What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gone Dead
Billie James' inheritance isn't much: a little money and a shack in the Mississippi Delta. The house once belonged to her father, a renowned black poet who died unexpectedly when Billie was four years old. Though Billie was there when the accident happened, she has no memory of that day—and she hasn't been back to the South since.
Thirty years later, Billie returns but her father's home is unnervingly secluded: her only neighbors are the McGees, the family whose history has been entangled with hers since the days of slavery. As Billie encounters the locals, she hears a strange rumor: that she herself went missing on the day her father died. As the mystery intensifies, she finds out that this forgotten piece of her past could put her in danger.
Inventive, gritty, and openhearted, The Gone Dead is an astonishing debut novel about race, justice, and memory that lays bare the long-concealed wounds of a family and a country.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2019
498 people are currently reading
10200 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 561 reviews
June 6, 2020
The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz is a 2019 Ecco publication.
Race related crimes from the past continue to painfully haunt those living in the present in this tense and timely southern mystery.
This is a short novel, but it still packs a punch. The story is centered around Billie James, a young woman who inherited some money and a run down, barely habitable home in Mississippi. Upon arrival, Billie hopes she can learn more about her father, who had been a renowned black poet. But her inquiries are met with a slew of roadblocks as nearly everyone seems to be warning her off.
Although Billie was around when her father died, a death ruled an accident, she was only four years old and has no memory of that night. However, an odd bit of information causes her to dig her heels in and double down, more determined than ever to find out the truth about her father’s death, despite the possibility it could put her in grave danger.
I nearly read this book in one sitting. Partly is was the brevity of the book, which weighs in at less than three hundred pages in length, but mostly, it was because of the mystery and the superb characterizations. Yes, there is a big cast of characters, which does require some concentration, but I didn't find it as distracting as I normally do.
The old house, the secrets it holds, the racial history in Mississippi and the multiple points of view kept me turning pages as the sins of the past finally comes to light. The portrait of a rural small southern town is captured perfectly and examines the class and race divides that have barely budged in all the years since the death of Billie’s father.
Thought provoking and very timely-
After all is said and done, the reader experiences things through Billie’s eyes, learning simultaneously that injustice lingers forever, and that the past is never truly buried, and it’s never really all that far from the surface- and it should never be forgotten…
Race related crimes from the past continue to painfully haunt those living in the present in this tense and timely southern mystery.
This is a short novel, but it still packs a punch. The story is centered around Billie James, a young woman who inherited some money and a run down, barely habitable home in Mississippi. Upon arrival, Billie hopes she can learn more about her father, who had been a renowned black poet. But her inquiries are met with a slew of roadblocks as nearly everyone seems to be warning her off.
Although Billie was around when her father died, a death ruled an accident, she was only four years old and has no memory of that night. However, an odd bit of information causes her to dig her heels in and double down, more determined than ever to find out the truth about her father’s death, despite the possibility it could put her in grave danger.
I nearly read this book in one sitting. Partly is was the brevity of the book, which weighs in at less than three hundred pages in length, but mostly, it was because of the mystery and the superb characterizations. Yes, there is a big cast of characters, which does require some concentration, but I didn't find it as distracting as I normally do.
The old house, the secrets it holds, the racial history in Mississippi and the multiple points of view kept me turning pages as the sins of the past finally comes to light. The portrait of a rural small southern town is captured perfectly and examines the class and race divides that have barely budged in all the years since the death of Billie’s father.
Thought provoking and very timely-
After all is said and done, the reader experiences things through Billie’s eyes, learning simultaneously that injustice lingers forever, and that the past is never truly buried, and it’s never really all that far from the surface- and it should never be forgotten…
May 13, 2021
fulfilling my 2021 goal to read one ARC each month i'd been so excited to get my hands on and then...never read
this first novel is a little bit rickety in its construction, but there's no damn doubt that chanelle benz can set a scene:
when the grandmother she barely knew dies, bequeathing her some money, a dog named rufus and the thirty-years-abandoned home in greendale, mississippi where her father once lived, billie james leaves philadelphia and heads for her father's hometown in the mississippi delta and the house she now owns, where she will confront her past and learn the truth about her father's death.
billie's mother, a white medieval studies scholar named pia, died of cancer when billie was nineteen, and her father, a black poet/activist named cliff, died when she was four. when her parents got married in 1970, interracial marriages were uncommon (and still illegal in mississippi), and her mother understood the particular challenges billie would face as a mixed-race individual, telling her "You'll never be white enough or black enough for some people."
their marriage was short-lived, and when they separated, her father returned to greendale. four-year-old billie had been visiting him when he died, although she remembers very little from that time. her mother whisked her away before the funeral, and she has had little contact with his side of the family since then, and only foggy memories of the south.
during her stay, she visits her uncle dee, reconnects with her cousin lola, and meets some of her father's old acquaintances, from whom she learns that not only was she there the night he was found in his yard with his head bashed in, but she had been reported missing following the discovery of his body.
a big truth statement, although for many of the locals, forgetting the details concerning a black man's death has been a somewhat deliberate choice.
going through her father's things, billie discovers the second chapter of an unpublished memoir her father had apparently been writing about his time as a freedom rider during the civil rights movement, which, along with her questions about her own disappearance, leads her into an investigation into the circumstances of her father's death, ruled a drunken accident. in this endeavor, she is accompanied by dr. melvin hurley, a black studies scholar who is writing a biography about billie's father.
local law enforcement aren't too keen when these outsiders start sniffing around for answers; and scrutiny about a black man's death stirs up all the southern discomfort around race, history, and slavery. the weight of the past is a particularly fraught burden 'round mississippi, as lola reminds billie:
the past can be too close for comfort, coupled as it is with the inescapable interconnectedness of small southern towns, and lola cautions billie about the squickiness of her interest in her neighbor harlan, whose family and billie's have a complicated history going back generations:
lola is the verybest character.
the multiplicity of POVs allow for a broad range of perspectives on cliff's death and the town's racial climate, historically and presently. melvin's perspective, as a northern outsider, is particularly memorable:
like her short story collection, The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead, there's some excellent writing here, but it's got some first-novel flaws—more character POVs than are necessary (there are NINE! and one is a building), a perfunctory romance subplot, and some darlings that needed killing, but for me, the big one was an underdeveloped central character; billie is fairly undefined, so her late-novel shift in behavior reads a bit unconvincing.
still and all, the awkward bits are more to do with construction and development than writing chops, and hers are more than strong enough to carry the novel, which has a satisfying, unexpected conclusion, and i'm anticipating her next novel with extreme pleasure.
come to my blog!!
this first novel is a little bit rickety in its construction, but there's no damn doubt that chanelle benz can set a scene:
Billie gets out and tours the parking lot. Each tenant has distinguished their room by the way that they cover the long window beside their front door. Some are sealed tight with tin foil, others with a printed sheet, but her uncle's window on the second floor is bare. A few people are sitting outside of their doors on plastic chairs. Nothing moves except for a can or cigarette. The light from passing cars gives their faces the sheen of old masters paintings. Hendrick ter Brugghen's Melancholia. The contemplation and the shadows. Nothing is happening but a wanting something to happen.
when the grandmother she barely knew dies, bequeathing her some money, a dog named rufus and the thirty-years-abandoned home in greendale, mississippi where her father once lived, billie james leaves philadelphia and heads for her father's hometown in the mississippi delta and the house she now owns, where she will confront her past and learn the truth about her father's death.
billie's mother, a white medieval studies scholar named pia, died of cancer when billie was nineteen, and her father, a black poet/activist named cliff, died when she was four. when her parents got married in 1970, interracial marriages were uncommon (and still illegal in mississippi), and her mother understood the particular challenges billie would face as a mixed-race individual, telling her "You'll never be white enough or black enough for some people."
their marriage was short-lived, and when they separated, her father returned to greendale. four-year-old billie had been visiting him when he died, although she remembers very little from that time. her mother whisked her away before the funeral, and she has had little contact with his side of the family since then, and only foggy memories of the south.
during her stay, she visits her uncle dee, reconnects with her cousin lola, and meets some of her father's old acquaintances, from whom she learns that not only was she there the night he was found in his yard with his head bashed in, but she had been reported missing following the discovery of his body.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. But I do wish I knew more of what happened. What he was doing out there, what I was doing."
