Summer of the Dead (Bell Elkins, Book 3)
A riveting thriller of secrets and murder
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
As the heat rises, they must face the danger to come...
Julia Keller brings us Summer of the Dead, the third novel to feature the intrepid Bell Elkins. Perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane and Henning Mankell.
'A suspenseful, superbly executed plot that displays a depth rarely seen in mystery fiction' - Booklist
The first death came unexpectedly. An old man attacked outside his home, his murder a shock to the town. Then the second death came and with it fear.
For Raythune County's prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins, the inexplicable killings in Acker's Gap are all she can think about. Everything - the oppressive summer heat, her absent daughter, her troublesome sister - fades into the background as she tries to work out who is responsible.
As tensions escalate, and suspects begin to emerge, Bell will have to face demons from her own past as she comes head-to-head with a killer bent on destroying all those who stand in their way...
What readers are saying about Julia Keller:
'Keller astounds me with her characterization, beautiful descriptions and absorbing plots'
'A compelling read'
'Five stars'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After two savage, seemingly senseless murders within weeks, Bell Elkins starts to feel the heat and that's even without the mess of trouble simmering at home with her headstrong, recently paroled big sister, Shirley in Keller's character-driven, plot-compromised third novel starring the steely West Virginia prosecutor (after 2013's Bitter River). As residents of Bell's hardscrabble Appalachian hometown of Acker's Gap shy away from even simple summer pleasures for fear of a serial killer in their midst, she doggedly pursues the scant leads while trying to forge an adult relationship with the sibling whose selfless act decades earlier spared her from their father's abuse. Though the investigation uncovers a sad story behind almost every sagging porch (among them the plight of teen bookworm Lindy Crabtree, who turns the cellar of her crumbling family place into the simulacrum of a mine to comfort her demented and possibly dangerous father, a retired miner), and culminates in a denouement surprising largely because it seems so contrived, the book's prime pleasure lies in joining the complex Bell on the long journey toward making peace with her past.
