this small town. Bell’s experience as a lawyer isn’t her only experience with the law—we learn that she also served a prison term for killing her abusive father as a child. As the book opens, Bell is waiting to reapply for her law license and working as a private investigator in the meantime with two friends and colleagues: retired sheriff Nick Fogelsong who is in the process of a divorce, and former police officer Jake Oakes who was shot in the line of duty and is now in a wheelchair.
The Appalachia are in the midst of the opioid crisis, particularly the Huntington area where they live. The story opens with a startling and powerful scene that launches the reader straight into the story. A teenager named Dixie Sue is missing and her mother has contracted Bell, Nick, and Jake to find her. Jake is pursuing leads to locate Dixie Sue. Meanwhile a body is discovered in the woods near the ruins of a former mental institution outside of Ackers Gap and Bell accompanies the sheriff to notify the family.
It turns out the victim is not Dixie Sue. It’s a woman named Darla Gilley who had left her husband and was living in her family’s attic. Her brother Joe is close friends with Nick. Joe’s wife Brenda had given Darla a ride to town that morning. They also learn that her grandmother had been murdered at psychiatric facility, but the case has gone cold.
Darla mailed a family diary to Nick before her death that was written by her grandmother Bessie who worked at the young age of 14 at the mental institution, Wellwood. Bessie’s diary details her time working there and people she met, as well as horrible accounts of the lobotomies performed at the psychiatric institution and mistreatment of patients.
Bell and her colleagues pursue and clear different suspects and follow leads, including Darla’s ex-husband and a truck driver who had given her a ride and returned her purse to her family. Other leads suggest the possibility that a second diary exists. As the investigation continues, the case gets more complicated and information from the diaries seems to hold the key to solve the case.
A troubling case with compelling characters and relationships make this a gripping mystery. I liked Bell and want to go back and visit books where she was still serving as a prosecutor. I would imagine she was even more tenacious and intelligent than she was in this book. This is a story about despair, family, pain, and loyalty. It’s also a novel that ultimately provides hope despite darker themes.
April 8, 2021
After the last couple of books, I was hoping that "The Cold Way Home," would be a better, more satisfying read. Luckily, that was the case. Bell and her friends have forged new lives for themselves by starting a detective agency that works with the sheriff and the prosecutor to solve different types of crimes. It's perfect because all three of them (Jake-- a former deputy, Nick-- a former sheriff, and Bell-- former prosecutor) have a background in law enforcement and had their careers cut short, due to various struggles that were explored in the previous novels. Basically, they're the comeback kids, the bad news bears coming out of the woodwork to seek redemption.
The story is told in multiple POVs (Jake, Bell, and Nick), so we're able to see what's going on in each of their lives and how they're able to solve the different cases that come their way. The main mystery develops when Bell and Nick find a body in the woods next to Wellwood, a former mental institution that was burned down in the 60s-70s. They find out who the woman is (Darla) and that her grandmother (Bessie) used to work for the hospital when it was up and running. Bessie had been murdered and found in the same spot as Darla's body back then. Is it a coincidence or is there a connection from the past that has led Darla to this fate? Throughout the novel, we learn more about what mental hospitals were like and what unspeakable crimes they committed all in the name of making someone "recover" and/or "for the name of science." It's no wonder that there's so much death surrounding the abandoned ruin. There are a couple of other cases, as well, that link to the characters' personal lives. However, they are separate from the major crime. There are some red herrings thrown in and I was definitely left wondering who did it. As usual in Keller's books, there's a twist and turn in the mix that will always leave me a bit surprised. In this instance, I was quite shocked at who the murderer ends up being. I think others will be stunned at this turn of events.
