Synopses & Reviews
In the next stunning novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning Julia Keller, following the popular
A Killing in the Hills, a pregnant teenager is found murdered at the bottom of a river
Julia Kellers A Killing in the Hills was one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2012. Set in Ackers Gap, a beautiful but poverty-stricken West Virginia mountain town, Kellers combination of shocking suspense and spellbinding characterization garnered her four starred reviews and won over critics and readers alike. Bell Elkins, the county prosecuting attorney, is the main character alongside the town itself, where she grew up—her family story is part and parcel of the tragedy of the place, but she hasnt given up on it. Like Dana Stabenows Alaska or Dennis Lehanes South Boston, the place defines the people and their stories.
Bells latest case is a bad one: pregnant sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimbles body has been found at the bottom of Bitter River. And Lucinda didn't drown—she was dead before her body ever hit the water. But thats not all Bell is coping with these days. Her daughter is now living with Bells ex-husband, hours away. Sheriff Nick Fogelsong, one of Bells closest friends, is behaving oddly. Furthermore, a face from her past has resurfaced for reasons Bell cant quite figure. Searching for the truth, both behind Lucindas murder and behind her own complicated relationships, will lead Bell down a path that might put her very life at risk.
Review
Praise for A Killing in the Hills:
“A soulful depiction of a beautiful, besieged afterthought of a town.” —People
“Outstanding . . . Keller does a superb job showing both the natural beauty of Appalachia and the hopeless anger of the people trapped there.” —Publishers Weekly (starred, Pick of the Week)
“Keller perfectly captures the ennui of a community paralyzed by poverty and despair, and the pride of people who refuse to succumb . . . A powerful debut.” —Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“Engrossing...[A] superbly detailed and suspense-drenched mystery.” —Library Journal (starred, Debut of the Month)
Review
“Julia Keller is a beautiful writer and Bitter River has an elegiac force to it that is powerful and gripping. Bell Elkins is one of the most fully realized characters in fiction today. I just turned the last page on this one and I want more.”—MICHAEL CONNELLY
“Julia Keller's lyrical and evocative prose in Bitter River propels the novel until all you can do is hang on until the final page. Her sense of place is spot-on and bittersweet.”—C.J. BOX
“Gripping suspense, a fabulous sense of place and nuanced characters you can't wait to come back to. A must read.” —KARIN SLAUGHTER
“Remarkably written and remarkably tense. . .I loved it.” —DENNIS LEHANE
"A gripping, beautifully-crafted murder mystery. . .Great reading.” —SCOTT TUROW
"A terrific debut—atmospheric, suspenseful, assured." —LAURA LIPPMAN
"Clear the weekend, silence the phone and settle into Acker's Gap, a place as fascinating and fraught with violence and beauty as Daniel Woodrell's Ozarks or William Gay's Tennessee. A killer novel." —TOM FRANKLIN
“A soulful depiction of a beautiful, besieged afterthought of a town.” —People
“Outstanding.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review, Pick of the Week)
“Engrossing...[A] superbly detailed and suspense-drenched mystery.” —Library Journal (starred review, Debut of the Month)
"A powerful debut.” —Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
About the Author
JULIA KELLER spent twelve years as a reporter and editor for the Chicago Tribune, where she won a Pulitzer Prize. A recipient of a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, she was born in West Virginia and lives in Chicago and Ohio. Bitter River is her second adult novel.