Bitter
River is a murder mystery involving the death of Lucinda Trimble, a talented
16-year-old girl, who is found dead in the Bitter River. The story is set in
the West Virginia mountain town of Ackers Gap, a place peopled with pragmatic
folks dealing with economic hardships who have little to no trust of outsiders.
Raythune County prosecutor Belfa Elkins, who grew up in various foster homes
after the death of her violent father, has returned to her hometown of Ackers
Gap after a failed marriage to find healing in the mountains.
Julia
Keller writes with melodic prose that pulled me into the story from the first
page and kept me wanting more – until the last third of the book when the plot
became overly contrived with a subplot involving an international terrorist and
the writing felt rushed. I started to
turn pages restlessly to get to the end, which was, for me, unsatisfying.
As
for character development, I liked and admired Bell Elkins, a pick yourself up
by your bootstraps and keep going woman, who is both tough and vulnerable. She
would be fun at Happy Hour. Many of the
peripheral characters are drawn clearly enough that one can recognize in them
somebody we know and with whom we can empathize.
All
in all Bitter River is a good book. The first 2/3 is excellent. If Ms. Keller
writes another episode in the life of Bell Elkins, I will read it.
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