ŷ������

★☆☆☆☆��

This book was disappointing for a multitude of reasons. Starting with the ŷ������ writeup that initially piqued my interest: “Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse . . .�� Yada yada yada. Something about missing girls, deeply disturbing traditions, buried secrets or treasure or . . . what exactly? I wasn’t sure, but I could only imagine some kind of crazy hillbilly story chock-full of madness and mayhem! Considering the string of luck I’d had with Hick Lit stories, and the book’s high rating among my friends, picking it up seemed like a no-brainer.

However, the first thing I noticed when I finally cracked open the spine was that this book wasn’t really Hick Lit at all. It started with more of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe before it sank into a deep lull. Strike one!

The teen angst scenes of a burgeoning love-at-first-sight crush between the story’s timid protagonist, Michael, and a girl at the record store were downright painful to read. 🤦‍♂�� Strike two! But thankfully the story moved along and things began to pick up with flashbacks that exposed a troubled family history.

Starting with the fact that Michael’s brother, Rebel, was a raging asshole who bullied Michael and treated him like a slave. Along with Momma getting her kicks from verbally abusing and slapping around his sister, Misty. All the while, their dad, Wade, just sat there . . . oblivious. Never acknowledging any abuse or wrongdoing, never lifting a finger to put a stop to it. So I couldn’t help but wonder if he was adlebrained or just indifferent because he did absolutely nothing throughout the entire story.

But, you know what? There weren’t any chains on Michael or Misty. No locked doors or guns to their heads. I know he was scared, but he was no longer a little kid. In fact, he was easily the most physically imposing person in the entire house. What bothered me most was that he claimed to love his sister fiercely and pledged to do whatever it took to protect her, but time and time again he did nothing when she was beaten black and blue.

I just didn’t get it. Not only was Michael a coward and a liar, but he was also an idiot, so it was really hard to pull for the guy when I was constantly yelling at him to, “WAKE THE FUCK UP!�� But honestly, I couldn’t have cared less about any of these lowlifes and quickly began to lose interest in the story altogether. Strike three!

I should have stopped there—thrown in the towel at 30%—but when I glanced back at all those glowing reviews, I couldn’t help but wonder what I was missing, so I stuck with it. And that’s when the unthinkable happened.

All along the flashbacks had been hinting at something truly depraved, and when Rebel began to target an older woman who didn’t fit their profile things started to click. Then when they nabbed her and she cried out a single word, all the puzzle pieces fell into place for me to solve the mystery not even halfway through the book. Ugh. 🤦‍♂��

The rest of the story played out like a slow-motion train wreck. I couldn’t look away. Wishin�� and hopin�� and thinkin�� and prayin�� for a miracle that, sadly, just wasn’t in the cards.

However, despite its shortcomings and annoyances the story did manage to end on a perfect note, so kudos for that.