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In the Appalachians, a historian writing on Katie Wyler, a young woman kidnapped from the area by Indians in 1789, sets out to retrace her tragic journey. He is unaware her spirit haunts the hills, nor is he aware that an escaped convict is on the loose. By the author of Bimbos of the Death Sun.
I love a good mystery, I was born and raised in Appalachia, so how did I not discover Sharyn McCrumb until now? Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The details are spot on, from the hollers to the food. ( )
She Walks These Hills is a hauntingly atmospheric blend of mystery and Appalachian folklore with a touch of the supernatural. I’ve always thought The Ballad of Frankie Silver was the strongest of author Sharyn McCrumb’s Ballad series but rereading this one made me change my mind. ( )
Another of McCrumb's "ballad" series, featuring Sheriff Spencer Arrowood and his deputies Joe LeDonne (ex-Vietnam vet with lots of PSTD residuals) and Martha Ayers (who means to change the way things are done in the Hamelin, TN, sheriff's department). In this one, a 63-year-old convicted murderer with a mental disorder that affects his short-term memory, escapes after serving 25+ years of a virtual life sentence. Speculation runs high as to what his intentions are, as he wanders unfound through the Appalachian wilderness headed for "home" and the wife and baby daughter he thinks are still waiting for him in the holler where he left them. Lots of good stuff in here about hillbillies vs. town folk, Yankees vs. Southerners, men vs. women, the physical world vs. the spirit world, book-learning vs. common sense--all gently ensconced in a heck of a good story. And let's not leave out Nora Bonesteel, another of McCrumb's recurring characters. Nora knows things, because she sees things, and it's always best to listen to her. She isn't in this story much, but she's essential to it, and I really want to believe she's still living in that lovely house in the cove, waiting for the next person who needs her knowledge, compassion and Sight to come along. ( )
In the Appalachians, a historian writing on Katie Wyler, a young woman kidnapped from the area by Indians in 1789, sets out to retrace her tragic journey. He is unaware her spirit haunts the hills, nor is he aware that an escaped convict is on the loose. By the author of Bimbos of the Death Sun.
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Shefiff Spencer Arrowood contends with ghosts, escaped convicts, academics and a superstitious community. The ghost is a white settler named Katie Wyler who was kidnapped by the Shawnee in 1789. The convict is an old man named Harm who most long-time residents believe is harmless. The academic is historical Jeremy Cobb who is tracing Katie's last journey on the Appalachian Trail. Then, a murderer surfaces. --------------------------------- Fear more chilling than approaching winter blankets the Appalachian community of Dark Hollow, Tennessee. Some believe that the ghost of Katie Wyler, kidnapped by Shawnee too hundred years ago, is once again roaming the hills. Even more frightening, a convicted murderer has escaped prison and is heading home with his woodsman's cunning, mocking all attempts to keep him from getting to the wife who has divorced him.
Only an old woman's mystical gift of "the sight" and policewoman Martha Ayers' determination to prove herself as good as any lawman can put to rest the superstitions of Katie's wandering spirit following a trail of death. But can they stop a live, flesh-and-blood predator as elusive as the whistling wind before he kills agian?
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