Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller makes her mystery debut with A Killing in the Hills, a love song to her native West Virginia that's as beautiful as it is gritty.
In the words of Belfa "Bell" Elkins, prosecuting attorney of Raythune County, "What a weekend. My daughter witnesses a massacre. Some crazy bastard just about runs me off the road. And now my ex-husband shows up unannounced. It's the freakin' trifecta." Bell already had her work cut out for her as she debated whether to prosecute a mentally handicapped man called Albie Sheets to the fullest extent of the law for the killing of a small boy or lighten the charges in the belief he did not understand his own actions. Now her teenaged daughter, Carla, has witnessed the drive-by slaying of three elderly men and is acting more surly and secretive than ever, and Bell has no leads on the suspect.
Believing the triple homicide is one more symptom of the drug problem that's tearing her hometown of Acker's Gap apart at the seams, Bell aggressively pursues the case despite an attempt on her life. Aiding her are her assistant Rhonda, whose intuition and connections almost make up for her tendency to skip work for a manicure, and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong, whose longstanding friendship stretches back down the years to the night he rescued a little girl named Belfa from a crisis that left her home in ashes and her elder sister in prison.
The killer, a disturbed young man who calls himself "Chill" and answers to a shadowy boss, eludes them, but Carla is certain she knows his face if not his name, and she pursues Chill's identity without her mother's knowledge, equally determined to protect their mountain home.
Keller's alluring portrayals of the West Virginian landscape contrast with her descriptions of the abject poverty endured by many of its citizens. While perhaps not the most intuitive of sleuths, Bell Elkins is nonetheless an appealing heroine, fiercely protective of her family and home and stubborn in her pursuit of justice (as we see when the Albie Sheets case becomes more complex). The ensemble cast brings a sense of community to the story and gives readers insight into Bell's steadfast determination to preserve the culture of Acker's Gap. With ample loose ends left to begin a second book, readers may justifiably hope to see more of Keller's sure-footed prose and dynamic characters. --Jaclyn Fulwood
Shelf Talker: Julia Keller makes her mystery debut with a novel set in her native West Virginia that's as beautiful as it is gritty.