He looks at her. "You don't remember nothing?"
She shrugs. "I was asleep, I guess."
He bends forward, rubbing his temples. "Well, baby, you in the right place 'cause nobody round here remembers anything either."
a big truth statement, although for many of the locals, forgetting the details concerning a black man's death has been a somewhat deliberate choice.
going through her father's things, billie discovers the second chapter of an unpublished memoir her father had apparently been writing about his time as a freedom rider during the civil rights movement, which, along with her questions about her own disappearance, leads her into an investigation into the circumstances of her father's death, ruled a drunken accident. in this endeavor, she is accompanied by dr. melvin hurley, a black studies scholar who is writing a biography about billie's father.
local law enforcement aren't too keen when these outsiders start sniffing around for answers; and scrutiny about a black man's death stirs up all the southern discomfort around race, history, and slavery. the weight of the past is a particularly fraught burden 'round mississippi, as lola reminds billie:
“You're definitely not gonna be living here full-time, right? You don’t want to be hanging around with folks still mad they lost the Civil War.”
Billie almost spits out her whiskey. “Oh my God.”
“Girl, I’m serious...It's like this: white people have invented their fears about us and tried their damn best to make them true, but our fears about white people have always been real. White people have always had conspiracy theories about black people, because you can't trust the people you're trying to hold down."
the past can be too close for comfort, coupled as it is with the inescapable interconnectedness of small southern towns, and lola cautions billie about the squickiness of her interest in her neighbor harlan, whose family and billie's have a complicated history going back generations:
"Billie, you don't want to get with the great-great-grandson of the man who raped your great-great-grandmother.
lola is the verybest character.
the multiplicity of POVs allow for a broad range of perspectives on cliff's death and the town's racial climate, historically and presently. melvin's perspective, as a northern outsider, is particularly memorable:
He will of course be told that he is not from around here. It happens multiple times whenever he visits. Embedded in this phrase is not so much a reference to his accent or his (cosmopolitan) wit, but to his unexpected lack of deference. The way in which his posture does not ask if his body is allowed to take up its space. Or sometimes, in more casual interactions, they'll say You don't see color. The utter irony of this has always struck him, as he told his partner last night on the phone. On a certain level it seems like the only way they can explain him is to imagine he is safe from being reminded at any moment of the weight of his color—little peltings he calls them—like being hit with rotten eggs when he didn't even know he was onstage. Even now, even now in his early fifties, these small displays of hostility have the ability to take him by surprise. He still finds himself asking if it is really happening. Did that flight attendant really ignore him? Did that white woman really clutch her purse and cross the street? Did that cabbie really stop and take one look at him then drive away?
like her short story collection, The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead, there's some excellent writing here, but it's got some first-novel flaws—more character POVs than are necessary (there are NINE! and one is a building), a perfunctory romance subplot, and some darlings that needed killing, but for me, the big one was an underdeveloped central character; billie is fairly undefined, so her late-novel shift in behavior reads a bit unconvincing.
still and all, the awkward bits are more to do with construction and development than writing chops, and hers are more than strong enough to carry the novel, which has a satisfying, unexpected conclusion, and i'm anticipating her next novel with extreme pleasure.
come to my blog!!
July 15, 2019
A debut novel of history and family in the Mississippi delta. Billie, her father found dead in what was called an accident when she was four, returns to the Delta in what she hopes is a short visit. Her mother recently gone as well, she wants to see, what is basically little more than a shack and to visit her uncle, her father's much young brother. She finds more than she expected and finds herself the target of those who do not want the truth of her father's death to be revealed.
I'm not a big fan of stories that use multiple viewpoints within, often feeling that characterization is lost. Here though it works, Billie our main narrator, but also others that fill in the blanks from what she was too young to remember. The Delta is portrayed with depth and authenticity, firmly entrenching this story in time and place. A time of racial injustice and when recurring racism was the norm.
The dialogue is another strong point, fitting each character with admirable efficiency. As each layer is peeled away, new revelations are revealed, the danger Billie is in heightens. This is, in my opinion, a wonderful first effort by a talented new writer.
ARC from Netgalley.
I'm not a big fan of stories that use multiple viewpoints within, often feeling that characterization is lost. Here though it works, Billie our main narrator, but also others that fill in the blanks from what she was too young to remember. The Delta is portrayed with depth and authenticity, firmly entrenching this story in time and place. A time of racial injustice and when recurring racism was the norm.
The dialogue is another strong point, fitting each character with admirable efficiency. As each layer is peeled away, new revelations are revealed, the danger Billie is in heightens. This is, in my opinion, a wonderful first effort by a talented new writer.
ARC from Netgalley.
August 7, 2019
C'mon now.....
The Gone Dead takes you by the hand and slow walks you through the uneven roads of the Mississippi Delta. At first, you feel a distant beckoning and the weight of the humid air bogging down on you as you near the swampy creeks. And then comes the rapid motion of that yank on your torso as you find yourself diving right in.
Billie James has not been back for over thirty years. She had left her past life in Mississippi and went on to live with her mother since she was four. Like nomads, they traveled from city to city trying to get a foothold from beyond the South. After her mother died, Philadelphia became her home.
But she's got some settlin' to do as she's inherited her African American poet-father's ramshackled cabin in Greendale. Chanelle Benz creates the first footprints into her story with Billie stretching her aching bones from miles and miles on the road. The car door slams after her dog, Rufus, runs in mad circles around this new land with the joy of escaping roadway confinement. It's here that we come to know Billie's wariness in contrast to Rufus' wild abandonment.
Family tales sit lightly in the air with fragments missing and pieces that just don't quite fit. Billie was told that her father's death was an accident.....an injury to the head when falling one night. But Billie has some heavy-duty doubts that have constantly plagued her. Temporary is now becoming longer term as Billie comes upon a wayward chapter of an upcoming book that her father had been writing before his death. She contacts a professor who had been highly interested in her father's writings. Together, they will sift through unexpected clues that desire to be long buried.
Chanelle Benz has a masterful touch with her characterizations in The Gone Dead. And there's quite a multitude of them.....but each is fine-tuned and chiseled as intricate parts of an elaborate story frame. The dialogue is buttery in one moment and then starkly threatening in the next. Benz lets you sidle up alongside each one noting their inner thoughts and personal intricacies. Pay attention to their forthcomings and also to their ademant denials. They all fit exactly into this sticky web of time and place.
I'm impressed with this debut novel by Benz and look forward to future offerings. Hopefully, she'll treat us to some more of this splendid southern grit.
The Gone Dead takes you by the hand and slow walks you through the uneven roads of the Mississippi Delta. At first, you feel a distant beckoning and the weight of the humid air bogging down on you as you near the swampy creeks. And then comes the rapid motion of that yank on your torso as you find yourself diving right in.
