Customer Reviews

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (New English Library)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sharyn McCrumb has now written several books of regional mystery fiction set in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Of these "ballad mysteries," this is one of the very best. It involves several interwoven stories of tragedy, death, and the tenacity of the human spirit. In writing *The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter*, McCrumb has shown herself to be a skilled storyteller indeed, able to keep the several threads of plot moving simultaneously without confusing the reader nor compromising the nuances of the various tales she tells.

Along the way, she successfully conveys to readers her convictions regarding some sad realities of Appalachian life: the isolation, the poverty, the damage to health and environment caused by industrial pollution, and the all-too-familiar spectre of tragedy and death that stalk this ever-struggling region. At the same time, she celebrates the beauty of the mountains and shows that the pride and dignity of its people are something to be cherished and admired.

Yes, the prose itself is perhaps too simple, direct, and unadorned for this to be considered a truly serious work of literature, and some of the elements of "mystery" were not hard to figure out well in advance of their being revealed. However, I enjoyed every page of this novel, and it will definitely inspire me to read more of McCrumb's Appalachian writings.

Nora Bonesteel, the wise woman of the Tennessee mountains is what her Celtic forebears would recognize as an "edge witch", one who patrols the boundaries between life and death, good and evil, the supernatural and the mundane. In this novel sorrow comes to the mountain community in the guise of an murder/suicide on a remote farm and via a polluted river that brings death into the valley. Nora Bonesteel, with her graveyard quilt and her herbal remedies does what she can do to protect the ordinary folk from tragedy. This is a wonderful novel to trace the continuance of Celtic heritage and folkways into America's Eastern mountains which were settled by Britain's Highlanders.

I read the first book in this series, Pretty Peggy-O and read this one right after. This book still seemed to have the author finding her way as a writer, but it was better than the first. And that's not to say I didn't like the first, I did. I liked this one better, but I think it still earns a 4. I am on to the next books in the series and I'm really excited, I think McCrumb has great potential as a writer. She creates stories and characters that you just seem to become wrapped up in. This is definitely a good susepense story.

there was a tiny town named Hamelin in the Tennessee hills. Gather round while Sharyn McCrumb weaves another of her Ballads. "Hangman" has it all: Fire, Flood, Murder and Pestilence race through this plainspoken tale.

Ms. McCrumb deftly guides alternating voices through the high-speed story. The tale is a page-turner, not as reflective as the other ballad stories. Nora Bonesteel, who has the Sight, is almost swept aside in the swift-moving events, both God and man-made.

Ms. McCrumb's near poetical characterizations are a delight, particularly the Ophelia-like, fifteen year-old Maggie Underhill. Maggie etches herself in your mind, though she is elusive as a fairy child. Stalwart Sheriff Spencer Underwood's not-so-secret devotion to country singer, Naomi Judd, weaves lightly in and out of the story.

I was troubled by the medical course of action advised for Laura Bruce, pregnant minister's wife. I can't see where it furthered the plot, and it seemed grossly erroneous. It is difficult to fathom how a closely-knit community can leave two teenagers whose family had been massacred so completely on their own. Surely, the church and neighbors would visit and attempt to assist them. All the characters intend "to stop by," but never get around to it. These were my only two reservations about the story line.

"The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" should be started early in the day, because it's bad for your health and disposition to stay up all night reading a book. Enjoy.

There are several books that I call my "Seasonal Affective Disorder" books. I reread them every year during the dark nights of January, and they lift me up out of the winter doldrums. _The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter_ is the exact opposite. I read it in the middle of July, and it *gave* me a case of the winter doldrums. Sharyn McCrumb uses lovely prose to drag us into the depths of an Appalachian winter, where the tragedies are as pervasive as the cold.

