Gone to Ground: A Novel
A MUST BUY for 2012
- ISBN-13: 9781433671630
- Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
- Publication date: 3/1/2012
- Pages: 352
- Review Source: NetGalley
Check it out: Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Amazon
Overview:
Amaryllis, Mississippi is a scrappy little town of strong backbone and southern hospitality. A brick-paved Main Street, a park, and a legendary ghost in the local cemetery are all part of its heritage. Everybody knows everybody in Amaryllis, and gossip wafts on the breeze. Its people are friendly, its families tight. On the surface Amaryllis seems much like the flower for which it’s named—bright and fragrant. But the Amaryllis flower is poison.
In the past three years five unsolved murders have occurred within the town. All the victims were women, and all were killed in similar fashion in their own homes. And just two nights ago—a sixth murder.
Clearly a killer lives among the good citizens of Amaryllis. And now three terrified women are sure they know who he is—someone they love. None is aware of the others’ suspicions. And each must make the heartrending choice to bring the killer down. But each woman suspects a different man.
My Take on Gone to Ground:
I can’t think of a better way to describe Gone to Ground other than PERFECT! Author Brandilyn Collins sure knows how to hook a reader’s attention and take them on a journey they will think about long after the story is over. With its laugh-out-loud funny quotes from Cherrie Mae, Collins gave this page turner the WOW-factor which made it a heart-stopping, adrenaline pumping, turbulent, whirlwind sleuthing mystery. Once I started, I couldn’t get enough of each Southern Belle and the choices they had to make, fears they had to overcome, and the murder that brought them all together.
Gone to Ground is told in the first-person perspective from three women who live in the small town of Amaryllis, Mississippi. Each woman, with ages ranging from 19 to 60’s, contributes to the unique southern charm and highly contagious dialect of the novel. Cherrie Mae, a housekeeper for just about everyone in the town, has to be one of the strongest and wisest people in Amaryllis. With this character, Collins captured the heart and soul of southern African American women. She was a sassy, comical, no-nonsense, you-better-listen-to-me-I’m-your-elder kind of lady. Often throughout the story I pictured her to be a few different women from my own church. I loved it! It excited me, and brought out my own Southern Girl Attitude! She was definitely the voice of reason and the glue that held the characters together.
Tully and Deena are the other two women MC’s in the story. Tully, a teenager about to give birth to her first child with her abusive husband, starts off as a shy and frightened young woman. Because of her love for one man she makes choices, albeit some were better than others, which essentially affect her marriage. Hanging on to the hope that her husband will change, she is forced to decide between doing the right thing and protecting the man she loves. Over the course of the novel, I enjoyed her transformation from humble to courageous. It was genuine, well constructed, and relatable. Deena, a hairdresser, was also a delight to read. She was passionate, witty, and never let any of the men around her push her into doing something she didn’t want to do. And once these women teamed up, they became unstoppable.
Overall, Gone to Ground is a novel I expected nothing from. I didn’t even expect it to be good. However, I am pleasantly surprised by the amount of enjoyment I received from devouring this novel over the course of a few hours. It’s definitely a quick read with a satisfying conclusion. And a wondrous break from the usual paranormal romance books I read. I recommend this book to everyone, men and woman alike, in hopes that you will find these True Southern Women a great addition to your reading collection.
My Rating
5 out of 5 Controllers
Edible Quotes from Cherrie Mae:
“Do serial killers, need a motive – other than they just plain crazy?”
“Crime is common; logic is rare.” -Cherrie Mae
“What?” –Trent
“Sherlock Holmes.” –Cherrie Mae
Silence. Trent must be thinking that one over.
“Cherry Mae, for a Christian woman you sure got a lot of cunning in you.” –Cory
If only she knew. “The game one plays are not the games one chooses always.” – Cherrie Mae
“You quoting somebody again?” –Cory
“Maxwell Anderson.” –Cherrie Mae
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