Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
THE GIRL FROM BLIND RIVER, Gale Massey’s debut mystery novel, is due out July 10th 2018 by Crooked Lane Books.
Nineteen year old Jamie Elder would like nothing more than to move on from her past – but that’s hard to do when she can’t even escape her hometown of Blind River, New York. Jamie’s father died when she was a child, and, not long after, her mother was convicted to an eight year prison term. Jamie, and her younger brother, Toby, have lived with their abusive, law-breaking uncle ever since – and let’s just say that Uncle Loyal has done the absolute bare minimum required to provide for his brother’s children. The only reason Jamie has stuck around after high school is to take care of her younger brother. Once Toby turns eighteen and joins the Army, Jamie plans to skip town and join the traveling poker circuit. Her plans change when she steals money from her uncle. To repay her debt, Loyal forces Jamie to help him dispose of a dead body. The local police know that something is up, and Jamie is torn between keeping her mouth shut and telling all she knows. As Jamie learns more and more about what is going on in Blind River – and how it has shaped her life and continues to affect her and her brother – she realizes that there is only one choice for her to make.
THE GIRL FROM BLIND RIVER is a fast-paced, compelling thriller that is told from multiple third-person points of view. The majority of the story is told from Jamie Elder’s perspective, but it is essential to have certain scenes told from other characters’ points of view. The reader will be captivated from the first page to the last as Jamie and the rest of the characters uncover the various secrets of Blind River.
Jamie Elder is not perfect. She’s not always all that the likable. To be honest, none of the characters are really all that likable. You certainly wouldn’t want to invite them over for tea and cookies…But you would want them on your speed dial should you have a dead body to get rid of. Yet the readers will find themselves cheering for Jamie to overcome her past – her family members are criminals and she has been pegged from childhood to follow in their footsteps – and find a brighter future for herself. Jamie may be young, naïve, and bitter, but she is also resourceful and cunning. The chips may be stacked against her, but she knows how to play the odds. She will even cheat if she has to.