Billie James has not been back for over thirty years. She had left her past life in Mississippi and went on to live with her mother since she was four. Like nomads, they traveled from city to city trying to get a foothold from beyond the South. After her mother died, Philadelphia became her home.
But she's got some settlin' to do as she's inherited her African American poet-father's ramshackled cabin in Greendale. Chanelle Benz creates the first footprints into her story with Billie stretching her aching bones from miles and miles on the road. The car door slams after her dog, Rufus, runs in mad circles around this new land with the joy of escaping roadway confinement. It's here that we come to know Billie's wariness in contrast to Rufus' wild abandonment.
Family tales sit lightly in the air with fragments missing and pieces that just don't quite fit. Billie was told that her father's death was an accident.....an injury to the head when falling one night. But Billie has some heavy-duty doubts that have constantly plagued her. Temporary is now becoming longer term as Billie comes upon a wayward chapter of an upcoming book that her father had been writing before his death. She contacts a professor who had been highly interested in her father's writings. Together, they will sift through unexpected clues that desire to be long buried.
Chanelle Benz has a masterful touch with her characterizations in The Gone Dead. And there's quite a multitude of them.....but each is fine-tuned and chiseled as intricate parts of an elaborate story frame. The dialogue is buttery in one moment and then starkly threatening in the next. Benz lets you sidle up alongside each one noting their inner thoughts and personal intricacies. Pay attention to their forthcomings and also to their ademant denials. They all fit exactly into this sticky web of time and place.
I'm impressed with this debut novel by Benz and look forward to future offerings. Hopefully, she'll treat us to some more of this splendid southern grit.
June 5, 2022
❀ blog ❀ thestorygraph ❀ letterboxd ❀ tumblr ❀ ko-fi ❀
When I started reading The Gone Dead I was expecting a thriller, something in the realms of When No One is Watching or with the setting and tone of Sharp Objects. What The Gone Dead is not so much of crime/thriller story but a narrative that focuses on depicting a certain community, exploring its racist history and its existing racial tension as well as providing a sobering picture of the socio-economic struggles experienced by many of its inhabitants (such as poverty and addiction). The supposed mystery that drives the narrative is not a mystery, not really. Readers will probably be able to tell what truly happened to the main character's father, a Black poet who died in a small town on the Mississippi Delta in the the early 70s in what was at the time deemed to be an accident. Although many of the chapters focus on his daughter, Billie, who is in her late thirties and through her grandmother's death has recently inherited her father's house, many switch to secondary, even tertiary, characters, providing us with glimpses into their perspectives and lives.
As with many stories focusing on a character returning to their small hometown after years away, Billie's amateurish investigation into her father's death inevitably puts her in danger.
Before I move onto the reasons why I did not particularly love this novel, I first want to talk about what Benz excels at, and that is the setting. Benz vividly portrayal of this small community emphasises many of its shortcomings: there is a general small-mindedness, a racial divide, a distrust of strangers, a reverence of the olden days. Benz's capture the atmosphere of this town and many of Billie's encounters with the locals are pervaded by a sense of unease.
In addition, Benz's social commentary is sharp-witted and her dialogues are on point.
The storyline itself suffers from pacing issues. Benz reveals much too soon certain details about Billie's father's death so that the story lost much of its momentum in the very first part of the novel. Billie herself is not a particularly compelling or fleshed out character. The people around her, even if at times a bit one note, were far more interesting. Whereas the author really explores the setting, from its history to its present day, Billie remains a half-formed thing. She seemed to exist only from the moment she steps into her father's old house, before that, nothing. Her past and current jobs, relationships, and friendships remain largely absent. That she never thinks of her life before venturing into this small town seemed weird to me. Her personality too was almost nonexistent. She is her father's daughter, and that's it. She makes lots of stupid and impulsive decisions and then goes on to be amazed by the dangerous situations she lands herself in.
There is a quasi-love story which felt really out of place, especially considering her initial suspicions towards this guy (and to be honest, he was bland).
I would have liked to learn more about Billie's father himself, as the man ultimately remains but a vague impression of a poet. Billie's mother, who is dead by the start of the novel, receives a similar treatment (she was white and a Medieval historian, and that's that).
While I liked The Gone Dead's grittiness, ultimately, the story and characters failed to grab me. Nevertheless, I would probably read something else by Benz.
When I started reading The Gone Dead I was expecting a thriller, something in the realms of When No One is Watching or with the setting and tone of Sharp Objects. What The Gone Dead is not so much of crime/thriller story but a narrative that focuses on depicting a certain community, exploring its racist history and its existing racial tension as well as providing a sobering picture of the socio-economic struggles experienced by many of its inhabitants (such as poverty and addiction). The supposed mystery that drives the narrative is not a mystery, not really. Readers will probably be able to tell what truly happened to the main character's father, a Black poet who died in a small town on the Mississippi Delta in the the early 70s in what was at the time deemed to be an accident. Although many of the chapters focus on his daughter, Billie, who is in her late thirties and through her grandmother's death has recently inherited her father's house, many switch to secondary, even tertiary, characters, providing us with glimpses into their perspectives and lives.
As with many stories focusing on a character returning to their small hometown after years away, Billie's amateurish investigation into her father's death inevitably puts her in danger.
Before I move onto the reasons why I did not particularly love this novel, I first want to talk about what Benz excels at, and that is the setting. Benz vividly portrayal of this small community emphasises many of its shortcomings: there is a general small-mindedness, a racial divide, a distrust of strangers, a reverence of the olden days. Benz's capture the atmosphere of this town and many of Billie's encounters with the locals are pervaded by a sense of unease.
In addition, Benz's social commentary is sharp-witted and her dialogues are on point.
The storyline itself suffers from pacing issues. Benz reveals much too soon certain details about Billie's father's death so that the story lost much of its momentum in the very first part of the novel. Billie herself is not a particularly compelling or fleshed out character. The people around her, even if at times a bit one note, were far more interesting. Whereas the author really explores the setting, from its history to its present day, Billie remains a half-formed thing. She seemed to exist only from the moment she steps into her father's old house, before that, nothing. Her past and current jobs, relationships, and friendships remain largely absent. That she never thinks of her life before venturing into this small town seemed weird to me. Her personality too was almost nonexistent. She is her father's daughter, and that's it. She makes lots of stupid and impulsive decisions and then goes on to be amazed by the dangerous situations she lands herself in.
There is a quasi-love story which felt really out of place, especially considering her initial suspicions towards this guy (and to be honest, he was bland).
I would have liked to learn more about Billie's father himself, as the man ultimately remains but a vague impression of a poet. Billie's mother, who is dead by the start of the novel, receives a similar treatment (she was white and a Medieval historian, and that's that).
While I liked The Gone Dead's grittiness, ultimately, the story and characters failed to grab me. Nevertheless, I would probably read something else by Benz.
July 10, 2019
3.5 stars.
I thought this started out strong with an intriguing hook. When Billie travels to her birthplace in rural Mississippi, where she's inherited her grandmother's house, she learns that the night her father died, she herself was reported missing, a time that she has no recollection of at all. Can you imagine learning such a thing and how you'd react?
The more questions she asks, the more she needs to find out. People are getting upset with her, blacks and whites both, and she might actually be in danger. It also seems that her father, a black poet, may not have died accidentally, and the authorities appear to be covering up something.
There's a lot going on, so many questions, and you might enjoy it if you are OK with questions not being 100% answered. I think I figured out most of them, but still felt the ending lacked something. A good snapshot of racism in the 60s and 70s, and a reminder that it is still alive and thriving.
