“[Parshall] skillfully evokes the rural South without resorting to cliché or contempt. Along with the character of Bridger, veterinarian Rachel Goddard and the teenaged Holly come vividly to life and add depth to this engaging slice of country crime.” Mystery Scene
Description
Tom Bridger, who is half Melungeon, thought he had escaped his mountain community's lingering prejudice against the mixed-race group when he left to work for the Richmond, Virginia, Police Department. Tom was moving up the detective ranks when a family tragedy brought him back home and moved him into his father's job as a county sheriff's deputy.
Now the bones of a Melungeon woman who disappeared ten years ago have surfaced on a remote mountaintop, and all evidence points to murder. Violence escalates as the victim's poor family and the wealthy white family she married into scramble to protect their secrets from Tom's probing. But as he looks into his father's investigation of the case, he finds his father was not the man he idolized.
The woman Tom is falling in love with, veterinarian Rachel Goddard, is struggling to start over in a place that holds no memories for her. Rachel puts herself in danger when she befriends Holly, niece of the dead Melungeon woman. As a child, the girl witnessed something that could implicate her aunt's killer, but she is too terrified to tell anyone what she knows. While Rachel is determined to keep Holly safe and help her piece together past events, the guilty are equally determined to silence the girl—and Rachel too, if necessary.
Will this murder be Tom's and Rachel's undoing, or will it free them to look into the future?
Praise
“[Parshall] skillfully evokes the rural South without resorting to cliché or contempt. Along with the character of Bridger, veterinarian Rachel Goddard and the teenaged Holly come vividly to life and add depth to this engaging slice of country crime.” Mystery Scene
“Disturbing the Dead is an engrossing read.” Crimespree magazine
“Edge-of-the-seat suspense and a budding romance for Tom and Rachel make this essential reading for fans of Margaret Maron and Karin Slaughter.” Library Journal (starred review)
“Dark, suspenseful…A lethal, gothic drama.” Publishers Weekly
“Parshall effectively captures the atmosphere of a closed rural community and weaves a compelling plot that will appeal to mainstream mystery readers.” Booklist
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | May 13, 2014 |
| Release Date | May 14, 2014 |
| Number in Series | 2 |
| Series Display String | The Rachel Goddard Mysteries |
| Release Date Machine | 1400025600 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Women Sleuths, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult, Bestselling Mysteries, Bestselling Mystery |
Author Bio
Sandra Parshall, a native southerner, is the author of the Rachel Goddard mysteries, the first of which, The Heat of the Moon, won the 2006 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. A former newspaper reporter in South Carolina, West Virginia, and Baltimore, she now lives in northern Virginia with her husband, a longtime Washington journalist.
Narrator Bio
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.
Overview
Tom Bridger, who is half Melungeon, thought he had escaped his mountain community's lingering prejudice against the mixed-race group when he left to work for the Richmond, Virginia, Police Department. Tom was moving up the detective ranks when a family tragedy brought him back home and moved him into his father's job as a county sheriff's deputy.
Now the bones of a Melungeon woman who disappeared ten years ago have surfaced on a remote mountaintop, and all evidence points to murder. Violence escalates as the victim's poor family and the wealthy white family she married into scramble to protect their secrets from Tom's probing. But as he looks into his father's investigation of the case, he finds his father was not the man he idolized.
The woman Tom is falling in love with, veterinarian Rachel Goddard, is struggling to start over in a place that holds no memories for her. Rachel puts herself in danger when she befriends Holly, niece of the dead Melungeon woman. As a child, the girl witnessed something that could implicate her aunt's killer, but she is too terrified to tell anyone what she knows. While Rachel is determined to keep Holly safe and help her piece together past events, the guilty are equally determined to silence the girl—and Rachel too, if necessary.
Will this murder be Tom's and Rachel's undoing, or will it free them to look into the future?
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