Our three main characters are great. They feel real and relatable, despite being from a very different world that I'm not in. It's nice reading from each POV. It makes the story richer and more developed. Julia Keller does a wonderful job at painting the landscape and making it a character of its own. While I can't say I've been to West Virginia, the vivid imagery is something I can picture. This was a quick read. It didn't drag, it wasn't too rushed. Overall, nice pacing. There are a lot of open plot threads, but that could mean that there will be another book added into the series. I hope so. I think it's a major step up from the last couple of books and is a revival of the original theme, but in a new light. The one thing I wished Keller had done is give Nick a POV at the end, like she did for Bell and Jake. The news of the murderer affects him as much as the others. Even more so in some ways because Nick actually knew Darla (he was good friends with her brother). So, it was strange that he didn't have a POV towards the end of the story. Otherwise, I liked this book. I'm glad I read it and if Julia Keller decides to write another one, I'll certainly read it. I recommend you read them in order for contextual purposes. There is a bit of recapping done in this novel. However, I think they're better understood and appreciated if you start from the beginning.
The story is told in multiple POVs (Jake, Bell, and Nick), so we're able to see what's going on in each of their lives and how they're able to solve the different cases that come their way. The main mystery develops when Bell and Nick find a body in the woods next to Wellwood, a former mental institution that was burned down in the 60s-70s. They find out who the woman is (Darla) and that her grandmother (Bessie) used to work for the hospital when it was up and running. Bessie had been murdered and found in the same spot as Darla's body back then. Is it a coincidence or is there a connection from the past that has led Darla to this fate? Throughout the novel, we learn more about what mental hospitals were like and what unspeakable crimes they committed all in the name of making someone "recover" and/or "for the name of science." It's no wonder that there's so much death surrounding the abandoned ruin. There are a couple of other cases, as well, that link to the characters' personal lives. However, they are separate from the major crime. There are some red herrings thrown in and I was definitely left wondering who did it. As usual in Keller's books, there's a twist and turn in the mix that will always leave me a bit surprised. In this instance, I was quite shocked at who the murderer ends up being. I think others will be stunned at this turn of events.
Our three main characters are great. They feel real and relatable, despite being from a very different world that I'm not in. It's nice reading from each POV. It makes the story richer and more developed. Julia Keller does a wonderful job at painting the landscape and making it a character of its own. While I can't say I've been to West Virginia, the vivid imagery is something I can picture. This was a quick read. It didn't drag, it wasn't too rushed. Overall, nice pacing. There are a lot of open plot threads, but that could mean that there will be another book added into the series. I hope so. I think it's a major step up from the last couple of books and is a revival of the original theme, but in a new light. The one thing I wished Keller had done is give Nick a POV at the end, like she did for Bell and Jake. The news of the murderer affects him as much as the others. Even more so in some ways because Nick actually knew Darla (he was good friends with her brother). So, it was strange that he didn't have a POV towards the end of the story. Otherwise, I liked this book. I'm glad I read it and if Julia Keller decides to write another one, I'll certainly read it. I recommend you read them in order for contextual purposes. There is a bit of recapping done in this novel. However, I think they're better understood and appreciated if you start from the beginning.
September 3, 2019
The novels that Julia Keller, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, writes are never easy reads...but, boy, are they good! Each book is set in Ackers Gap, West Virginia, a place that faces far too many harsh realities. There are many drug problems, crushing poverty, a lack of resources and yet...people persevere.
This title is the eighth in the series which began with A Killing in the Hills. Long time readers will want to catch up with Bell Elkins, a former attorney (to know why "former" you need to read the earlier books), Jake, who is disabled (to know why, you need to read the earlier books) and Nick, the former sheriff. The three now run their investigative firm. Each has a rich and complex backstory of life events and relationships. Because of the depth of backstory, old readers, like me, are eager for updates but you can also read this novel as a stand alone.
I have learned to trust this author, even when the official book description sounds bleak. In this one, the devastating story has to do with a former hospital where lobotomies were performed on women who were "troublesome" and certainly not capable of giving consent or even asked about consent. This historical malpractice figures in the story that takes place in the current day even though the hospital has been long closed. So...oh, no is what I thought. Not sure I can go there but...I am so glad to have read this title.
There is despair in this one but also glimmers of hope. There is also a death to be investigated, lots of local color and beautifully delineated characters, even minor ones such as a trucker and a librarian.
I give The Long Way Home 5 stars, not something I do often. I recommend it most highly.
Many, many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. I am already longing for the next in the series.