I thought this started out strong with an intriguing hook. When Billie travels to her birthplace in rural Mississippi, where she's inherited her grandmother's house, she learns that the night her father died, she herself was reported missing, a time that she has no recollection of at all. Can you imagine learning such a thing and how you'd react?
The more questions she asks, the more she needs to find out. People are getting upset with her, blacks and whites both, and she might actually be in danger. It also seems that her father, a black poet, may not have died accidentally, and the authorities appear to be covering up something.
There's a lot going on, so many questions, and you might enjoy it if you are OK with questions not being 100% answered. I think I figured out most of them, but still felt the ending lacked something. A good snapshot of racism in the 60s and 70s, and a reminder that it is still alive and thriving.
August 6, 2020
In 2002 when Billie inherits the house in which her father Clifton died 30 years before, she returns to Mississippi and discovers that his death had not been as straight forward as it appeared. Clifton had been a well known black poet and was divorced from his white wife Pia. Billie was 4 when her father died. I enjoyed the dialogue and the characters, particularly Billie, her uncle Dee and her father’s girlfriend Carlotta. I also admired Billie’s dogged determination to get to the truth. It felt realistic and I was glad that the ending left loose ends. I wasn’t that crazy about the fact that the story was told in first person present tense from the points of view of 8 different characters. It made the writing feel kind of clunky. Nevertheless, I would be interested in reading more by this author. The narration by Bahni Turpin of the audio book was very good.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
May 1, 2019
The Southern mystery with a strong sense of place is not a new genre, but it is a mostly white one. It's wonderful to see Chanelle Benz join the field with THE GONE DEAD, which feels like it belongs with other Mississippi-set modern work from writers like Jesmyn Ward and Kiese Laymon. Most would probably classify this as a "literary" crime novel, it has a slow pace and no big payoff, but once you get past the first few chapters it's quite addictive.
Billie James had an unusual childhood, taken from place to place by her white mother. Her black father was a poet who died when Billie was a toddler, after her parents had already split up. After her mother's death, Billie finds herself the newest owner of her father's old "house" in Mississippi. She decides to take a break from her life in Philadelphia to move in and get to know the place. But early on she learns that her father's past there is full of questions she didn't know existed. His death, it turns out, was under suspicious circumstances no one will talk about. And soon Billie hears that she herself was there when it happened and was missing for a time.
The novel grows as it expands into a multiple point-of-view story, with both insiders and outsiders, black and white, taking their part in Billie's search for the truth. I enjoyed the ability of the book (and the always-fabulous audiobook reader Bahni Turpin!) to present a variety of voices that felt very distinct, quite rare for a first novel. The climax is rushed and it feels as though several threads are left hanging, but I loved the sense of place and history Benz brought to the story and I'd love to see more from her and more crime novels like this one.
Billie James had an unusual childhood, taken from place to place by her white mother. Her black father was a poet who died when Billie was a toddler, after her parents had already split up. After her mother's death, Billie finds herself the newest owner of her father's old "house" in Mississippi. She decides to take a break from her life in Philadelphia to move in and get to know the place. But early on she learns that her father's past there is full of questions she didn't know existed. His death, it turns out, was under suspicious circumstances no one will talk about. And soon Billie hears that she herself was there when it happened and was missing for a time.
The novel grows as it expands into a multiple point-of-view story, with both insiders and outsiders, black and white, taking their part in Billie's search for the truth. I enjoyed the ability of the book (and the always-fabulous audiobook reader Bahni Turpin!) to present a variety of voices that felt very distinct, quite rare for a first novel. The climax is rushed and it feels as though several threads are left hanging, but I loved the sense of place and history Benz brought to the story and I'd love to see more from her and more crime novels like this one.
July 28, 2019
I spent one long, hot summer in the Mississippi Delta back in the mid-Eighties. My Boston accent and northern roots made it impossible for me to blend in, and the fact that it was less than twenty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King was completely lost on me at the time. I was young and idealistic, and I couldn’t see or understand the ugliness where I lived or where I visited to that point in my life. While I met many lovely people and became enamored with their Southern hospitality, their gorgeous accents, the strong sense of family, and the beyond delicious food, I also saw and heard things that bring me goosebumps to this day. A sense of foreboding was my constant companion that summer.
That sense of foreboding is this book. The “mystery” feels like a jumping off point to get to the root of very serious issues. The characterization is believable with outstanding narration by Bahni Turpin that brings each character to life in a way that I’m not sure my own brain could have done had I read this. Atmospheric and sad, this debut is important in so many ways.
4 stars
That sense of foreboding is this book. The “mystery” feels like a jumping off point to get to the root of very serious issues. The characterization is believable with outstanding narration by Bahni Turpin that brings each character to life in a way that I’m not sure my own brain could have done had I read this. Atmospheric and sad, this debut is important in so many ways.
4 stars
July 11, 2019
Just ok. I felt there were too many extraneous characters and the plot was not very original. 2.5⭐️
July 8, 2019
Read the whole thing in a day because I couldn't put it down. This is a literary mystery set in Mississippi about a woman who returns to her father's hometown to find out the truth about his death. Officially it was ruled an accident, but the reaction of locals (including her own family members) as she investigates makes it clear there's more to the story. I was totally sucked in--so atmospheric, I could practically feel the sticky heat of the South as I read.
April 8, 2021
The Mississippi Delta was the center of many of the most notable events of America’s Civil Rights struggle of the mid-20th century. Thus when I learned that this novel was set in the Mississippi Delta region I was on the lookout for ways that the author brought this history to life.
Indeed, the book's protagonist is a living metaphor of American racial angst arising from that history—the child of a mixed race marriage, raised in the north by her white mother, now at age 34 she is the inheritor of property in the Delta, and she is now returning to investigate the mysterious death of her black father in 1972 when she was four years old.
The book’s plot is a somewhat traditional mystery placed within an environment teaming with hints of threatened violence. The book offers a glimpse into family relations, both within and between families, both black and white. There’s even a dog involved, some violence, and a tiny touch of romance. The book brings to life the geography, weather, and sociological culture of the Delta world. In the end the plot reminds us that the past never leaves us, it’s not even past.
Some Personal Observations:
I couldn't help but notice that the author arranged to have the protagonist be from Philadelphia, PA which reminded me of the civil rights history associated with Philadelphia, MS. However, I must add that Philadelphia, Mississippi is not located in the Mississippi Delta region. The book's action takes place in and around a city named Greendale. That is a fictional name but sounds similar to Greenville and Greenwood, both of which are real cities in the Mississippi Delta.
I do have a gripe about the reference to a river named Atchafalaya which is fictional when located in the Mississippi Delta, but happens to be a real river located in the Mississippi River Delta located in Louisiana. Apparently the author got the Mississippi River Delta mixed up with Mississippi Delta region located in northwest corner of the State of Mississippi. It seems to me the author could have come up with a different name. Why not simply call it the Tallahatchie River which is also a funny looking word and is actually located in the Mississippi Delta.
Indeed, the book's protagonist is a living metaphor of American racial angst arising from that history—the child of a mixed race marriage, raised in the north by her white mother, now at age 34 she is the inheritor of property in the Delta, and she is now returning to investigate the mysterious death of her black father in 1972 when she was four years old.
The book’s plot is a somewhat traditional mystery placed within an environment teaming with hints of threatened violence. The book offers a glimpse into family relations, both within and between families, both black and white. There’s even a dog involved, some violence, and a tiny touch of romance. The book brings to life the geography, weather, and sociological culture of the Delta world. In the end the plot reminds us that the past never leaves us, it’s not even past.
