Published April 17, 2012, by William Morrow
About the Book
A stunning debut reminiscent of the beloved novels of John Hart and Tom Franklin, A Land More Kind Than Home is a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town.
For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grown-ups. Adventurous and precocious, Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump. Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can’t help sneaking a look at something he’s not supposed to—an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess’s. It’s a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he’s not prepared. While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil—but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.
Told by three resonant and evocative characters—Jess; Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife and moral conscience; and Clem Barefield, a sheriff with his own painful past—A Land More Kind Than Home is a haunting tale of courage in the face of cruelty and the power of love to overcome the darkness that lives in us all. These are masterful portrayals, written with assurance and truth, and they show us the extraordinary promise of this remarkable first novel.
My Review
I don’t really know where to begin with this book review. I didn’t know it is a thriller, but it is and it is mesmerizing. I read it because I tend to like stories about small southern Appalachia towns.
As you might expect, in a small town, everyone knows everyone and not much is kept secret. People have histories with one another, painful reminders of past events. Yet, for the most part, it is what you might imagine about what a small town is like. There are neighborly people, working hard to raise families, children playing and getting into mischief, and a sort of slow pace to life.
It is the small storefront church with its charismatic pastor and its windows covered in old newsprint that is somewhat of a mystery, unless you are a part of the congregation. Many people, good people, from the town attend the church. They welcome new members. They believe in miracles. And they have a secret.
When Stump, Jess’s older brother, sees something he should not have, his life is in put in danger. Jess tries to protect Stump, as he always does, but he’s not so sure he will be able to this time. Sometimes evil disguised as benevolence is cleverer than innocent belief. Sometimes, faith wins out over reason.
Adelaide Lyle tries to protect and care for the town’s children, and she is the one people turn to for guidance and comfort. She brought most of them into the world, and they trust her.
The sheriff wants to keep order in his quiet town, when trouble starts to show itself in the plain light of day. Some things can’t be kept hidden in the dark. Secrets can be hard to keep.
It is a very exciting book, in which good fights evil. The descriptions are so vivid, I felt like I could picture every detail, and it pulls you into the town. The characters are so well-drawn; I sometimes talked to them, not that I could change one word that Wiley Cash wrote. I laughed, I cried because there is a lot of heartache, and then, I had to say good-bye to Marshall and the people who lived there.
The book is riveting and I was totally absorbed in it from first page to last. Wiley Cash is a true storyteller.
Crime and Literature 