Saving Grace
A Novel of Suspense
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Danger stalks the Ozarks. "A big southern gothic thriller packed with secrets . . . Original, dark, and staggering." —Samantha Downing, USA Today–bestselling author of My Lovely Wife
Mary Grace Dobbs is the first female sheriff of her Arkansas hometown, a position that doesn't sit well with some of the locals. Keeping order and her demons at bay becomes an impossible task when a Black drifter suspected in earlier child disappearances returns to Repentance . . . and another sixth grader vanishes.
With old prejudices and new secrets spilling out into the open, the modern world soon illuminates the village's darkest corners. The case becomes even more fraught as a cult of white supremacists brings its gospel of hate to Repentance and violence explodes, claiming more lives. Racing to find the missing girl while fearing for the safety of her own sixth-grade daughter, Mary Grace must confront an unspeakable truth—and face a decision no parent should ever have to make.
Set in the remote Ozark hills, where the secrets run as deep as the hollows, Saving Grace blends elements of To Kill a Mockingbird with twisty, edge-of-your-seat psychological suspense. This startling debut novel introduces a captivating protagonist whose concept of good and evil can shape a young girl—then and now.
"The scariest literary ride of the year . . . nothing short of breath-taking and the ending will blow your socks off." —John Lescroart, New York Times–bestselling author
"An ingenious multi-generational plot reaches a terrifying crescendo you won't easily forget." —Joseph Finder, New York Times–bestselling author
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Babitt's uneven debut, single mother Mary Grace Dobbs, the new sheriff of Repentance, Ark., fears history might be repeating itself 24 years after two of her sixth-grade classmates—her best friend and her worst enemy—vanished separately. First, Black mechanic Darryl Stokes, who many in the conservative, largely white community suspected in the disappearances, suddenly returns after an absence of more than two decades. Then, weeks later, a sixth-grade girl goes missing—alarming Mary Grace in both her professional capacity and as a concerned mother whose daughter is the missing girl's classmate. As Mary Grace leads the search while struggling to keep in check the white supremacists who are spoiling for a fight, shifts between the chaotic present and the guilt-wracked past help build tension. The author skillfully teases the long-buried secrets that still haunt the sheriff, but frequently loses narrative drive in long-winded passages dedicated to chronicling local color. The pace accelerates during the twisty final pages, leading to an explosive, if credulity stretching climax. Babbit shows enough potential to leave fans of psychological suspense wanting more.
