Product Description

'This is the darkest story that I ever heard...' It is a story that began with love and led to the destruction of a young woman's life. It is a story that has not ended, even thirty years after the afternoon Kelli Troy's battered body was found on Breakheart Hill. Not for the small town of Choctaw, Alabama. Not for the handful of people Kelli knew in 1962, whose lives were changed forever by that day's shattering violence. And not for Dr Ben Wade, once the boy who loved her, now one of Choctaw's revered citizens, and the only person who holds all the pieces of the complicated puzzle of what happened that summer long ago...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #503183 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Cook's gripping 12th novel (after Mortal Memory) demonstrates that a story often counts for less than how it's told. Here, the author takes a familiar premise?a small-town tragedy in the early days of desegregation in the South?and teases out a painfully honest vision of adolescent love through the reminiscences of a middle-aged doctor who dwells as much in the past as the present. In hindsight, the incident on Breakheart Hill in 1962, during which high-school beauty Kelli Troy was murdered, seems to have infected the entire town of Choctaw, Ala.?especially Kelli's friend Ben Wade, who was secretly in love with her. It is Ben's halting back-and-forth narration, which circles the actual killing like a wary vulture, approaching it now from the present, now from the past, that redeems a story that begins by sounding overwritten and self-conscious but ends with the shock of truths discovered and truths withheld. Some painful surprises, expertly hinted at, arise as well, working as revelations of both plot and character. Because of Cook's expert storytelling, the simple plot becomes more than the sum of its parts?a haunting evocation that gains power and resonance with each twist of its spiral-like narration. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild and Mystery Guild alternates.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The author of such best sellers as See Jane Run (LJ 3/15/91) has had a field day writing her heroines into dangerous situations and then pulling them to safety, bloodied but unbowed. In her latest, violence shatters the formerly comfortable world of a woman and her daughter.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA?Ben Wade, a country doctor, recounts the story of his adolescent unrequited love for Kelli Troy. Outspoken Kelli shocked most of the small town of Choctaw, Alabama, when she wrote an essay in the school paper describing the sordid history of hatred, humiliation, and slavery behind the name of nearby Breakheart Hill. Shortly after Lyle Gates, a loser with a history of violence, called Kelli a "nigger-loving bitch," her badly beaten body was discovered on Breakheart Hill. Gates was convicted and sentenced despite some inconsistencies in evidence and his claim of innocence. In a shocking climax, Dr. Wade discovers the truth behind the attack when he assists Kelli's now-aged mother as she puts her affairs in order, and he must face his own culpability in the crime as well. This mystery within a coming-of-age story will be a favorite with teens who appreciate sophisticated plotting.?Susan R. Farber, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A very long read that leads to an unintelligible ending.
This is a very long, static and redundant tale that comes to an abrupt conclusion that could cause mental whiplash. I am curious that the other reader/reviewers who have made entires here find the story and its sudden, odd and unlikely ending so fascinating. I re-read the last four pages several times with the hope that the meaning would dawn on me. I get the facts of the finale, just not the context in which they fit into this story. I consider myself an avid reader (and one who grasps the plots and nuances of writing) but this one makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. (I welcome comments from any reader who can clear up the matter in a private e-mail; I have written to Mr. Cook to ask for an explanation.). Definitely not worth the effort for me; move on to the next book on your list.

incredibly bad book--so much potential
I was enthraled by this book. This was the first of this author that I had read. I could hardly put it down, the writing was incredible.

And then the ending came and it was as if all the air went out of the balloon. Lame, weak, stupid, words fail me.

This guy writes well but someone needs to supply him with a plot that works. What a sad waste of time to read this book.

Reason I love Cook
This book is another reason I love Thomas H. Cook. He has a way of telling a story that keeps you on edge. You are dying to know how it ends, but the journey is long and often dark. When I first started reading this book, I wanted to rush to the end, but his story kept me hooked. He is not like most authors that write the same story with a different character everytime. For someone like me that reads lots of mysteries, it is nice to be challenged in a book. His writing style makes you slow down and enjoy the ride making it a great read.