Helpful Score: 3
I love the way the author goes back and forth between the centuries. This one of the "Ballad" series had a couple of quirky characters, along with the usual ones we've come to know. There's a lot happening here. I really like these books.
From Publishers Weekly
In 1779, Katie Wyler, 18, was captured by the Shawnee in North Carolina. The story of her escape and arduous journey home through hundreds of miles of Appalachian wilderness is the topic of ethno-historian Jeremy Cobb's thesis-and the thread which runs through the third of McCrumb's ballad novels (after The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter). As Cobb begins to retrace Katie's return journey, 63-year-old convicted murderer Hiram (Harm) Sorley escapes from a nearby prison. Suffering from Korsakoff's syndrome, he has no recent memory: old Harm is permanently stuck in the past. Hamelin, Tenn., police dispatcher Martha Ayers uses the opportunity to convince the sheriff to assign her as a deputy. One of her first duties is to calm a young mother who, angry at her inattentive husband, is threatening her baby with a butcher knife. Ayers and the sheriff must also warn Harm's ex-wife Rita that he has escaped. Acting as a kind of narrative conscience is a local deejay, a "carpetbagger from Connecticut," who sees Harm as a folk hero from another era. Deftly building suspense, McCrumb weaves these colorful elements into her satisfying conclusion as she continues to reward her readers' high expectations. Mystery Guild selection; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Publishers Weekly
In 1779, Katie Wyler, 18, was captured by the Shawnee in North Carolina. The story of her escape and arduous journey home through hundreds of miles of Appalachian wilderness is the topic of ethno-historian Jeremy Cobb's thesis-and the thread which runs through the third of McCrumb's ballad novels (after The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter). As Cobb begins to retrace Katie's return journey, 63-year-old convicted murderer Hiram (Harm) Sorley escapes from a nearby prison. Suffering from Korsakoff's syndrome, he has no recent memory: old Harm is permanently stuck in the past. Hamelin, Tenn., police dispatcher Martha Ayers uses the opportunity to convince the sheriff to assign her as a deputy. One of her first duties is to calm a young mother who, angry at her inattentive husband, is threatening her baby with a butcher knife. Ayers and the sheriff must also warn Harm's ex-wife Rita that he has escaped. Acting as a kind of narrative conscience is a local deejay, a "carpetbagger from Connecticut," who sees Harm as a folk hero from another era. Deftly building suspense, McCrumb weaves these colorful elements into her satisfying conclusion as she continues to reward her readers' high expectations. Mystery Guild selection; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Helpful Score: 2
My two-cents. This was the first Sharyn McCrumb book I've read, and now I've read 3. She is an excellent writer and I want to keep turning the pages. This book provided excellent distraction each night while we were in another state visiting my father-in-law in intensive care hospital. I've really enjoyed her detail to the beauty and culture of Appalachia. I recommend her books. Story plot has been detailed in other posts.
Helpful Score: 2
Pretty interesting - -if you enjoy mystery and history you'll like this book, especially if you are interested in Melungeons, the Appalachian Mountains and police work.
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book........couldn't put down!
Helpful Score: 1
Suspenseful and witty story with Appalachian setting.
