Customer Reviews

The Law of the Dead

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Contrary, Kentucky, the setting of this novel, is by no means Mayberry RFD. This Appalachian town is brought to life in appearance and smell and feeling--in atmosphere. It's a good-sized modern-day hill town, with strikes at the factory, corruption in government, social manipulation, and murder. The characters in the novel are as flawed and human as those in your own home town. Am eager to find out where the next book takes Alma Bashears, a protagonist so real I sometimes wanted to shake her for being so single-minded.

Years ago she left Contrary, Kentucky following a traumatic incident. She managed to carve out a good life as a California attorney. She once vowed to never return home, but circumstances force her to give up her job, home, and relationship as her brother needs her to defend him from a murder charge. After she won that case, she entered into a partnership with fellow lawyer Jefferson Bingham. However that ended when she ran and won the post of Commonwealth Attorney by defeating her enemy Walter Gentry.

The small Appalachian town has its own rules and Alma has to relearn them if she wants any success in her new job. That turns out to be a much more difficult task than Alma expected as several problems simultaneously surface. Her cousin Kitty has been mutilated and murdered. A strike protester shoots a factory owner. Someone kidnaps her two nephews. Alma concludes that these three seemingly independent incidents are tied together. However, her theory leaves her life in jeopardy by an assailant who wants to remain anonymous.

Although the heroine acts more like a police detective than a lawyer, this distinction fails to distract readers from the colorful and exciting novel. In THE LAW OF THE DEAD Tess Collins explores the Appalachian culture with a precision, empathy, and understanding that can only come from a talented insider. The numerous sub-plots coalesce into a fantastic police and legal procedural.

Harriet Klausner

As a mystery author, I read THE LAW OF THE DEAD as preparation for an author panel I was moderating at a recent Left Coast Crime mystery convention. Written by Tess Collins, a coal miner's granddaughter, THE LAW OF THE DEAD gives the reader a taste of life in Appalachia. Set in Contrary Kentucky, the book features a strong female lead. Alma Bashears was born and raised in Contrary, yet she relocated to California. Now she is home in Appalachia, relearning her old turf, and dealing with a series of seemingly random acts of violence. This novel succeeds on many levels. Terrific plot. Memorable characters. Excellent capturing of the locale. Tess Collins has written an excellent book. Read it!

Tess Collins has written a compelling story with the kind of protagonist I like to root for--heroic, but human. Alma Bashears is smart, successful, and totally out of her element in the very town her family calls home. Like many women who have taken the rules of corporate America to heart, Alma has forgotten how to get along in her own backyard. Only by remembering who she is and how the game is played in Contrary, Kentucky can Alma surmount the obstacles fate--and the citizens of Contrary--have placed in her path. The characters are all complex and multidimensional, including the town which becomes a character itself. Friends from that part of the world assure me that Ms. Collins has captured the spirit of the place. I always like to see how early in a mystery I can spot the guilty party. In this case, the red herrings got the best of me until the very end. I had to sneak to read the last few pages after guests arrived for dinner. i really couldn't put it down.

Good book, new author to me, but needs to tighten up that plot line, and the "what about Daddy" ending was just a bit too much. Great beginning, a lot of extraneous information, and too many incidental stuff going on, but basically well done. Will buy the next one, hope it's just a bit better.