Laura Bruce, the wife of the local minister, is summoned to the home of a family she barely knows, where the oldest son has shot his parents, youngest brother, and himself, leaving the two middle kids (who were out at the time) alive but distraught. This isn't really a mystery--there is no question as to whodunit, or even why--I guess I've read too many books, but I knew exactly what the family secret was from the very beginning. The question is, whay will become of the two remaining teenagers now that they are alone in the world? The law demands a guardian until the older sibling, the boy, reaches 18 in a few months. Laura Bruce takes on the position, but not the responsibility; she sees it mainly as a formality and doesn't check on them much. As the winter progresses, Laura becomes preoccupied with her own problems, and completely ignores the teenagers until disaster (quite literally) strikes. Hello? Why did Laura marry a minister if she didn't want to assume the social role of a minister's wife? And why, why, WHY did she agree to become these poor kids' guardian if she wasn't going to even give them a call once in a blue moon? Yes, I know she has her own problems, but she is almost forty, these kids are in high school, and she accepted the responsibility. She's an adult, and she doesn't act like one. I came away from the book not liking Laura much at all. There is also a subplot about a man dying of cancer who, along with his best friend, plots revenge on the company that is polluting the river.

This book is well-written, but so depressing that I probably won't read it again. If you decide to read it, have a funny book standing by to read afterward.

This is another in McCrumb's Ballad series and, I confess, it is only the second of her novels I've read. I will be looking for more.

This woman knows how to write a tale that keeps one turning the pages.

A supposedly disturbed teen shoots his parents and younger brother and then commits suicide, leaving two other siblings as orphans. Sheriff Spencer Arrowood talks Laura Bruce into serving as temporary guardian for the orphans and life goes back to normal in Dark Hollow, Tennessee. Or, does it?

Sharyn McCrumb is considered a mystery writer but her mysteries have less to do with murder and mayhem than with the intricacies of life.

The novel resonates with contrasts. It illustrates the narrow bridge between life and death as it impacts the Underhill children; Laura Bruce, the minister's wife and their unborn child; the dying Tavy Annis and his friend, Taw McBryde; the seer Nora Bonesteel and the dead with whom she communicates, and the hibernating groundhog, Persey.

She also addresses ecological concerns such as the polluted river and how it affects the lives of those who live along it and reminds us of past devastations like the chestnut tree blight, which may now be resurfacing in diseases impacting other trees.

There's much in this book that will keep you thinking about the various issues long after you read the final page.

Sharyn McCrumb has a unique talent for displaying the beauty and melancholy behind the Celtic heritage of the Appalachian areas. This novel combines that with suspense. She does a wonderful job of making each of the smaller storylines within just as compelling as the main story.

The novel the Hangman's Beautyful Daughter is a great book by Sharyn McCrumb. The Book is about the life of Laura Bruce and her visits to the families of the eastern Tennessee mountains. While her husband is away as a minister for the army in the Gulf War, Laura counsels people of the town durring times of need. Many tragic things happen to the families and characters in this book, but they only bring you closer to them. My favorite characters are the Underhill children for thier strength and courage and Nora Bonesteel for her wisdom and kindness. I think this is a really good book and would recommend it because of the closeness you feel to the characters.

I had no idea what to expect from this book. I ended up being very pleasantly surprised. McCrumb clearly knows the Tennessee/North Carolina landscape which graces The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter. Her literary paints and brushes are all in very good working order. Most of the characters are very well developed. However, the only real flaw with this book is that there are so many characters and sub-plots that depth sometimes has to be sacrificed. John Connolly's Every Dead Thing had the same hinderance. That being said, I must also say that both authors overcame that one shortcoming with flying colors. This book is very well-written. It's nice to see the female characters in a mystery novel receiving most of the depth. Very refreshing.

Among the wide variety of subjects tackled in McCrumb's novel are homicide, suicide, poverty, cancer, environmentalism, Vietnam war hauntings, pregnancy and, for some strange reason, The Judds. It's a well-planned mystery that has the necessary ingredient for any great tale of the genre...the pace quickens drastically towards the end. You can't put it down once you know the answers are stepping from out of the shadows. This book is also genuinely touching in some parts.

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter is a well-crafted book that certainly deserves to be read and enjoyed. I don't want to give anything away...so I won't. That is all.

McCrumb continues her love affair with Appalachia, and it's a knockout. Suspenseful, moving, expertly written. When most of us hear the word "Appalachia" we think "trailer park;" McCrumb goes to great lenghths -- successfully -- to dispel the cliches and stereotypes. Her characters are intelligent, well-spoken and deeply realized. An all-around hit.