Edgar Nominated Let Me Die in His Footsteps dazzles!
(Book 6 of 2016)
Yesterday I finished Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy. It is the sixth book of 2016 and the second book that is nominated for the 2016 Edgar Award for Best Novel. The first was Michael Robotham’s Life or Death. Both of the books are worthy candidates for the awards.
Let Me Die in His Footsteps is not the typical type of mystery that I read There is no private eye or police chasing a serial killer, or grisly murder to solve. Instead the story revolves around to families in the hills of Kentucky and a crime whose effects touch two generations of Baines and Hollerans. The story revolves around two sets of sisters Sarah and Juna Crowley whose actions in 1936 have repercussions on the lives of Annie and Caroline Holleran in 1952.
The Baines and the Hollerans don’t go near each other in 1952, when Annie ventures onto the Baine property on the night of her ascension to womanhood where she finds the matriarch of the Baine family Cora dead beside the family well. The reason that the family don’t mix can be found back in 1936 when Joseph Carl the best of the Baine boys returns home and looks into the black eyes of Annie’s Aunt Juna and commits unspeakable acts on Aunt Juna and her brother Dale. While the Crowleys and Hollerans know that Joseph Carl is guilty, Cora Baines and her sons know he is not. The question is which side is right? And the final answers will leave you shaking your head and applauding Ms, Roy!
Bottom Line: Let Me Die in His Footsteps is a five star book for me. The cast of characters is terrific as is the unraveling of the story across two generations told by Sarah and Annie, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! Ms Roy has already won the Edgar Award for Best Novel for her debut novel Bent Road. and her second book Until She Comes Home was a finalist for the Best Novel Edgar! (note to self – check out both of those books!) Maybe Let Me Die in His Footsteps may well net Ms. Roy her second Edgar!! So Check it Out!! William Kent Krueger is one of my favorite authors – here’s what he says about Let Me Die in His Footsteps.….
“This is a beautifully observed story whose details of time, place and character are stunning litte jewels sure to dazzle the eye on every page…. Quite simply put, I loved this book.”
Yeah, what he said!!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Novels of Lori Roy