Helpful Score: 2
I loved the writing in this book. The descriptions of Frazier's beloved North Carolina Appalachian mountain regions are breathtaking and vivid. Luce, the heroine, is a recluse living with the owner's permission in an abandoned hunting lodge. She is portrayed in haunting prose that makes her very real. When her murdered sister's two children come to live with her, she is forced to relinquish tranquility to take care of these almost-feral twins. Her sister's murderer is Luce's brother-in-law, exonerated in an unlikely scenario. At this point, there is a battle of good vs. evil that is reminiscent of an old-time western when the damsel in distress is aided by a newly-introduced suitor to outwit the "bad guy" who is in a desperate search for the money that he thinks the children can access. This novel is, for me, long on style and short on substance. I thought the plot was thin and the characters stereotypical with the exception of Luce. Maybe I shouldn't be as disappointed as I am with the plot and should just acknowledge the beautiful writing, but I probably wouldn't have finished it had I not received it as an advance reviewer's copy from the publisher.