Some Personal Observations:
I couldn't help but notice that the author arranged to have the protagonist be from Philadelphia, PA which reminded me of the civil rights history associated with Philadelphia, MS. However, I must add that Philadelphia, Mississippi is not located in the Mississippi Delta region. The book's action takes place in and around a city named Greendale. That is a fictional name but sounds similar to Greenville and Greenwood, both of which are real cities in the Mississippi Delta.
I do have a gripe about the reference to a river named Atchafalaya which is fictional when located in the Mississippi Delta, but happens to be a real river located in the Mississippi River Delta located in Louisiana. Apparently the author got the Mississippi River Delta mixed up with Mississippi Delta region located in northwest corner of the State of Mississippi. It seems to me the author could have come up with a different name. Why not simply call it the Tallahatchie River which is also a funny looking word and is actually located in the Mississippi Delta.
July 17, 2019
This book was a disappointment. I was expecting a mystery with some focus on serious issues, but there is no real mystery, just people not wanting to discuss the past and confront racial injustice.
After an absence of three decades, Billie James returns to the Mississippi Delta. She has inherited the house where her father Clifton, a well-known black poet, died in 1972, 30 years earlier. During her time in Glendale, she finds out that some people suspect Clifton’s death may not have been the result of an accidental fall as determined by the police. She decides to stay and try to learn the truth, though there are people who keep warning her not to ask too many questions. As she persists, she finds herself in increasing danger.
The novel focuses on Billie’s perspective, but the viewpoints of eight others are interspersed. The most interesting one is that of Avalon, “an old juke joint” frequented by Clifton. After describing all it has seen in its life, which has included “too much weeping too damn much of the time,” it addresses Billie: “Listen, girl, everything you want to know is near, telling itself over again, the song is on repeat.”
This statement really indicates the theme of the novel: racism still exists. People who know what happened to Clifton do not want to address the issue of unjust treatment of blacks in the past. Even her Uncle Dee does not want her investigating his brother’s death. In the present, Billie becomes friends with a white man but their relationship does not receive the community’s approval. Given the high incarceration rate for blacks, Billie does not think she can trust the police.
The pace of the narrative is slow so I found my interest waning. There is considerable extraneous information that seems to serve little purpose. For instance, Uncle Dee brings Billie to talk to one of Clifton’s former girlfriends who says, “’Dee tells me you have been asking questions about your daddy’s death.’” The following paragraph follows that statement: “Her uncle is still hovering. Her mother had a print of the Röttgen Pietà, a fourteenth-century German sculpture. In it, a mutilated Christ lies emaciated in Mary’s lap, ribs showing, mouth fallen open, tiny compared to the mass of his mother. But it is Mary’s stony expression that is so disturbing: the wooden, embittered agony. ‘She got the police report,’ her uncle says.” What does a German sculpture have to do with the discussion of the police report of Clifton’s death? What’s with the fixation with deodorant which is mentioned three times? Her uncle comes to take her to a bar and Billie responds with “’What bar? I don’t have deodorant on’”?? And how about this disjointed conversation: “’My mother was an academic. She specialized in Christian medieval theology. So I know me some King James.’ She inspects her raw elbow. ‘My cousin is in jail. I hate thinking of him in there. He was such a sweetheart’”??
The ending is disappointing. There is no real closure since many questions are left unanswered. One character, Dr. Melvin Hurley, an academic writing Clifton’s biography, is just dropped; he is present at the climax but then is never mentioned again. The rushed climax and abrupt ending – with no dramatic revelations – are not in keeping with the pace of the rest of the novel.
The most positive element of the novel is its rich sense of place. There is no doubt that the author is familiar with the Mississippi Delta. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much else to recommend the book. There is no real mystery because the manner of Clifton’s death is totally predictable. The theme is worth developing but its impact is lessened by an uneven, disjointed narrative.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
After an absence of three decades, Billie James returns to the Mississippi Delta. She has inherited the house where her father Clifton, a well-known black poet, died in 1972, 30 years earlier. During her time in Glendale, she finds out that some people suspect Clifton’s death may not have been the result of an accidental fall as determined by the police. She decides to stay and try to learn the truth, though there are people who keep warning her not to ask too many questions. As she persists, she finds herself in increasing danger.
The novel focuses on Billie’s perspective, but the viewpoints of eight others are interspersed. The most interesting one is that of Avalon, “an old juke joint” frequented by Clifton. After describing all it has seen in its life, which has included “too much weeping too damn much of the time,” it addresses Billie: “Listen, girl, everything you want to know is near, telling itself over again, the song is on repeat.”
This statement really indicates the theme of the novel: racism still exists. People who know what happened to Clifton do not want to address the issue of unjust treatment of blacks in the past. Even her Uncle Dee does not want her investigating his brother’s death. In the present, Billie becomes friends with a white man but their relationship does not receive the community’s approval. Given the high incarceration rate for blacks, Billie does not think she can trust the police.
The pace of the narrative is slow so I found my interest waning. There is considerable extraneous information that seems to serve little purpose. For instance, Uncle Dee brings Billie to talk to one of Clifton’s former girlfriends who says, “’Dee tells me you have been asking questions about your daddy’s death.’” The following paragraph follows that statement: “Her uncle is still hovering. Her mother had a print of the Röttgen Pietà, a fourteenth-century German sculpture. In it, a mutilated Christ lies emaciated in Mary’s lap, ribs showing, mouth fallen open, tiny compared to the mass of his mother. But it is Mary’s stony expression that is so disturbing: the wooden, embittered agony. ‘She got the police report,’ her uncle says.” What does a German sculpture have to do with the discussion of the police report of Clifton’s death? What’s with the fixation with deodorant which is mentioned three times? Her uncle comes to take her to a bar and Billie responds with “’What bar? I don’t have deodorant on’”?? And how about this disjointed conversation: “’My mother was an academic. She specialized in Christian medieval theology. So I know me some King James.’ She inspects her raw elbow. ‘My cousin is in jail. I hate thinking of him in there. He was such a sweetheart’”??
The ending is disappointing. There is no real closure since many questions are left unanswered. One character, Dr. Melvin Hurley, an academic writing Clifton’s biography, is just dropped; he is present at the climax but then is never mentioned again. The rushed climax and abrupt ending – with no dramatic revelations – are not in keeping with the pace of the rest of the novel.
The most positive element of the novel is its rich sense of place. There is no doubt that the author is familiar with the Mississippi Delta. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much else to recommend the book. There is no real mystery because the manner of Clifton’s death is totally predictable. The theme is worth developing but its impact is lessened by an uneven, disjointed narrative.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
June 4, 2019
Billie James returns to the Mississippi Delta after a thirty year absence. After her mother's recent death, she's inherited her father's old home that has set vacant for so long it's little more than a shack. All that Billie knows is that when she was four years old her father Cliff was found dead in his front yard. The police claim Cliff was intoxicated and died from a fall. In 1970's Mississippi, that was as far as the investigation into a black man's death would go.
Billie has taken a short leave from work in Philadelphia to try to fix up the old house and reconnect with her past, especially her father's family.
When she meets Jerry Hopsen, a man who knew her father, the conversation eventually turns to Cliff's death and Jerry mentions Billie's disappearance that night.
This news come as a complete surprise to Billie, who had no idea she was with her father on the night he died, let alone that she was missing for a time.
How long exactly was she missing? Where was she and who was she with during that time? No one seems willing to answer these questions, including her Uncle Dee, who waves it off as a simple misunderstanding.
When Billie finds what appears to be one chapter out of a full manuscript of her father's, she calls in a scholar who has been researching Cliff's life for a biography to help her investigate.
