At 555 pages, again, I was surprised I finished this book so quickly. It's a hard book to classify, it's part thriller, part childhood memoir, and part regional fiction. The story takes place in a small town in Mississippi during relatively modern times although there are certain elements that make me think it's not entirely modern, for instance, no cell phones are present. The main character is a 12 year old girl who's family has not really functioned since her older brother was found hanged from the tree in their yard when the girl (Harriet) was a baby. The mother has retreated since the death of her child, the father has moved to another city, and the girls, Harriet and her older sister are raised by their grandmother and maternal aunts. The summer that this book recounts, Harriet becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of her brother's murder which had never been solved. The book also explore the role of the black housekeeper/maid in the the southern family. Through the housekeeper, Ida, who the girls adore, Harriet develops the idea that a certain young man from a criminal family is the murderer. She sets out to get some kind of proof and also to punish him for the crime.
This decision leads her and her best friend, Hely, a boy, into some very dangerous situations and ultimately costs some people their lives. Some of the writing is very beautiful and unique. The descriptions of the almost tropical environment of Mississippi are part beauty and part horror. I found it an interesting and disturbing book and I recommend it to anyone who likes a creepy but not superficial tale.
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