Bell Elkins has moved back to Raythune County, West Virginia, to become the prosecuting attorney. She moved there with her teenaged daughter but not her husband. He never wanted to return to West Virginia and is happy with his life in Washington, DC.

Bell had a troubled childhood and was placed in the foster care system when she was ten and her older sister killed their abusive father and burned down the run-down trailer that was their home. Her sister, who is up for parole, refuses all contact with Bell.

Meanwhile, Bell is on a crusade because prescription bill abuse is running rampant in the county. She is also working on the case of a mentally retarded man killing his six-year-old playmate and also on a murder investigation when an unknown gunman entered a local diner and murdered three elderly men who were having coffee there.

Bell's daughter Carla was at the diner when the shooting occurred and thinks she recognizes the shooter. However, instead of telling her mother, she decides to investigate on her own which leads to her being kidnapped by the shooter.

The third viewpoint character is that of the shooter who sees himself as a badass superspy, but is actually just an impulsive, amoral punk.

This was an interesting story well narrated by Shannon McManus. I thought there might have been a little too much repetition about the chronic poverty, joblessness, and hopelessness in West Virginia but enjoyed the mystery. ( )

This was (overall) a very good mystery novel, but I'm on the fence as to whether or not I want to continue with the series. The poverty and ruined lives portrayed as part of the West Virginia life was more than a bit depressing. I think I'll try one more Bell Elkins novel before I decide. ( )

This is a book that you will either really like or really hate. I think it will depend on what type of story you enjoy. My advice is to read the book to decide. Borrow it from your library if you aren’t sure you want to invest.
I was invested in this book. It was an emotional book for me to read. My family has lived in Appalachia for centuries. My body is in Alaska now but my heart, my soul, my blood remain rooted there. In my opinion the author did an excellent job creating a realistic portrait of the people, the area, the poverty and the complicated drug problem. The characters might not all be readily likable. Sometimes people are flawed. Sometimes the way they were raised plays a big part in their public personality and things they do. You don’t know this about them when you first meet them. Most people don’t jump at the opportunity to tell acquaintances their deepest secrets.
The story broke my heart but I could not stop reading. I think one of the scariest things I took from this story was the knowledge that this story isn’t just playing out in Appalachia. I came to this small town ten years ago. The town reminded me of where my roots are but did not have the problem. Sadly, a few years ago, I stopped being able to say that. Drugs had arrived and it didn’t take long for my town to match my heart’s home. If you have an interest in drugs, crime, small towns and mysteries that take an unexpected turn, try this book.
This book is the first in a series. It ends complete yet has a cliffhanger. I know, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. But it is accurate. The mystery is complete yet, in my opinion, there is a cliffhanger. ( )

Maybe between 2 and 3 stars. Keller was a gifted writer for the Chicago Tribune for many years, and now turns her hand to crime fiction. This was my first go at her Bell Elkins series (I am obsessive about reading such things in order), which I found reminiscent of Tom Bouman's Henry Farrell series - "rural noirs" set in small mountain communities beset by poverty, drugs, crime, and a shortage of opportunities for their citizens, and both by authors who work hard at vivid, descriptive, and sometimes beautiful writing. Unfortunately, Keller's first effort in the series shows a writer who is still feeling her way. For instance, do we really need to know exactly what every character is wearing the first time we see them - and sometimes the next, and the next...? I do NOT care what color Oxford cloth shirt (and of course, it is "crisp") Bell is wearing to work on Tuesday. The story pauses too often and for too long to explain Bell's back story (which we get in various versions more than once), or to wax poetic over the beauty of the mountains and the trees and the sky. Bell, a workaholic single mom and prosecuting attorney, staring 40 in the face, has a tense relationship with her teen daughter, which is convincing enough. The people of Acker's Gap are often briskly described in vivid - and again, often too much - detail. The plot is dreary - a sociopathic hit man (more like, a hit kid...) doing the bidding of a mysterious druglord, who is irked by Bell's investigations. Throw in the death of a child, the death of a pathetically ruined whore, a car chase on a mountainside, the oh-so-predictable peril of Bell's daughter, and an almost "The Butler Did It" resolution, and there you have it. And as hard as Keller tries to convince you of Bell's heartfelt need to move back to Acker's Gap, West Virginia, it sure didn't make me eager to go back. I may try #2 in the series, to see if she's getting better at this, but am in no hurry. ( )

Another murder mystery series. Woman protaganist (Belfa Elkins) is the PA for Raythune County WV. Lots of big crime for a small town. Julia Keller used to write for the Chicago Trib and won a Pulitzer for her story on the Utica tonrnado in 2005, so clearly she has the small town thing down. Her descriptions of WV are lovely and the action is fast-paced and intriguing. ( )