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Tuesday, January 21, 2020

The Cold Way Home - Julia Keller

The Cold Way Home by Julia Keller

First Paragraph(s):

It was 7:17 P.M. on Thursday, October 24th, and Deputy Steve Brinksneader was ready to call it a day.  More than ready, actually.  He had a full shift under his belt and supper waiting on the table at home.  He was supposed to be done.  He should've been finished more than two hours ago, if you wanted to get technical about it, but there'd been too many reports to write and an obese, unruly prisoner--probably high on something, given that he was twisting and lunging and machine-gunning obscenities--that he had to subdue, in order for his colleague, Deputy Dave Previtt, to squire the man into a cell.  He didn't know what the man had done.  The man was Dave's prisoner, not his, and there'd been no time to talk about it, because the man had broken free from Dave and he had to render assistance.
     And now: this.
     The call had come crackling over his radio a minute and a half ago and Steve knew he had to respond, knew he had to attend to it.  Duty was duty. 

My Thoughts:

I've said before that Julia Keller's mystery series, set in West Virginia, is among my favorites.  I'm always delighted to see a new book appear - glad to revisit the beautiful setting that the author paints for us in each book.  Bell Elkins and her friends and colleagues are also favorites of mine.  They are not perfect by any means and certainly the area that Keller describes has massive problems.  However, I love these books. 

The Cold Way Home is the 8th book in the series.  Bell Elkins has had a lot of life changes as we've gone from story to story.  She's now a private investigator and is in partnership with Nick and Jake, both former law enforcement officers.  They each bring their own strengths to investigations, but they are still figuring out how this new business will work in their financially depressed area.  Julia Keller relates a good crime story, but also bases Wellwood, a former mental hospital, on real stories of what happened to patients who no one wanted to live with and who few cared about.  I loved reading this book and will try to patiently wait for the next book.  If this series sounds intriguing to you, I recommend you start with the first in order to meet the characters - A Killing in the Hills.  My thanks again to my blogging friend Susan for bringing Julia Keller's work to my attention several years ago. 

Blurb:

Deep in the woods just outside Acker's Gap, West Virginia, rises a ragged chunk of what was once a high stone wall. This is all that remains of Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. And it is here that Bell Elkins – prosecutor turned private investigator – makes a grim discovery while searching for a missing teenager: A dead body, marred by a ghastly wound that can only mean murder.

To solve the mystery of what happened in these woods where she played as a child, Bell and her partners – former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes – must confront the tangled history of Wellwood and its dark legacy, while each grapples with a private torment. Based on a true chapter in the troubled history of early treatment for psychiatric illness, The Cold Way Home is a story of death and life, of despair and hope, of crime and – sometimes, but not always – punishment.

30 comments:

  1. We've travelled through West Virginia and Virginia a couple of times. My goodness it's beautiful but it was clear that the area does have problems. Funnily enough I have a book near the top of my tbr pile set in Virginia, Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith. When I've read it I might feel inclined to try this series you talk about in this post as I like the sound of it.

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    1. Cath, I've read other books by Lee Smith, but I've not read Fair and Tender Ladies. I just took a look at it and am really intrigued by the story. I might just pick that one up. This series definitely delves into the serous problems that West Virginia experiences - drugs, poverty, etc.

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  2. This does sound good Kay, thanks for sharing

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  3. I love this series, too. Do you read the series by Julia Spencer Fleming? I've been waiting for forever for the next installment - which will finally release this spring or summer!

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    1. I do read that series. Yes, the new one will release in April, I think. It has taken her a long time to get this one out - I think her writing was minimal while her husband was ill and she's finally to a new normal in her life without him.

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  4. I liked this one, too! The information, based on fact, about the asylums of the time and Walter F. Freeman (a real person) was frightening!

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    1. Yes, I could tell that Keller's investigative journalist past was encouraging her to include more about Freeman and that time in West Virginia history.

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  5. This sounds good, Kay. I've not read any of her books so I'll have to check them out.

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    1. It's a good series, Melody. The problems that the area experiences are always entwined with the crime story.

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  6. I was going to say I had never read a book set in West Virginia but there is one book in Rex Stout's Nero Wolf series set at a resort there. But this series does sound like a way to get to know that area. Of course I don't need any new books or a new series... but someday.

    One of my goals this year was to only read authors that I have read before (or already have in my stacks) and just keep a list of new authors to try the following year. Don't know how long I can hold out on that one though.

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    1. Tracy, I understand your goal of reading only authors you've read before or own one of their books. So many, right? If you get a chance, this series is compelling.

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  7. I haven't had a lot of success with mystery books, enough to come back to the same author, and yet I love mysteries and thrillers in general. "also bases Wellwood, a former mental hospital, on real stories of what happened to patients who no one wanted to live with and who few cared about" - this alone makes me want to read this. A mystery series that also teaches you several things along the way. I'll be adding this series to my list.

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    1. Athira, this is definitely a series that includes difficulties and problems from the West Virginia setting. The main character has returned home and is well aware of what life is like for most people. The crimes entwine with those issues. Also, it might be possible that series reading is just not for you. I love a series, but I know it's not everyone's 'cup of tea'. You might try the first book and see what you think. :-)

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  8. So many mystery series, so little time! :)

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    1. Absolutely. I can only keep up with a certain number of them and when a new one is added, an older one seems to drop off the list. Oh, if one could only read all the series....

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  9. You mentioned this series when you commented on my review of The Hollows. I looked it up, and-- lo and behold-- the first book is now on my wishlist and my birthday fast approacheth!

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    1. Well there you go, Cathy. I do encourage you to try this series and see what you think. I've really liked all of it. It's not a happy series, but I think it must be accurate. The author is from that area and she knows her stuff.

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  10. It's such a good series, isn't it? The debut installment was one of those books that I just randomly grabbed off the library shelves. I love that it turned out to be a winner, which led me to read the whole series and recommend it to others. I'm so glad you're also a fan :)

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    1. I'm very happy you made that 'random grab', Susan! LOL

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  11. Eight books in the series already? I've been meaning to read this one for a while now. Sounds so good!

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    1. I think you might like this one, Iliana or your mystery group might.

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  12. I read the first book in this series and really liked it. This reminds me that I would like to read more by her. I think I would like this one especially.

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    1. Yes, I think you'd like this one, Gayle. I know that sometimes a series gets longer and longer before we get back to it. You could just skip over...

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  13. Just added A Killing in the Hills to my list. WE drive through WV whenever we go south or east to DC and it's where Jason goes white water rafting. It's a beautifully wild place.

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    1. Stacy, this is such a good series. I think you'd like the characters and also the setting.

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!