This title is the eighth in the series which began with A Killing in the Hills. Long time readers will want to catch up with Bell Elkins, a former attorney (to know why "former" you need to read the earlier books), Jake, who is disabled (to know why, you need to read the earlier books) and Nick, the former sheriff. The three now run their investigative firm. Each has a rich and complex backstory of life events and relationships. Because of the depth of backstory, old readers, like me, are eager for updates but you can also read this novel as a stand alone.
I have learned to trust this author, even when the official book description sounds bleak. In this one, the devastating story has to do with a former hospital where lobotomies were performed on women who were "troublesome" and certainly not capable of giving consent or even asked about consent. This historical malpractice figures in the story that takes place in the current day even though the hospital has been long closed. So...oh, no is what I thought. Not sure I can go there but...I am so glad to have read this title.
There is despair in this one but also glimmers of hope. There is also a death to be investigated, lots of local color and beautifully delineated characters, even minor ones such as a trucker and a librarian.
I give The Long Way Home 5 stars, not something I do often. I recommend it most highly.
Many, many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. I am already longing for the next in the series.
August 13, 2019
There are so many secrets in the small town of Ackers Gap, West Virginia and so many shadows. Bell, Nick, and Jake, all retired or removed from their previous lives in law enforcement, now function as a small detective agency in town, often doing the things the sheriff's office doesn't have time to- like finding a wayward young woman. I'm not sure why the blurb above indicates that a woman named Amber was found dead in the woods near the remains of Wellwood, a "Home for incurables," it was Darla Gilley, a woman without enemies. Nick is a long time friend of her brother Joe, now dying of cancer, and the team decides they will find the killer. Darla's grandmother Bessie was murdered in the same place years before, making this all the more baffling. Bessie kept a diary about her work at Wellwood where women were routinely lobotomized; what a horror show. The opening scene of this atmospheric and wonderfully written novel will break your heart. Keller, as always, has a way of capturing the locale and the current problems it faces, notably with opioids. Her characters are terrific-not just the main three, but Jackie, and the librarian, and the nurses at Evening Street, and Molly and Malik. I love this series- I've read it from the beginning- and it only gets better. If you haven't read it, you'll be fine with this as a standalone and you will be rewarded with a new author to read. Keller always drops small hints along the way and I admit I missed the big one and thus the answer came as a surprise to me. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what happens next, especially for Jake, Molly, and Nick.
October 7, 2019
In the review in Booklist, there is one statement that I cannot say any better, i.e., "Keller's Bell Elkins series sets a standard for its evocation of place and for the sensitive portrayals of its characters, ... This is introspective, literary crime fiction at its best."
The entire series does the finest job of setting the stage of any series I've ever read. Keller helps readers really see the town, the dying businesses, the poverty, tired faces of low-wage workers, and the very reasons there are problems with opioids, poor housing, understaffed agencies, and more. It provides a very compassionate look at ordinary people struggling through life. You also see their loyalty and pride.
The focus on this entry is mental health. Keller threads the lives of several despairing families together as a small investigative team works through a murder discovered at an abandoned mental health hospital. There is a gloomy overtone throughout which some may find a tad off-putting even though an adopted dog and potentially adoptable baby lighten the tone in a limited fashion.
There are numerous ways Keller includes variations on mental health issues, both past and present, which does a fine job stating that there is not just one way to define it or cure it. Some include post partum depression, sexual abuse, selling one's body, grief related to cancer, schizophrenia, and medical cures such as lobotomies, illegal drugs and modern medicine.
Thought I knew who the guilty party was, but am pleased to say I got it wrong. Happy reader!
The entire series does the finest job of setting the stage of any series I've ever read. Keller helps readers really see the town, the dying businesses, the poverty, tired faces of low-wage workers, and the very reasons there are problems with opioids, poor housing, understaffed agencies, and more. It provides a very compassionate look at ordinary people struggling through life. You also see their loyalty and pride.
