WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING – A SLOW-BURN NOSTALGIC CRIME MYSTERY

October 18, 2022 Mar

With over three million copies sold, “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature” (The New York Times Book Review), now available as a beautiful, deluxe edition in time for the holiday season. “I can’t even express how much I love this book! I didn’t want this story to end!”–Reese Witherspoon “Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver.”

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens. Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

This was so heartbreaking and beautiful!

The writing! This is one marvelous, descriptive, nostalgic and atmospheric southern drawl!

If you like slow-burn, character centered heartbreaking stories of hardships, neglect, abuse, but ultimately survival and resilience with luscious setting descriptions (such as the books recommended below), then this book is for you!

It is IMPOSSIBLE not to root for Kya as you follow her since she is a little girl when she is abandoned by ALL her family members. One by one, they all walkout on Kya, leaving her, at only seven, to fend for herself in the North Carolina coast’s marshes facing not only the elements but the prejudice and plain hatred of the town folks.

The breathtaking description of the natural world and wildlife around Kya blended with the emotional imagery of isolation, loneliness, despair, desolation make this book a one of a kind evocative experience.

Then it all comes together for Kya when clings to what little she has left: charity coming from the most unexpected places, her love for her land, primal survival instincts and a stubborn sense of pride and independence.