::READERS REVIEWS::

Eerily Compelling! - This book is quite different from most mysteries in that the perpetrator of the crime is known right from the beginning. But what the book is about is about a family in trouble, and we watch the steady decline throughout the book. All of the major occurences (and believe me there are a lot of them) are connected with an old lady soothsayer's visions. There is plenty of suspense throughout the whole book, and it led me on and kept me engrossed until the catastrophic ending. Ms. McCrumb is a formidable author, and this book (the second in her Appalachian series) is complex, absorbing and quite magical.

The Hangman's Beautiful DaughterThis wa - This is a novel that is true to it's setting in the hills of Kentucky as well as the people in that region. It was suspensful and moving. It was well written and kept the reader engaged with several plots at the same time.

Magical realism in Appalachia - There is no daughter in The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, and the hangman isn't a character, it's a rock formation across the valley from Nora Bonesteel's house. The hangman portends death, and death is what haunts Nora throughout this book. Nora is a recurring character in Sharyn McCrumb's "Ballad Novels" set in Appalachian Tennessee. Nora has "the Sight", and sees events past and future. She can't control it, she doesn't enjoy it, but over her long life has accommodated to it. A newcomer to Nora's small town is chilled to see Nora calmly piecing a quilt with six coffins, foreseeing six deaths.

This is one of the most complex and interesting of McCrumb's Ballad novels. Each Ballad novel celebrates the Appalachian culture, Celtic heritage, and landscape in its own way. The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter takes an unflinching look at the real life problems faced by people living in these remote small communities. Chronic, multi-generational poverty, pollution, political disenfranchisement are all tough topics that are woven into the narrative of this haunting story. There is redemption for some characters, but in unexpected ways.

I'm a fan of the Outlander novels of Diana Gabaldon, and I think of the people in Dark Hollow as the descendants of the people on Fraser's Ridge. I enjoy how McCrumb helps us see this Appalachian community in a new light, with a rich heritage stretching back centuries. Although there are recurring characters in the Ballad novels, it's not important to read them in any particular order. There's suspense and magical realism, and some good characters.

* For some insight into the book's name, check Wikipedia for the album of the same name by The Incredible String Band.

Not exactly a page turner - I generally enjoy Sharyn McCrumb's novel and while I did finish this book, it was not one of my favorites nor was it one I will be reading again. The dual plots of the murder/suicide of the Underhill family and the industial polluting of the Little Dove river were both interesting but I did not feel that either was completely explored nor were either brought to a satisfactory ending for me. There were many elements of the story that were left hanging and never explained. I like novels to end with the pieces all tied up or at least a plausible assumption as to why events happened and with this book, I was left feeling as if I had missed the last few chapters.

Absolutely Exquisite! - This is one of my favorite books of all time. Sharyn McCrumb is so right in calling her series The Ballad Series, and this is the best that I've read...so far. It's half a step away from being a poem, with every word chosen so that it flows seamlessly into the next. When I finished this book, I was left in awe of the story, the characters, and the storyteller's perfection of her craft.