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tiarakessell's review against another edition
2.0
I was born and raised in WV. This book spent so much time feeding into every stereotype that you can fathom about poor West Virginians. Most of the time I read this, I hated it. The most accurate was in the second to last chapter where a character had clearly thought out a plan to exact their revenge, though the last chapter doesn't give the satisfaction of stating it. An eye for an eye. Also, an Audi costs less than the pickup trucks our hillbillies drive in WV. Lastly, what fucking color is a dirty q tip? I never got closure on the color of Edna's hair. Maybe my expectations were too high. There are too many plots going at once with obvious writing. Lucinda's murderer was the only thing that surprised me. At that point, I didn't care if her murder was solved if it didn't connect with the other plot. It didn't. Would not recommend.
utahmomreads's review against another edition
2.0
Read my review here : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2013/09/bitter-river-book-review.html
johnsonines's review against another edition
3.0
The plot of the book was great, but I felt that the story dragged a bit with the extensive explanations of each characters and their stories.
bwestreadsbest's review against another edition
1.0
I rarely review, but I hated this book so much I had to write one.
1. The book is incredibly unrealistic.
2. I hate the main character, she is incredibly self involved.
3. predictable one dimensional characters.
save yourself the trouble.
1. The book is incredibly unrealistic.
2. I hate the main character, she is incredibly self involved.
3. predictable one dimensional characters.
save yourself the trouble.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
2.0
This is a mystery novel set in the mountains of West Virginia. It follows Bell Elkins, the prosecutor for a small county that is slowly dying of poverty, and the sheriff, Nick Fogelsong. The mystery concerns discovering who killed a promising young high school student, who turns out to be pregnant, making the prime suspects her boyfriend and his family. This is a mystery novel of the classic kind, where the pool of suspects is finite and the story follows the investigators as they gather clues and interview witnesses.
The setting is a gritty coal town, slowly dying. Local businesses are going out of business with people going to the chain stores and restaurants on the highway out of town. There's drug abuse and many who still live in the area are scraping by on welfare or what they can cobble together. Bell's an interesting character; she's too arrogant to really be likable, harsh and with a giant chip on her shoulder. Fogelsong's the classic sheriff, gruff and kind-hearted underneath it all, he cuts corners here and there, but is dedicated to his job. He's a walking stereotype of the Longmire variety.
Then the author decided to make the story Much! More! Exciting! by adding a Middle Eastern terrorist, snipers, explosions and a schizophrenic wife, among other plot twists and it all became too improbable and short changed both the central story and the setting which made this book a bit more interesting than the books beside it on the shelf. Keller's writing and her knowledge of the region are enough to make a solid mystery novel that is worth reading. The added thriller elements detracted from this and reduced my enjoyment in what might have been a very good vacation read.
The setting is a gritty coal town, slowly dying. Local businesses are going out of business with people going to the chain stores and restaurants on the highway out of town. There's drug abuse and many who still live in the area are scraping by on welfare or what they can cobble together. Bell's an interesting character; she's too arrogant to really be likable, harsh and with a giant chip on her shoulder. Fogelsong's the classic sheriff, gruff and kind-hearted underneath it all, he cuts corners here and there, but is dedicated to his job. He's a walking stereotype of the Longmire variety.
Then the author decided to make the story Much! More! Exciting! by adding a Middle Eastern terrorist, snipers, explosions and a schizophrenic wife, among other plot twists and it all became too improbable and short changed both the central story and the setting which made this book a bit more interesting than the books beside it on the shelf. Keller's writing and her knowledge of the region are enough to make a solid mystery novel that is worth reading. The added thriller elements detracted from this and reduced my enjoyment in what might have been a very good vacation read.
carolpk's review
4.0
The Hook - When one of my GR friends reviewed Summer of the Dead the third Bell Elkins Mysteries it occurred to me I hadn’t even read the second in the series. I loved #1, A Killing In the Hills so what was I waiting for?
The Line – “Sometimes it was better to leave people with a clean bright dream of what might have been—than to get involved in the ragtag mess of reality.”
The Sinker – Like the John Denver song, Country Roads, Julia Keller’s Bitter River evokes the beauty and the hardship of the West Virginia Mountains. In this second outing for county prosecuting attorney, Belfa (Bella) Elkins has spun another winning mystery. The small town fictional town of Acker’s Gap has seen better times. Businesses have closed, people are barely scraping a living, but it’s Bella’s home, her town and she’s mighty defensive of it. When sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimble is found dead in her car in the Bitter River, Bella and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong have a new case to solve.
