Last ragged breath

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Last ragged breath

Title:

Last ragged breath

Author:

Keller, Julia, author.

ISBN:

9781250044761

Edition:

1st Minotaur books paperback ed.

Physical Description:

xii, 397 pages ; 21 cm

Series:

Bell Elkins novels.

Subject Term:

Trials (Murder) -- West Virginia.

Recluses -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

West Virginia -- Fiction.

Genre:

Mystery fiction.

Summary:

Royce Dillard doesn't remember much about the day his parents-and one hundred and twenty-three other souls-died in the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster. He was only two years old when he was ripped from his mother's arms. But now Dillard, who lives off the grid with only a passel of dogs for company, is fighting for his life one more time: He's on trial for murder. Prosecutor Bell Elkins faces her toughest challenge yet in this haunting story of vengeance, greed and the fierce struggle for social justice. Richly imagined, vividly written and deeply felt, Last Ragged Breath is set in West Virginia, but it really takes place in a land we all know: the country called home.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	MYSTERY KEL	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

From the night-black depths of a coalmine to the sun-struck peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, from a riveting murder mystery to a poignant meditation on the meaning of love and family, the latest novel in the critically acclaimed series strikes out for new territory: the sorrow and outrage that spring from a real-life chapter in West Virginia history.

Royce Dillard doesn't remember much about the day his parents - and one hundred and twenty-three other souls - died in the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster. He was only two years old when he was ripped from his mother's arms. But now, Dillard, who lives off the grid with only a passel of dogs for company, is fighting for his life one more time; he's on trial for murder.

Prosecutor Bell Elkins faces her toughest challenge yet in this haunting story of vengeance, greed, and the fierce struggle for social justice. Richly imagined, vividly written, and deeply felt, Julia Keller's Last Ragged Breath is set in West Virginia, but it really takes place in a land we all know: the country called home.

Author Notes

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 Viriginia and lives in Chicago and Ohio.

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* There has been a big hole in Bell Elkins' life since Sheriff Nick Fogelsong retired. As county prosecutor, Bell worked for years with Nick, her closest friend, to solve cases and fight the growing drug problem in Acker's Gap, West Virginia. But now that Nick is head of security at a chain of truck stops, Bell can't talk to him about the murder of Ed Hackel, representative for a developer with big plans for the area, plans contingent on buying land owned by reclusive Royce Dillard. Motive and forensic evidence point to Dillard as the killer: the murder weapon is found in his barn, and Hackel had repeatedly harangued him to sell his land. But Dillard, permanently marked by a flood in which his parents died when he was two years old, protests his innocence. As Bell and Sheriff Pam Harrison struggle to find the truth, tragedy strikes Nick, who can't give up his lawman's ways. While the resolution of the crime is a bit abrupt, this novel like its three predecessors is elevated far above the ordinary by masterful character development and a keen sense of place. With bits of her backstory still being revealed, Elkins is certainly among the best-drawn characters in crime fiction today.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2015 Booklist

Library Journal Review

This gritty series, with its unflinching depiction of rural poverty in West Virginia, keeps getting better. In the fourth entry (after Summer of the Dead), the reclusive Royce Dillard stands accused of killing Ed Hackel, who was pressuring Royce to sell his land. County prosecutor Bell Elkins, not quite convinced of Royce's guilt, faces her toughest job yet. [See Prepub Alert, 3/25/15; library marketing.] © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

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