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thephdivabooks's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this book on a whim because I scanned the description and it sounded great, and I have heard wonderful things about Julia Keller. The Cold Way Home is a mystery thriller with a lot of depth to the plot and the characters. When I realized it was the eighth book in a series, I worried I’d struggle to connect to the story. I didn’t experience that at all. This could have been the first book, which is a compliment to a long-running series author.
The book centers around a complex woman named Bell Elkins, who has lived in Ackers Gap, West Virginia her whole life. Elkins works as a self-employed private investigator, though we learn that she was previously the town prosecutor. This story arc happened in the first seven books, but Keller does a great recap of it in The Cold Way Home that helped me understand Elkins—her history and who she is now.
Bell’s past as a prosecutor in West Virginia makes her a uniquely qualified character to solve the complex mystery in this small town. Bell’s experience as a lawyer isn’t her only experience with the law—we learn that she also served a prison term for killing her abusive father as a child. As the book opens, Bell is waiting to reapply for her law license and working as a private investigator in the meantime with two friends and colleagues: retired sheriff Nick Fogelsong who is in the process of a divorce, and former police officer Jake Oakes who was shot in the line of duty and is now in a wheelchair.
The Appalachia are in the midst of the opioid crisis, particularly the Huntington area where they live. The story opens with a startling and powerful scene that launches the reader straight into the story. A teenager named Dixie Sue is missing and her mother has contracted Bell, Nick, and Jake to find her. Jake is pursuing leads to locate Dixie Sue. Meanwhile a body is discovered in the woods near the ruins of a former mental institution outside of Ackers Gap and Bell accompanies the sheriff to notify the family.
It turns out the victim is not Dixie Sue. It’s a woman named Darla Gilley who had left her husband and was living in her family’s attic. Her brother Joe is close friends with Nick. Joe’s wife Brenda had given Darla a ride to town that morning. They also learn that her grandmother had been murdered at psychiatric facility, but the case has gone cold.
Darla mailed a family diary to Nick before her death that was written by her grandmother Bessie who worked at the young age of 14 at the mental institution, Wellwood. Bessie’s diary details her time working there and people she met, as well as horrible accounts of the lobotomies performed at the psychiatric institution and mistreatment of patients.
Bell and her colleagues pursue and clear different suspects and follow leads, including Darla’s ex-husband and a truck driver who had given her a ride and returned her purse to her family. Other leads suggest the possibility that a second diary exists. As the investigation continues, the case gets more complicated and information from the diaries seems to hold the key to solve the case.
A troubling case with compelling characters and relationships make this a gripping mystery. I liked Bell and want to go back and visit books where she was still serving as a prosecutor. I would imagine she was even more tenacious and intelligent than she was in this book. This is a story about despair, family, pain, and loyalty. It’s also a novel that ultimately provides hope despite darker themes.
The book centers around a complex woman named Bell Elkins, who has lived in Ackers Gap, West Virginia her whole life. Elkins works as a self-employed private investigator, though we learn that she was previously the town prosecutor. This story arc happened in the first seven books, but Keller does a great recap of it in The Cold Way Home that helped me understand Elkins—her history and who she is now.
Bell’s past as a prosecutor in West Virginia makes her a uniquely qualified character to solve the complex mystery in this small town. Bell’s experience as a lawyer isn’t her only experience with the law—we learn that she also served a prison term for killing her abusive father as a child. As the book opens, Bell is waiting to reapply for her law license and working as a private investigator in the meantime with two friends and colleagues: retired sheriff Nick Fogelsong who is in the process of a divorce, and former police officer Jake Oakes who was shot in the line of duty and is now in a wheelchair.
The Appalachia are in the midst of the opioid crisis, particularly the Huntington area where they live. The story opens with a startling and powerful scene that launches the reader straight into the story. A teenager named Dixie Sue is missing and her mother has contracted Bell, Nick, and Jake to find her. Jake is pursuing leads to locate Dixie Sue. Meanwhile a body is discovered in the woods near the ruins of a former mental institution outside of Ackers Gap and Bell accompanies the sheriff to notify the family.
It turns out the victim is not Dixie Sue. It’s a woman named Darla Gilley who had left her husband and was living in her family’s attic. Her brother Joe is close friends with Nick. Joe’s wife Brenda had given Darla a ride to town that morning. They also learn that her grandmother had been murdered at psychiatric facility, but the case has gone cold.
Darla mailed a family diary to Nick before her death that was written by her grandmother Bessie who worked at the young age of 14 at the mental institution, Wellwood. Bessie’s diary details her time working there and people she met, as well as horrible accounts of the lobotomies performed at the psychiatric institution and mistreatment of patients.
Bell and her colleagues pursue and clear different suspects and follow leads, including Darla’s ex-husband and a truck driver who had given her a ride and returned her purse to her family. Other leads suggest the possibility that a second diary exists. As the investigation continues, the case gets more complicated and information from the diaries seems to hold the key to solve the case.
A troubling case with compelling characters and relationships make this a gripping mystery. I liked Bell and want to go back and visit books where she was still serving as a prosecutor. I would imagine she was even more tenacious and intelligent than she was in this book. This is a story about despair, family, pain, and loyalty. It’s also a novel that ultimately provides hope despite darker themes.
blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a big fan of the Bell Elkins series. It features intriguing characters, a colorful setting, and compelling mysteries. This newest installment is no exception. It was fun to see Bell acting in her new capacity as a private investigator, along with Jake Oakes and Nick Fogelsong. We get a few glimpses into all of their personal lives, where they're each struggling with different conflicts, as well as their professional ones. I'm intrigued by the treatment of mental illness in the 1800s and early 1900s, so I like that THE COLD WAY HOME featured that subject. While it was disturbing, it was also fascinating. The mystery in this installment is, admittedly, a little thin, as is the killer's motive, but the murderer's identity did surprise me. All in all, I enjoyed this one and will, as always, look forward to the next book in the series.
arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition
5.0
This is a re-read, but I can't get to my original review.
It's a wonderful end to the series, actually, although I hope Keller eventually returns to Acker's Gap.
The rescue at the end is difficult to believe, but okay.
The title is most appropriate--it's a throwaway line in the story, but is utterly suitable for Nick, Bell, Darla, almost everyone inn the series. Jake and Molly offer readers' hope, even as they choose to struggle with it for themselves and for the baby.
It's a wonderful end to the series, actually, although I hope Keller eventually returns to Acker's Gap.
The rescue at the end is difficult to believe, but okay.
The title is most appropriate--it's a throwaway line in the story, but is utterly suitable for Nick, Bell, Darla, almost everyone inn the series. Jake and Molly offer readers' hope, even as they choose to struggle with it for themselves and for the baby.
wendywbooksareawesome's review against another edition
4.0
This was an intriguing read - i love the way the author put together words. She was wonderfully descriptive! You get a sense of place and of characters' personalities. recommend!
cathy1665's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favorite series. The writing evokes the often bleak events in Ackers Gap.
dmchurch's review against another edition
Jake, Bell, and Nick have a new missing persons case that leads Bell to the body in the old mental asylum in the woods. The discover opens old wounds and reveals old secrets while the 3 partners also try to navigate their personal lives in the confines of Aker's Gap.
ceeceerose's review against another edition
4.0
The eighth in the Bell Elkins series, Keller once again delivers an excellent mystery featuring her fiesty, emboldened former rural West Virginia prosecutor. Not as good as the first in the series, but Keller's style and structure is very readable and will keep readers coming back for more.
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