Keller is adept at introducing the townspeople of Acker’s Gap to us, so well that they soon seem like old friends. She truly shines in her descriptions of this Appalachian region. She once lived here and can see it clearly in her mind’s eye. From start to finish this is a smartly written, well-crafted read. I can’t wait to read number three with promises of the fourth this summer.
I can’t resist quoting a few other passages that grabbed me:
Bell’s description of missing her daughter Carla who moved to DC with her dad:
“Missing her daughter, she had found, was an ache that never went away; it would rise and fall in intensity, depending upon the workload in the prosecutor’s office, but it was always there. It was like a severed limb: The phantom pain was a permanent presence.”
Maddie Trimble to Lucinda Trimble:
“Spring’s always looking out for our signal, she’d told Lucinda every March, from the time her daughter was a small child. The sooner we start going without our coats, the sooner spring’ll be here. Knows it’s time for it to arrive. Keeps an eye out.”
Describing a night at the County Fair:
“Back to back and belly to belly, was how Bell’s friend Dot Burdette liked to describe the crowds on those August nights, when the air was spiced with the overlapping smells of sweat, fried dough, and livestock excrement. Nick Fogelsong always topped Dot’s description with his own favorite line about the smushed-together multitude: People’re butt to nut out there”
The Line – “Sometimes it was better to leave people with a clean bright dream of what might have been—than to get involved in the ragtag mess of reality.”
The Sinker – Like the John Denver song, Country Roads, Julia Keller’s Bitter River evokes the beauty and the hardship of the West Virginia Mountains. In this second outing for county prosecuting attorney, Belfa (Bella) Elkins has spun another winning mystery. The small town fictional town of Acker’s Gap has seen better times. Businesses have closed, people are barely scraping a living, but it’s Bella’s home, her town and she’s mighty defensive of it. When sixteen-year-old Lucinda Trimble is found dead in her car in the Bitter River, Bella and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong have a new case to solve.
Keller is adept at introducing the townspeople of Acker’s Gap to us, so well that they soon seem like old friends. She truly shines in her descriptions of this Appalachian region. She once lived here and can see it clearly in her mind’s eye. From start to finish this is a smartly written, well-crafted read. I can’t wait to read number three with promises of the fourth this summer.
I can’t resist quoting a few other passages that grabbed me:
Bell’s description of missing her daughter Carla who moved to DC with her dad:
“Missing her daughter, she had found, was an ache that never went away; it would rise and fall in intensity, depending upon the workload in the prosecutor’s office, but it was always there. It was like a severed limb: The phantom pain was a permanent presence.”
Maddie Trimble to Lucinda Trimble:
“Spring’s always looking out for our signal, she’d told Lucinda every March, from the time her daughter was a small child. The sooner we start going without our coats, the sooner spring’ll be here. Knows it’s time for it to arrive. Keeps an eye out.”
Describing a night at the County Fair:
“Back to back and belly to belly, was how Bell’s friend Dot Burdette liked to describe the crowds on those August nights, when the air was spiced with the overlapping smells of sweat, fried dough, and livestock excrement. Nick Fogelsong always topped Dot’s description with his own favorite line about the smushed-together multitude: People’re butt to nut out there”
nixieknox's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked parts of this - although it probably helps that I finished it after many ciders in the backyard. I could gloss over the whole CIA thing and the fact that I had no idea who the killer even was, which usually drives me nuts.
I thought about the murder victim in a way that I usually don't, when I read mysteries.
I thought about the murder victim in a way that I usually don't, when I read mysteries.
tobyyy's review against another edition
4.0
Oh Lordy what a ride that was! This second book in the Bell Elkins mystery series was filled with loss, grief, and sadness. Keller tipped several favorite supporting characters away... but on the plus side, the only way to describe this book’s ending is “hopeful.”
Again, I fell in love with the depiction of rural West Virginia as it continued to remind me of where I grew up. Beautiful, desperate, proud, and poverty-stricken. But there’s so much more depth and beauty and knowledge there; there’s so much more there than the stereotypes of “mountain folk” or “poor people” or “Appalachia” or “rural America” ever allow.
Again, I fell in love with the depiction of rural West Virginia as it continued to remind me of where I grew up. Beautiful, desperate, proud, and poverty-stricken. But there’s so much more depth and beauty and knowledge there; there’s so much more there than the stereotypes of “mountain folk” or “poor people” or “Appalachia” or “rural America” ever allow.
bnsachs91's review against another edition
5.0
This book was really good! I kept thinking I knew how the story would end yet there were always twists and turns. I also liked the fact that the book had two mysteries, rather than just one. My only complaint about the book was I felt the characters names were too far fetched and took away from the story.
bethanyread's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it. The characters were very good. Enjoyed finding out the mystery. Hoping the next book revisits some of the characters. Recommend.