KIMI CUNNINGHAM GRANT - FALLEN MOUNTAINS (2019)

Synopsis/blurb.....

"An intense and engaging portrait of characters driven by—and bound by—the secrets of their pasts . . . an absorbing mystery as well as a gracefully layered story of death and loss in a small town.” —Allen Eskens, USA Today bestselling author of The Life We Bury

When Transom Shultz goes missing shortly after returning to his tightly knit hometown of Fallen Mountains, Pennsylvania, his secrets are not the only ones that threaten to emerge. 

Something terrible happened seventeen years ago. Red, the sheriff, is haunted by it. Possum, the victim of that crime, wants revenge. Chase, a former friend of Transom’s, is devastated by his treacherous land dealings. And Laney worries her one thoughtless mistake with Transom could shatter everything she’s built.

As the search for Transom heats up and the inhabitants’ dark and tangled histories unfold, each must decide whether to live under the brutal weight of the past or try to move beyond it. In Fallen Mountains, even loyalty, love, trust, and family can trap you on a path of tragedy.

Wow!

I was pretty much sucked into this small town mystery from the get-go. Gripping, intriguing, compelling and at the climax supremely satisfying. I was half-tempted to start reading it again immediately after.

A small cast of characters, each carrying their own secrets, each effected by events of the past, all of them good-hearted people, with maybe one exception - though even he has some admirable traits. 

Regret, guilt, loyalty, family, history, conflict, secrets, disappointment, shame, embarrassment, anger, selfishness, love, grief, resentment and more in rural Pennsylvania.

I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved how the author made me care about the outcome and what would happen to all those involved. I enjoyed her writing and the past-present flip-flopping of the narrative added to my reading pleasure, more so than if the narrative had been more linear.

All in all a fantastic read and one I'd highly recommend to anyone. I've deliberately refrained from mentioning any events or detail of the characters. Read this book and discover them for yourself. My semi-coherent thoughts do not do this book justice!

5 from 5

Fallen Mountains is Kimi Cunningham Grant's fictional debut. She has an earlier book to her name, a family memoir - Silver Like Dust - which tells the tale of her Japanese-American grandparents interned in the aftermath of Pearl Harbour.

Read in January, 2019
Published - 2019 (out on the 5th March)
Page count - 196
Source - Net Galley
Format - ePub file read on laptop.