I had this book on my Wishlist and had the perfect opportunity to buy it during the Black Friday sale at Indigo. Now I usually don’t buy books I haven’t read; I like to test if a book is worth the purchase first. I hate buying something that I end up not liking or not ever re-reading. But let me just say that this book was DEFINITELY worth buying.
The story takes place in the town of Henbane, nestled deep in the Ozark Mountains. Lucy Dane has lived her whole life in this town as have generations of her family – but that hasn’t stopped the townsfolk from gossiping about her mother, Lily, who they say waltzed into town and disappeared right after bewitching Carl Dane and giving birth to Lucy. Although Lucy has grown up with plenty of support from her father, neighbours, and uncle Crete, it hasn’t helped her piece together a profile of her mother. Now, as she is approaching her senior year of high school, tragedy strikes when her friend, Cheri, is found brutally murdered in the woods. Haunted by these two lost women, Lucy sets out to discover who killed Cheri – and what led to her mother’s disappearance all of these years ago.
This novel was written extremely well and there was never a dull moment in the story. It introduced the murder of Cheri and segued beautifully into the backstory of Lily; the introduction itself was full of intricate details that made the town come to life. I loved all of the characters and the author did a great job in representing all of the voices. I never expected the story to take the turn that it did; it was shocking and masterfully done. Even now, I am reeling from the events that took place in the novel and want to re-read this book. It was strong, and gritty, and raw to the core, everything you would want from a murder mystery. There is no fluff here, no small-time romance. The story is centered around women and the focus doesn’t depart from them. I absolutely loved this chilling story and am definitely glad that I bought it! I recommend this to anyone looking for a murder mystery to keep them up at night!
Happy reading ~