If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O [Mass Market Paperback]

Sharyn McCrumb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 1991

Sheriff Spencer Arrowood keeps the peace in his small Tennessee town most of the time. Every once in a while, though, something goes wrong.

When 1960s folksinger Peggy Muryan moves to town seeking solitude and a career comeback, and she receives a postcard with a threatening message, her idyll is shattered. Then a local girl who looks like Peggy vanishes without a trace.

Although she was once famous, Peggy has no fondness for the old times. Those days are best left forgotten for Spencer Arrowood, too. But sometimes the past can't rest, and those who try to forget it are doomed to relive it....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McCrumb surpasses lauded earlier novels, including 1988 Edgar winner Bimbos of the Death Sun , with this inventive mystery. Sheriff Spencer Arrowood remembers Peggy Muryan, a newcomer to Hamelin, Tenn., as a moderately popular folksinger of the 1960s. Hoping to compose fresh songs in the quiet town, Peggy instead attracts messages from a secret killer. Arrowood and Deputy Joe LeDonne answer her call for help and the latter, a Vietnam veteran, recognizes descriptions of the war's horrors in the threats. Peggy's dog is killed, and later a girl with a strong resemblance to her, but it's a long, suspenseful struggle for the sheriff and his right-hand man to learn the terrible, astonishing facts in the case. A superior mystery, the book is also a masterful drama of lives shaped by traumatic events, as McCrumb bares the psyches of her characters. Mystery Book Club selection.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

McCrumb resurrects the 1960s through the planning of a twentieth high-school reunion for the Class of '66, complete with music, clothing styles, and school activities of the era. While reunion preparations are taking place, someone sets into motion the systematic terrorization of Peggy Muryan, a folk singer who buys a big home in Hamelin, Tennessee, with the intention of writing new material and making a comeback. But before she can compose a note, her dog is hanged, butchered, and left with a military insignia carved into his skin. A cryptic postcard leads to the discovery of the body of a young teen who resembles the singer as she appears on her best-known record album. The writing is enlivened with slices of humorous dialogue, unusual characters, and a fast-paced plot. For those discovering the fun of reading mysteries, this a captivating choice. --Pam Spencer, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 263 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine (August 13, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345369068
• ISBN-13: 978-0345369062
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an award-winning Southern writer. I am probably best known for my
Appalachian "Ballad" novels, set in the North Carolina/Tennessee mountains. These books include New York Times Best Sellers She Walks These Hills and The Rosewood Casket, which deal with the issue of the vanishing wilderness, and The Ballad of Frankie Silver, the story of the first woman hanged for murder in the state of North Carolina; The Songcatcher, a genealogy in music; and Ghost Riders, an account of the Civil War in the Appalachians.

My newest novel St. Dale, the Canterbury Tales set in NASCAR, was published by Kensington Books of New York in 2005, and is currently a nominee for the Library of Virginia Literary Award in Fiction and a finalist for its People's Choice Award.

Honors include: the 2003 Award for Literature given by the
East Tennessee Historical Society; AWA Outstanding Contribution to
Appalachian Literature Award; Chaffin Award for Achievement in Southern
Literature; Plattner Award for Short Story; and AWA's Best Appalachian
Novel.

I was the first writer-in-residence at King College in Tennessee. In 2001 I
served as fiction writer-in-residence at the WICE Conference in Paris, and
in 2005 I was honored as the writer of the year at the annual literary
celebration at Emory and Henry College. (And I was the first Southern writer to take along a NASCAR driver to that literary seminar. Thank you, Ward Burton!)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Find!, July 27, 2002

By 

Gregor von Kallahann - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O (Mass Market Paperback)

I run two book discussion groups in the library where I work and am always on the look-out for good titles for both. Our general (eclectic) club is usually not such a problem, since the participants know to expect a wide variety of materials. The mystery discussion sessions have been a little more problematic, partly because it's a specialized genre, and one that I'm not as familiar with myself, and partly because mysteries, while extraordinarily poplular at my library, don't always lend themselves to a lengthy discussion unless they have well-rounded characters and well developed plotlines or if they touch upon broader themes than the solving of the mystery itself.

This book, Sharyn McCrumb's first work in her "Ballad Series," met all these criteria--and for my money was an intriguing and effective mystery besides. The book tackles such weighty themes as the legacy of the Viet Nam era, family conflicts and resolutions and even the lesser trauma (or maybe not, if we'e honest about it) of not having the greatest time in high shool. McCrumb is able to address all these themes with humanity, wit and a keen eye for detail. All in all, I'd say this is the BEST title our little mystery group has discussed yet.

I was a little surprised to see that others here have given this book decidedly mixed reviews. Since I am not a long time mystery buff myself, I guess it could be true that the "whodunnit" question might be more obvious to a genre expert. But I tend to doubt that actually, since many in our group would qualify as such--and they didn't necessarily see the ending coming. McCrumb throws out enough in the way of red herrings to keep most readers guessing.

But for me, the main appeal of this book is indeed the masterful characterization. These are complex people, whom you genuinely come to care about. I wouldn't hesitate at all to introduce McCrumb's work to my more "literary" discussion group. She is, simply stated, a darned good writer.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 stars for the mystery; 5 for the story, April 22, 2001

By 

A. F. Baker (Georgetown, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O (Mass Market Paperback)

I had the mystery killer figured out before I was half way though the book. That was the reason for the 4 star rating of this book. However, the story that goes along with the mystery is so much better. It is the story of getting over a single event that positively or negatively shaped your life (or the lives of those living in the small Tennessee town).

I'm glad I found out about Sharyn McCrumb (thanks Joe!). Even though I'm not from Appalachia, I'm from the South. McCrumb brings a new vioce to the South with a combination of old tales. I feel like I understand the characters in this book even though they are from a different generation than me.

I couldn't put the book down after I started reading it. I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series of the Appalachian Ballads. This book series is being taught at universities and high schools around the "New South." Don't put off reading this author upon recommendation from your child.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, May 26, 2000

By 

Helen - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O (Mass Market Paperback)

This author really can do no wrong.

In Spencer Arrowood she has a believable and likeable main protagonist and the characters supporting him are well drawn too.

With good characters and a suspenseful plot - what more could you ask for?