Searching for the rest of the manuscript and asking questions about Cliff's death stirs unrest in a small town that would rather forget the past and Billie finds the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she is in.
The Gone Dead is a combination of literary fiction and mystery. It covers the effects of racism in past and present, family secrets, and the motivations for both seeking truth and letting the past stay buried through the narration of several characters.
The story was a slow burn that builds up a few plot points but the climax felt rushed, making the storytelling uneven and unfocused at times. That said, it was still an intriguing read.
Thanks to Ecco and Edelweiss for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my honest review. The Gone Dead is scheduled for release on June 25, 2019.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
Billie has taken a short leave from work in Philadelphia to try to fix up the old house and reconnect with her past, especially her father's family.
When she meets Jerry Hopsen, a man who knew her father, the conversation eventually turns to Cliff's death and Jerry mentions Billie's disappearance that night.
This news come as a complete surprise to Billie, who had no idea she was with her father on the night he died, let alone that she was missing for a time.
How long exactly was she missing? Where was she and who was she with during that time? No one seems willing to answer these questions, including her Uncle Dee, who waves it off as a simple misunderstanding.
When Billie finds what appears to be one chapter out of a full manuscript of her father's, she calls in a scholar who has been researching Cliff's life for a biography to help her investigate.
Searching for the rest of the manuscript and asking questions about Cliff's death stirs unrest in a small town that would rather forget the past and Billie finds the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she is in.
The Gone Dead is a combination of literary fiction and mystery. It covers the effects of racism in past and present, family secrets, and the motivations for both seeking truth and letting the past stay buried through the narration of several characters.
The story was a slow burn that builds up a few plot points but the climax felt rushed, making the storytelling uneven and unfocused at times. That said, it was still an intriguing read.
Thanks to Ecco and Edelweiss for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my honest review. The Gone Dead is scheduled for release on June 25, 2019.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
May 3, 2019
---- Disclosure: I received this book for free from Goodreads. ----
Dnf in the middle of p. 28, after trying 3 different times to get through this book. It's bloody awful. Literally from the 1st words I was rearranging these so-called sentences & paragraphs so they might make some type of sense. There's also random extraneous info. thrown in all over the place, & a complete lack of style. To further muddy the waters, the pronoun usage is sloppy & undelineated to the point of having no clear reference to one character or another. For example, reading an entire paragraph wherein there is no way to know when the, "he," or, "him," in the character's thought process is referring to himself, or to yet another character that this character is musing over, becomes confusing, tedious work really quickly. Finally, I'll say that it was all telling & no showing. As such, there weren't really characters, but rather placeholders for some ideas of characters.
The back cover tells me author teaches at a collegiate level in Memphis, TN. That fact irritates me to no end, b/c this level of writing is unacceptable for any published work, but for a teacher I should think it to be embarrassing. I finally tossed this aside, kind of angry at the waste of time I spent trying to read it, when it's clear no one bothered to invest any time in making it worthwhile to read.
I'll also say, that the book jumps between the viewpoints of different characters. Some people don't have any trouble with that kind of thing, but some of us do have problems reading things presented in that manner, so I thought I'd mention it.
June 4, 2019
Full review to follow.
June 24, 2019
If Jesmyn Ward and Gillian Flynn came together on a novel, it would surely look like this.
In Chanelle Benz's debut novel, The Gone Dead, one biracial woman's return to the Mississippi Delta threatens to unearth secrets of her father’s life and death which have long since been buried by a community wounded by racism. As the novel progresses, Benz proves just how little we've come in the way of siding with solidarity over inequality, and no one learns this lesson more than our poor protagonist, Billie James, who can’t seem to find peace from the minute she steps foot in her miasmal hometown. No peace in her own family, none in the once-reliable confidence of her white neighbors, nor in the embrace of the white man who becomes her lover and greatest letdown.
As if the random acts of terror weren’t warning enough, no one is happy to see Billie back in town after all these years. “Let it go,” everyone insists. “Go home. It’s not safe for you here.” But why? Benz answers this with a novel so profoundly shrouded in hatred and grief that seems more prevalent now than ever before.
This book struck such a chord with me because, much like Billie, I have always struggled with trust. Like her, I’ve wrongfully accused close ones of dishonesty and have broken the hearts of such well-meaning friends purely out of fear. But imagine how much our anxiety is multiplied in a world where so many want people like me dead. Now imagine how taxing it must be to weed out the outliers. Who can you run to, really? Where? This is the resolute terror which refuses to let us go, and becomes the essential haunt that made Benz's first turn virtually impossible to put down.
(Thanks, Ecco, for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!)
If you liked my review, feel free to follow me @parisperusing on Instagram.
In Chanelle Benz's debut novel, The Gone Dead, one biracial woman's return to the Mississippi Delta threatens to unearth secrets of her father’s life and death which have long since been buried by a community wounded by racism. As the novel progresses, Benz proves just how little we've come in the way of siding with solidarity over inequality, and no one learns this lesson more than our poor protagonist, Billie James, who can’t seem to find peace from the minute she steps foot in her miasmal hometown. No peace in her own family, none in the once-reliable confidence of her white neighbors, nor in the embrace of the white man who becomes her lover and greatest letdown.
As if the random acts of terror weren’t warning enough, no one is happy to see Billie back in town after all these years. “Let it go,” everyone insists. “Go home. It’s not safe for you here.” But why? Benz answers this with a novel so profoundly shrouded in hatred and grief that seems more prevalent now than ever before.
This book struck such a chord with me because, much like Billie, I have always struggled with trust. Like her, I’ve wrongfully accused close ones of dishonesty and have broken the hearts of such well-meaning friends purely out of fear. But imagine how much our anxiety is multiplied in a world where so many want people like me dead. Now imagine how taxing it must be to weed out the outliers. Who can you run to, really? Where? This is the resolute terror which refuses to let us go, and becomes the essential haunt that made Benz's first turn virtually impossible to put down.
(Thanks, Ecco, for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!)
If you liked my review, feel free to follow me @parisperusing on Instagram.
February 2, 2020
...And my mother, my momma said there ain't no justice in the world, baby. We have to wait till the next."
this is a southern narrative that rattled me a bit. it is hard to believe this is a first novel for Chanelle Benz. her details about southern life, references to black history, and observations of human nature are remarkable. she made me question my assumptions & it was such a smart choice to use the present tense in telling a story that was rooted in the past. mostly (though) i loved that billie is altogether changed from when we first meet her & that in unraveling the mystery of her father's death her sense of place is developed.
this is a southern narrative that rattled me a bit. it is hard to believe this is a first novel for Chanelle Benz. her details about southern life, references to black history, and observations of human nature are remarkable. she made me question my assumptions & it was such a smart choice to use the present tense in telling a story that was rooted in the past. mostly (though) i loved that billie is altogether changed from when we first meet her & that in unraveling the mystery of her father's death her sense of place is developed.
September 8, 2020
3.5 stars
As soon as Billie mentions she inherited a house in the south from her grandmother, I was so worried this was going to be another The Fixer Upper or Queen Sugar. The good news: It's not! It's not about a dimwitted pretty girl from the north who got a house in the south and has men crawling all around her in the most gentlemanly of fashions.
In fact, she mows the yard at one point and gets a blister that hangs around for days and I was filled with joy.
This is more of a mystery story. Billie wants to find out how her dad, the former owner of her house, who died under mysterious circumstances when Billie was visiting as a toddler, lost his life. Was it because of his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and his later fame as a black poet? Or did he really stumble, fall, and hit his head to death? And where was she during this time? Why doesn't she remember anything?
