The Witch's Orchard
A Novel
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4.1 • 22 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
An Instant USA Today Bestseller
A ninth-generation Appalachian, Archer Sullivan brings the mountains of North Carolina to life in The Witch’s Orchard, a wonderfully atmospheric novel that introduces private investigator Annie Gore.
Former Air Force special investigator Annie Gore joined the military right after high school to escape the fraught homelife of her childhood. Now, she’s getting by as a private investigator, and her latest case takes her to an Appalachian holler not unlike the one where she grew up.
Ten years ago, three little girls went missing from their tiny mountain town. While one was returned, the others were never seen again. After all this time without answers, the brother of one of the girls wants to hire an outsider, and he wants Annie. While she may not be from his town, she gets mountain towns. Mountain people. Driving back into the hills for a case this old—it might be a fool’s errand. But Annie needs to put money in the bank and she can’t turn down a case. Not even one that dredges up her own painful past.
In the shadow of the Blue Ridge, Annie begins to track down the truth, navigating a decade’s worth of secrets, folklore of witches and crows, and a whole town that prefers to forget. But while the case may have been forgotten, echoes of the past linger. And Annie’s arrival stirs someone into action.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sullivan debuts with a mesmerizing mystery that blends small-town secrets with ominous folklore. Ten years after Molly Andrews vanishes, her brother hires private investigator Annie Gore to reopen the cold case. Most locals believe Molly's fate is linked to that of two other girls who were abducted around the same time; an eerie applehead doll was left at the scene of each disappearance. As Annie sifts for secrets among the tight-lipped citizens of the economically depressed Appalachian town of Quartz Creek, N.C., her knowledge of the region and experience as a former Air Force special investigator help her gain the locals' trust. But when she discovers Molly's strangled corpse, and then a young girl is abducted during a church festival just days later, she begins to suspect a disturbing link between the kidnappings, a respected pillar of the community, and a recent meth lab fire in an abandoned factory. The truth runs deeper and darker than Annie could've imagined, and she's eventually forced to confront demons of her own. Delivering intrigue, atmosphere, and well-shaded characters with the efficiency of a seasoned pro, Sullivan knocks it out of the park on her first try. Here's hoping Annie Gore is back in action soon.