The focus on this entry is mental health. Keller threads the lives of several despairing families together as a small investigative team works through a murder discovered at an abandoned mental health hospital. There is a gloomy overtone throughout which some may find a tad off-putting even though an adopted dog and potentially adoptable baby lighten the tone in a limited fashion.
There are numerous ways Keller includes variations on mental health issues, both past and present, which does a fine job stating that there is not just one way to define it or cure it. Some include post partum depression, sexual abuse, selling one's body, grief related to cancer, schizophrenia, and medical cures such as lobotomies, illegal drugs and modern medicine.
Thought I knew who the guilty party was, but am pleased to say I got it wrong. Happy reader!
September 1, 2019
This is the third Belfa Elkins book of Keller's that I have read, and they are all excellent. Belfa (Bell) is a strong female character. Formerly a prosecutor, Bell is now working with two friends (Jake and Nick) as private investigators in Ackers Gap, West Virginia. In Keller's talented hands, Ackers Gap is as much a character as Bell and the others. In fact, as a reader, I felt overwhelmed by the grayness and coldness that is WV winter. I also felt overwhelmed by the hard times that places like WV are going through right now, with unemployment and hard times and opioids. Keller draws quite a picture., and honestly, I felt thoroughly depressed as I read The Cold Way Home.
As the novel begins, Bell and her partners are hired by the mother of a teenaged girlfriend who is missing. As Bell searches for the missing girl, she stumbles upon a dead body deep in the woods of Ackers Gap, on the site of a demolished sanitarium. The town sheriff then hires Bell and company to help her solve the mystery of the murdered woman. As opposed to other books in the series that I have read, I just couldn't really get into this one. I felt that the murderer's motivation was really weak and not at all compelling. Nonetheless, fans of the series will definitely want to pick up this latest offering. It's also an easy book to read as a stand-alone
My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing an advance soft copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
As the novel begins, Bell and her partners are hired by the mother of a teenaged girlfriend who is missing. As Bell searches for the missing girl, she stumbles upon a dead body deep in the woods of Ackers Gap, on the site of a demolished sanitarium. The town sheriff then hires Bell and company to help her solve the mystery of the murdered woman. As opposed to other books in the series that I have read, I just couldn't really get into this one. I felt that the murderer's motivation was really weak and not at all compelling. Nonetheless, fans of the series will definitely want to pick up this latest offering. It's also an easy book to read as a stand-alone
My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for providing an advance soft copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
August 20, 2019
The Cold Way Home, by Julia Keller, Minotaur Books, 320 pages, Aug. 20, 2019.
This is the eighth book in the Belfa Elkins series. In earlier novels, Belfa, who goes by Bell, was the county prosecutor in Acker’s Gap, W.Va. The reason why she isn’t any longer is in the earlier books. I don’t want to give away that story line, but it is a good plot.
She is now a private investigator. Her partners are the former sheriff, Nick Fogelsong, and a former deputy, Jake Oakes. They take cases the sheriff’s department won’t handle.
Maggie Folsom asked Bell to find her missing teenage daughter, Dixie Sue. She may have run off with her boyfriend, Travis Matson. Deep in the woods are the remnants of Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. Someone who lives near woods saw two people running near there. Bell searches the woods and finds a body.
Julia Keller’s books are compulsively readable. While the plotting is very well done, what makes them outstanding is the character development and how they evolve over the novels.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
This is the eighth book in the Belfa Elkins series. In earlier novels, Belfa, who goes by Bell, was the county prosecutor in Acker’s Gap, W.Va. The reason why she isn’t any longer is in the earlier books. I don’t want to give away that story line, but it is a good plot.
She is now a private investigator. Her partners are the former sheriff, Nick Fogelsong, and a former deputy, Jake Oakes. They take cases the sheriff’s department won’t handle.
Maggie Folsom asked Bell to find her missing teenage daughter, Dixie Sue. She may have run off with her boyfriend, Travis Matson. Deep in the woods are the remnants of Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. Someone who lives near woods saw two people running near there. Bell searches the woods and finds a body.
Julia Keller’s books are compulsively readable. While the plotting is very well done, what makes them outstanding is the character development and how they evolve over the novels.
In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a review.
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