She can't ask her mom, a white lady who had met Billie's dad at a march in the 60's but to whom she did not stay married, because the woman recently died from cancer. She can ask her uncle, the dad's younger brother, but he's not giving up any information. It's up to her to find the answers to her questions and to not sweat to death while doing so because this book does not let you forget that we're in the land of heat and humidity, now.
She makes an adult connection with her cousin, Lola, and they become friends, which is pretty great. She meets up with the neighbors and gets an instacrush on the guy next door, the guy whose family used to employ her family. That's pretty not-great but that's just because I don't dig romance. She has a dog that she also inherited from her grandmother and she grows to appreciate the dog and that's really great! Honestly, though, this book should have been called Rufus! due to the amount of times she yells at that dog. And I just want to point out: how often do you read an adult book with a WoC MC who has a dog that she loves? It makes me sad that black people are regularly portrayed as not liking animals so I was more happy than I needed to be that Billie knew Rufus was a good boy and he loved her, too.
There were problems, though.
About ⅓ of the way in, new characters start narrating chapters and I don't understand why this happened.
For instance:
Harlan gets a chapter in which he explains to the reader that his parents raised him to not be a racist, that he has to be nice to everyone. Also, Billie doesn’t look black. And he wants to save a woman, he just needs to be validated as a man by some pretty woman, dammit!
I kind of hated this character.
Dr. Hurley gets chapters which, to me, seemed unnecessary.
In his first chapter, I felt like the disc was skipping because it was very choppy and his conversations, specifically with Billie, didn't make sense.
These different points of view muddied the story a bit, interrupting its natural flow. I did not enjoy that. But overall, I was happy with Billie, who was not a simpering potato, and the mystery of her dad's death. It was a good story.
As soon as Billie mentions she inherited a house in the south from her grandmother, I was so worried this was going to be another The Fixer Upper or Queen Sugar. The good news: It's not! It's not about a dimwitted pretty girl from the north who got a house in the south and has men crawling all around her in the most gentlemanly of fashions.
In fact, she mows the yard at one point and gets a blister that hangs around for days and I was filled with joy.
This is more of a mystery story. Billie wants to find out how her dad, the former owner of her house, who died under mysterious circumstances when Billie was visiting as a toddler, lost his life. Was it because of his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and his later fame as a black poet? Or did he really stumble, fall, and hit his head to death? And where was she during this time? Why doesn't she remember anything?
She can't ask her mom, a white lady who had met Billie's dad at a march in the 60's but to whom she did not stay married, because the woman recently died from cancer. She can ask her uncle, the dad's younger brother, but he's not giving up any information. It's up to her to find the answers to her questions and to not sweat to death while doing so because this book does not let you forget that we're in the land of heat and humidity, now.
She makes an adult connection with her cousin, Lola, and they become friends, which is pretty great. She meets up with the neighbors and gets an instacrush on the guy next door, the guy whose family used to employ her family. That's pretty not-great but that's just because I don't dig romance. She has a dog that she also inherited from her grandmother and she grows to appreciate the dog and that's really great! Honestly, though, this book should have been called Rufus! due to the amount of times she yells at that dog. And I just want to point out: how often do you read an adult book with a WoC MC who has a dog that she loves? It makes me sad that black people are regularly portrayed as not liking animals so I was more happy than I needed to be that Billie knew Rufus was a good boy and he loved her, too.
There were problems, though.
About ⅓ of the way in, new characters start narrating chapters and I don't understand why this happened.
For instance:
Harlan gets a chapter in which he explains to the reader that his parents raised him to not be a racist, that he has to be nice to everyone. Also, Billie doesn’t look black. And he wants to save a woman, he just needs to be validated as a man by some pretty woman, dammit!
I kind of hated this character.
Dr. Hurley gets chapters which, to me, seemed unnecessary.
In his first chapter, I felt like the disc was skipping because it was very choppy and his conversations, specifically with Billie, didn't make sense.
These different points of view muddied the story a bit, interrupting its natural flow. I did not enjoy that. But overall, I was happy with Billie, who was not a simpering potato, and the mystery of her dad's death. It was a good story.
October 4, 2019
Read for October 2019 book club
I think the inexperience of the author really came through in the writing. This was the most plodding and straightforward murder mystery I've ever read, full of thinly veiled writing conceits and poorly drawn characters. I'm left wondering what this book is, exactly - a social commentary? A family drama?
Why were there so many superfluous characters? What was the deal with this completely unnecessary biographer dude? What was the point of introducing her cousin, Lola, if not to pass the Bechdel test (it still didn't)? Why did the author use so many pronouns, to the point where it was impossible to tell who was talking about whom? Add that to a little bit of memory play (is it today? Is it 1972? Your guess is as good as mine) and you have a clumsy execution of a mildly compelling plot.
I think the inexperience of the author really came through in the writing. This was the most plodding and straightforward murder mystery I've ever read, full of thinly veiled writing conceits and poorly drawn characters. I'm left wondering what this book is, exactly - a social commentary? A family drama?
Why were there so many superfluous characters? What was the deal with this completely unnecessary biographer dude? What was the point of introducing her cousin, Lola, if not to pass the Bechdel test (it still didn't)? Why did the author use so many pronouns, to the point where it was impossible to tell who was talking about whom? Add that to a little bit of memory play (is it today? Is it 1972? Your guess is as good as mine) and you have a clumsy execution of a mildly compelling plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2021
3.5 stars 🌟
Narrator: 4 stars
Narrator: 4 stars
November 26, 2019
3.5***
One of the prompts for my local public library's reading challenge this year is a book related to your ancestry. I was struggling to find something and a cool librarian recommended this to me. I follow new releases pretty closely so I was surprised to have never heard of this book or author, especially since the synopsis sounded like it would be right up my alley. It was.
I missed the buzz on this (if there was any?) and went into this book completely unaware. I was shocked at what I found here. The Gone Dead is a slow, winding, story that sneaks up on you. It's unassuming until it isn't. I won't say much more than that because I think it's best to go into this one blind.
I will say that my dad was born in Mississippi in the 1960's. He grew up about 30 minutes from where Emmett Till was murdered. I've spent some time in the Delta and this book captures the weight of the swamps and the fabric of the areas racist history. There were parts that felt too labored and the professor character was a snooze. I also found the MC's naivete unlikely and the pacing didn't work that well for me. But overall, I really enjoyed it. I was gripped by the dialogue and the quiet mystery. It started to heat up around 70% and I couldn't put it down after that.
One of the prompts for my local public library's reading challenge this year is a book related to your ancestry. I was struggling to find something and a cool librarian recommended this to me. I follow new releases pretty closely so I was surprised to have never heard of this book or author, especially since the synopsis sounded like it would be right up my alley. It was.
I missed the buzz on this (if there was any?) and went into this book completely unaware. I was shocked at what I found here. The Gone Dead is a slow, winding, story that sneaks up on you. It's unassuming until it isn't. I won't say much more than that because I think it's best to go into this one blind.
I will say that my dad was born in Mississippi in the 1960's. He grew up about 30 minutes from where Emmett Till was murdered. I've spent some time in the Delta and this book captures the weight of the swamps and the fabric of the areas racist history. There were parts that felt too labored and the professor character was a snooze. I also found the MC's naivete unlikely and the pacing didn't work that well for me. But overall, I really enjoyed it. I was gripped by the dialogue and the quiet mystery. It started to heat up around 70% and I couldn't put it down after that.
