5 Mysteries for Women Who Read Like Fiends

A key element of this novel—a young woman struggling to care for her ailing father—was inspired by a miner's condition and his wife's stalwart love. (In Julia Keller's acknowledgements, she mentions researching a woman who had created a spot under her kitchen table for her husband who, after years working underground as a coal miner, was only comfortable when crouching in an enclosed space.) As Summer of the Dead begins, the small town of Acker's Gap, West Virginia, is on edge in the wake of the unsolved murder of an elderly man. Despite additional violence, county prosecutor Bell Elkins must balance her investigative duties with family responsibilities; her sister has just moved in with her after decades in prison and her ex-husband has sent their daughter to London for the summer without asking her. Keller crafts a cracking whodunnit with many a red herring, but her real accomplishment is the unflinching depiction of rural poverty and the ways the inhabitants of Acker's Gap hold on to their dignity despite few and terrible options.