Monday, May 23, 2016

Above the Waterfall

Above the Waterfall
By Ron Rash
Ecco, 2015. 252 pgs.  Mystery

Les is a retiring sheriff in a small Appalachian town.  Becky is a local park ranger who finds peace from a traumatic past through her love of nature and the wilderness she stewards.  Their relationship, tenuous and undefined already, is strained to a breaking point when a cranky mountain resident is accused of poisoning a trout stream.

Becky stands solidly behind the old man as he professes his innocence, but Les, having spent his life in the small community, understands better the deep resentments certain residents have for each other.  The small town is being torn apart by a flagging economy and a deadly crystal meth trade. Finding the truth will require all his years of experience.

Above the Waterfall was more of a detective story than I was expecting.  After reading Rash’s Serena and The Cove, I was expecting something a bit darker and more complicated, but still enjoyed the lovely prose and vividly described mountain setting.



CZ

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