The Unquiet Grave by Sharyn McCrumb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Love is a form of madness in one woman’s search for justice.
An account of actual events in Greenbrier County in 1897 told in a poetic prose of a mother Mary Jane and the killer’s defense attorney James P Gardner years later. The narration goes back and forth in time with the mother’s relationship with her daughter Zona. A beautiful girl full of spunk and determination. Zona falls fast and hard for Trout Shue a blacksmith who has been married before. Mary Jane is not ignorant of her daughter’s misgivings however, she feels that something is amiss months later after the wedding. When her daughter is discovered dead, she knows that Zona’s husband is to blame. With great courage, Mary Jane goes to the prosecutor with a tale of the Ghost of her daughter that she was murdered and did not suffer an accident but a violent death in the hands of her husband.
Gardner is assigned to Trout’s case and years later relives the tale in the Asylum under the care of Dr. James Boozer. The narrations give different perspectives of the culture on race and justice. It is a haunting tale of a mother’s grief and Gardner’s part of the defense of Shue. Retelling his part, you question whether he has regrets in the process of justice.
A different historical fiction with intrigue and the stories of the past forgotten but given new life. I was totally engaged.
A Special Thank You to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
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