Publisher: Custom House
Published: August 4, 2021
Source: Paperback via Publisher
Summary:
A BookPage Best Book of 2020 * A People Magazine Best Book of Summer * A Parade Best Book of Summer * A Crime Reads Most Anticipated Book of Summer
“[A] second stunning piece of redemptive fiction… An ideal recommendation for fans of Kate Atkinson and Jodi Picoult.” – Booklist, Starred Review
A body burns in the high desert hills. A boy walks into a fire station, pale with the shock of a grisly discovery. A middle school teacher worries when her colleague is late for work. By day’s end, when the body is identified as local math teacher Adam Merkel, a small Nevada town will be rocked to its core by a brutal and calculated murder.
Adam Merkel left a university professorship in Reno to teach middle school in Lovelock seven months before he died. A quiet, seemingly unremarkable man, he connected with just one of his students: Sal Prentiss, a lonely sixth grader who lives with his uncles on a desolate ranch in the hills. The two outcasts developed a tender, trusting friendship that brought each of them hope in the wake of tragedy. But it is Sal who finds Adam’s body, charred almost beyond recognition, half a mile from his uncles’ compound.
Nora Wheaton, the middle school’s social studies teacher, dreamed of a life far from Lovelock only to be dragged back on the eve of her college graduation to care for her disabled father, a man she loves but can’t forgive. She sensed in the new math teacher a kindred spirit–another soul bound to Lovelock by guilt and duty. After Adam’s death, she delves into his past for clues to who killed him and finds a dark history she understands all too well. But the truth about his murder may lie closer to home. For Sal Prentiss’s grief seems heavily shaded with fear, and Nora suspects he knows more than he’s telling about how his favorite teacher died. As she tries to earn the wary boy’s trust, she finds he holds not only the key to Adam’s murder, but an unexpected chance at the life she thought she’d lost.
Weaving together the last months of Adam’s life, Nora’s search for answers, and a young boy’s anguished moral reckoning, this unforgettable thriller brings a small American town to vivid life, filled with complex, flawed characters wrestling with the weight of the past, the promise of the future, and the bitter freedom that forgiveness can bring.
My thoughts:
I always love when I find hidden gems and I feel that that is exactly what this book by Heather Young is…the perfect slow-burn crime fiction that I absolutely love! It’s a book I didn’t see around a ton, which is surprising because it was really good.
I found myself completely captivated with this story and even though it does move slowly, I just could not put it down. I love who-dunits and this one is expertly plotted in a small town that just keeps you on edge as you work to figure out what happened and how all these characters are tied together. The characters are really brought to life and I loved that they were all flawed – these are always my favorite kinds of characters. So many times I found myself frustrated with their decisions, but still wanted to see things work out in their favor.
I’ve really come to love books set in small towns and this one is done so well. The author really captures that feeling of everyone knowing everything about everyone, but never gets involved or interferes when needed It’s also incredibly atmospheric and at times claustrophobic, which makes for a really tense read.
As much as this is a mystery as to what happened to the math teacher, it’s also a character study on how these characters are dealing with the hand that they have been dealt. It really is quite a remarkable, unforgettable, thought-provoking read and one I highly recommend.