August 24, 2019
One of those books that has an incredibly interesting premise and characters but gets stuck spinning the wheels. The wrap up at the end felt abrupt.
February 1, 2020
I DNF'd a mystery before I picked up this book which the F2F mystery group that I attend will be discussing in March. So I wasn't in an especially tolerant mood, but was nevertheless soon immersed in the story of Billie James, the female protagonist of The Gone Dead. This isn't a fast paced mystery, but the Mississippi milieu, the provocative themes and the character relationships kept me reading.
Billie won't give up until she learns what really happened to her father in 1972. She gradually learns the tragic truth which reveals how much hasn't changed in the small Mississippi town where she was born. This turned out to be a powerful novel despite the numerous POVs.
I recently criticized a highly respected book because there was no justice in the resolution. That was also the case here. The difference is that there is no suggestion in The Gone Dead that the lack of justice is at all OK. I felt that the author was deliberately provoking anger in her readers, and that it was righteous anger.
Billie won't give up until she learns what really happened to her father in 1972. She gradually learns the tragic truth which reveals how much hasn't changed in the small Mississippi town where she was born. This turned out to be a powerful novel despite the numerous POVs.
I recently criticized a highly respected book because there was no justice in the resolution. That was also the case here. The difference is that there is no suggestion in The Gone Dead that the lack of justice is at all OK. I felt that the author was deliberately provoking anger in her readers, and that it was righteous anger.
May 5, 2019
This novel is a mix of a mystery/crime novel, with the protagonist trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her father 30 years ago, and an exploration of race in the deep south, with its abiding racism 30 years ago, with lingering effects into the present. It's a little slow moving, as Billie comes to terms with various issues. First there are family members she hasn't seen in ages, like uncles, cousins and so on. There are white people who knew her and her family so many years ago, who don't want her around for one reason or another. There are black people who are sure that there is a racist lurking in every white man's heart, and try to talk her into moving back north. There is a biographer who is trying to get his hands on the truth of her father's poetry as well as history.
One thing I did not enjoy is the author's decision, very much of its time, to frame various chapters in the points of view of different characters. I understand why that was necessary; here, the different perspectives are needed as there is information certain characters have that the others don't know. For example, Cliff's girlfriend 30 years ago knows things that Hopsen doesn't, and vice versa. It's quite au courant these days for authors to shift perspective like this, but it is not conducive to a cohesive novel. It makes the reader constantly stop to take stock: who's talking now?
I found the dialect a little distracting, and it caused a choppiness in reading.
The writing could use some work. The opening 2 sentences are awful and need to be rewritten.
One thing I did not enjoy is the author's decision, very much of its time, to frame various chapters in the points of view of different characters. I understand why that was necessary; here, the different perspectives are needed as there is information certain characters have that the others don't know. For example, Cliff's girlfriend 30 years ago knows things that Hopsen doesn't, and vice versa. It's quite au courant these days for authors to shift perspective like this, but it is not conducive to a cohesive novel. It makes the reader constantly stop to take stock: who's talking now?
I found the dialect a little distracting, and it caused a choppiness in reading.
The writing could use some work. The opening 2 sentences are awful and need to be rewritten.
October 1, 2021
This is the type of book where you can tell each word is written with a purpose. The writing is sooo beautiful and not only Chanelle Benz an excellent novelist, but she is also an AMAZING poet. There are parts where one of the characters poems are being shown and just the amount of care that she takes with these poems is extraordinarily... real? I don't know how to describe it exactly... BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!!!
August 2, 2021
4.5 stars
My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.
Chanelle Benz is a new-to-me author, but when I saw that Bahni Turpin was the narrator, I decided to look further into the story. I liked the sound of the book blurb, so I decided to give this book a go. I’m really glad that I did. I had a great time reading this story and trying to figure out what was going on this small town on the Mississippi Delta.
Billie James is a half white, half black girl who is originally from a small town of Greendale, Mississippi. She moves to Philadelphia with her mother (the parents were split up prior to his death) when she was just a toddler after her father dies in an apparent accident. Now she’s going back to Greendale to cleanup her father’s house that she has inherited thirty years after his death.
After some strange occurrences around the house, she starts asking about things more. She’s talking a lot with the closest neighbors, a white family that has had connections with her family, going back to slave times. She’s also talking with her father’s brother and her father’s girlfriend at the time of his death. The more she digs, the more questions she has.
I really enjoyed this crime mystery set in the South, where there is a lot of history. Even in the present, you can see the differences between the different races, but this really isn’t a story about race. Race is brought up as it is part of the culture in the town and does have its place in this story. But this is mostly about Billie trying to learn more about her father and what happened to him and even what happened to her around the time of his death.
If you like crime stories set in small towns where everyone is connected in some fashion, this would be a great story for you to try. I really look forward to reading more books by Chanelle Benz.
Narration
As I said, Bahni Turpin is the reason this book really caught my eye. I’ve listened to her narrate several different types of stories and I always enjoy her narration. I really believe that she brings out the characters in the stories, with a wide array of voices and the perfect inflection in their tones to match their personalities. If you’ve never listened to Bahni Turpin, you’re really missing out and should give her a try.
**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.
Chanelle Benz is a new-to-me author, but when I saw that Bahni Turpin was the narrator, I decided to look further into the story. I liked the sound of the book blurb, so I decided to give this book a go. I’m really glad that I did. I had a great time reading this story and trying to figure out what was going on this small town on the Mississippi Delta.
Billie James is a half white, half black girl who is originally from a small town of Greendale, Mississippi. She moves to Philadelphia with her mother (the parents were split up prior to his death) when she was just a toddler after her father dies in an apparent accident. Now she’s going back to Greendale to cleanup her father’s house that she has inherited thirty years after his death.
After some strange occurrences around the house, she starts asking about things more. She’s talking a lot with the closest neighbors, a white family that has had connections with her family, going back to slave times. She’s also talking with her father’s brother and her father’s girlfriend at the time of his death. The more she digs, the more questions she has.
I really enjoyed this crime mystery set in the South, where there is a lot of history. Even in the present, you can see the differences between the different races, but this really isn’t a story about race. Race is brought up as it is part of the culture in the town and does have its place in this story. But this is mostly about Billie trying to learn more about her father and what happened to him and even what happened to her around the time of his death.
If you like crime stories set in small towns where everyone is connected in some fashion, this would be a great story for you to try. I really look forward to reading more books by Chanelle Benz.
Narration
As I said, Bahni Turpin is the reason this book really caught my eye. I’ve listened to her narrate several different types of stories and I always enjoy her narration. I really believe that she brings out the characters in the stories, with a wide array of voices and the perfect inflection in their tones to match their personalities. If you’ve never listened to Bahni Turpin, you’re really missing out and should give her a try.
**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
August 25, 2019
I loved the first half of the book, which is beautifully written and enables readers to perfectly visualize the book's Mississippi setting and the weight of the state's history of interpersonal relationships between blacks and whites. When it came to the "who done it" of the second half, I thought the book meandered a bit, especially for the suspense/thriller genre, hence the 4 stars. With that said, I really look forward to reading more of the author's work.
July 29, 2019
I don't know why I kept reading this book. (Probably because it was one of Jimmy Fallon's picks for the summer) It just didn't seem to have a strong story line. The ending was rushed. Characters that seemed to be important to the plot line were just dropped. An attack happens and no information is given on who was actually behind the attack. It was just so... blah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2019
I tried I really did but I couldn’t get through it. I even sped up the audio and it still dragged.
Not sure why it is rated so highly zzzzzz
Not sure why it is rated so highly zzzzzz
Displaying 1 - 30 of 561 reviews