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Title details for The Unquiet Grave by Sharyn McCrumb - Available

The Unquiet Grave

A Novel

by Sharyn McCrumb
Candace Thaxton
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available
From the New York Times bestselling author of Prayers the Devil Answers and The Ballad of Tom Dooley, a "fascinating historical fiction novel you won't be able to put down" (Bustle) based on one of the strangest murder trials in American history—the case of the Greenbrier Ghost.
Lakin, West Virginia, 1930: Following a suicide attempt and consigned to a segregated insane asylum, attorney James P.D. Gardner finds himself under the care of Dr. James Boozer. Testing a new talking cure for insanity, Boozer encourages his elderly patient to share his experiences as the first black attorney to practice law in 19th-century West Virginia. His memorable case: defending a white man on trial for the murder of his young bride—a case that the prosecution based on the testimony of a ghost.

Greenbrier, West Virginia, 1897: Beautiful, willful Zona Heaster has always lived in the mountains. Despite her mother's misgivings, Zona marries the handsome Erasmus Trout Shue, Greenbrier's newest resident and blacksmith. Her mother learns of her daughter's death weeks later. A month after the funeral, Zona's mother makes a chilling claim to the county prosecutor: her daughter was murdered, and she was told this by none other than Zona's ghost...

With her unique and "real knack for crafting full-bodied characters and using folklore to construct compelling plots" (Booklist), Sharyn McCrumb effortlessly demonstrates her place among the finest Southern writers at work today.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 12, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508238942
      • File size: 294241 KB
      • Duration: 10:13:00

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A true-life murder trial in 1897 and the legend of the Greenbriar Ghost offer rich territory for Sharyn McCrumb. In interconnected stories, narrators Candace Thaxton and Roger Casey give McCrumb's compelling characters consistent, believable personalities. Casey's male characters are authentic, including attorney James Gardner. In the 1930s, Gardner, an elderly black man, was consigned to an insane asylum after a failed suicide attempt. While there, he tells the story of how, in 1897, he defended a white man against a murder charge based on damning testimony from a ghost. In an equally strong performance, Thaxton completely immerses herself in nineteenth-century West Virginia. She animates each person, especially Mary Jane Heaster, who insists that the ghost of her murdered daughter appeared to her, claiming her husband murdered her. McCrumb's fascinating research and Thaxton's and Casey's top-notch performances make this must-listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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