Plot
summary and comments: Katie Wyler still crosses Ashe Mountain, and although a few can see her, Deputy Sheriff Martha Ayers doesn't believe in ghosts. Hiram Sorley has escaped after 30 years in prison and he's on his way home to Ashe Mountain. Only Martha seems to understand that Sorley's wife and daughter are in danger.
::READERS REVIEWS::
Not a page turner - Too many characters and story lines makes this book hard to read. Definitely not a page turner. The author does a great job of uniting everything in the end, but it was hard to stay focused up until that point.
Very suspenseful and well narrated - Sharyn McCrumb is one of those authors that seems to delight in observing things in minute detail, and the pictures she paints in her books create a whole world, full of interesting and individualized characters. Her characterization is so good that even if nothing at all happened, I wouldn't mind. But McCrumb is too good an author for that. She is not afraid to torment her characters mercilessly. In this book, a brain-damaged man who is unfairly jailed escapes and endures tremendous hardship on the road and then really gets hit with some bad news (I am not going to give you spoilers, just read it). A woman goes through a terrible experience discovering her man is committing adultery, and we hear every thought in her head, brutal and animalistic and believable. A young history professor obsessed with folk stories about a young woman who lived in the late 1700's, follows this historical woman's trail through the wilderness. He comes very close to death by starvation and cholera, just to discover that the woman of his obsession was all too human.
These are just skimpy descriptions of what happens in this book. It's really an exciting read. It's a murder mystery with all of the suspense and action you could want, and none of the horrendous graphic one-upsmanship that bad mystery writers fall back on when they can't write well. She Walks These Hills kept me up until 5:30AM because I couldn't stop listening.
Read by Sally Darling, whose lovely Southern accent brings tremendous life to this book. Her voice sparkles with an almost Renaissance quality, where there is no silent vowel, so that the word "need" is pronounced "ne-ed," for example. Man, I could listen to her talk all day.
I review only audiobooks. Check out my other reviews, then download, plug in, and never be bored again.
One the best works of historical fiction - Despite its turgid title, "She Walks These Hills" is as captivating as Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude." I was hooked from page one. McCrumb's thorough research and well-drawn characters populate an Appalachian journey in which the events of two centuries are intertwined. I first read this book more than 15 years ago and keep going back to it. Also recommend McCrumb's "The Rosewood Casket" and "St. Dale."
Great service but could't read the small print. - I received the book quickly and it was in good shape as described; however, I can't read small print. I thought it was going to be in large print.
"She Walks These Hills" - This book was a journey that I didn't want to end. Fortunately, Sharyn McCrumb wrote more books, some of which I've yet to read.
::AMAZON REVIEWS::
Not a page turnerToo many characters and story lines makes this book hard to read. Definitely not a page turner. The author does a great job of uniting everything in the end, but it was hard to stay focused up until that point.
Very suspenseful and well narratedSharyn McCrumb is one of those authors that seems to delight in observing things in minute detail, and the pictures she paints in her books create a whole world, full of interesting and individualized characters. Her characterization is so good that even if nothing at all happened, I wouldn't mind. But McCrumb is too good an author for that. She is not afraid to torment her characters mercilessly. In this book, a brain-damaged man who is unfairly jailed escapes and endures tremendous hardship on the road and then really gets hit with some bad news (I am not going to give you spoilers, just read it). A woman goes through a terrible experience discovering her man is committing adultery, and we hear every thought in her head, brutal and animalistic and believable. A young history professor obsessed with folk stories about a young woman who lived in the late 1700's, follows this historical woman's trail through the wilderness. He comes very close to death by starvation and cholera, just to discover that the woman of his obsession was all too human.
These are just skimpy descriptions of what happens in this book. It's really an exciting read. It's a murder mystery with all of the suspense and action you could want, and none of the horrendous graphic one-upsmanship that bad mystery writers fall back on when they can't write well. She Walks These Hills kept me up until 5:30AM because I couldn't stop listening.
Read by Sally Darling, whose lovely Southern accent brings tremendous life to this book. Her voice sparkles with an almost Renaissance quality, where there is no silent vowel, so that the word "need" is pronounced "ne-ed," for example. Man, I could listen to her talk all day.
I review only audiobooks. Check out my other reviews, then download, plug in, and never be bored again.
One the best works of historical fictionDespite its turgid title, "She Walks These Hills" is as captivating as Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude." I was hooked from page one. McCrumb's thorough research and well-drawn characters populate an Appalachian journey in which the events of two centuries are intertwined. I first read this book more than 15 years ago and keep going back to it. Also recommend McCrumb's "The Rosewood Casket" and "St. Dale."
Great service but could't read the small print.I received the book quickly and it was in good shape as described; however, I can't read small print. I thought it was going to be in large print.
"She Walks These Hills"This book was a journey that I didn't want to end. Fortunately, Sharyn McCrumb wrote more books, some of which I've yet to read.