Signs in the Blood [Mass Market Paperback]

Vicki Lane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

Elizabeth Goodweather and her husband built a rewarding life in the hills and hollows of their adopted Appalachian home. But now Elizabeth is alone, her husband tragically killed, her children grown, the land around her filled with customs and beliefs she cannot share. It’s still a good life–tending the small herb and flower business–but Elizabeth’s fragile peace is about to be shattered.

Cletus Gentry vanished while hunting ginseng in the hills–and his mother is sure the childlike man was murdered. As Elizabeth retraces Cletus’s last wanderings, she will discover that a killer has been waiting all the while in the coves and hollows near her farm for her to see the light…and then come willingly to her own death.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fundamentalist Christian snake handlers and liberal back-to-the-landers; a secretive white supremacist militia and undercover police agents; simple rural mountain dwellers and sophisticated urban artists—throw in a counterculture commune of allegedly extraterrestrial origin and that still wouldn't cover all the disparate types who populate the Appalachian community of Ridley Branch, N.C., the setting for this well-crafted, dramatic tale of murder, miracles and midlife romance. Widow Elizabeth Goodweather, the 52-year-old proprietor of an herb and flower farm, becomes dangerously involved in a homegrown investigation when a housebound elderly neighbor refuses to accept the official verdict that her retarded yet woods-savvy son's death was accidental. Evocative detail brings the supporting characters vividly to life, as the plot moves between the mountain man's killing and an unsolved historical mystery that appears to eerily mirror the murderous modern scenario. Also admirable is the sensitivity with which Lane utilizes exotic religions to intensify the book's dark-toned suspense, while resisting oversimplification and insult. Her heroine's open-minded fascination with beliefs not her own should appeal to an unusually wide readership. (June)
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Review

"[A] well-crafted, dramatic tale of murder, miracles and midlife romance..... Lane utilizes exotic religions to intensify the book’s dark-toned suspense, while resisting oversimplification and insult. Her heroine’s open-minded fascination with beliefs not her own should appeal to an unusually wide readership."--Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Dell (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440242088
• ISBN-13: 978-0440242086
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The Elizabeth Goodweather series is inspired by the beautiful rural mountain county in which I live -- its present and its past. We have lived here on our farm in North Carolina since 1975 and I wanted to tell some of the wonderful stories I've heard, as well as to record a way of life that is fast disappearing. What began as a lark has turned into something very real to me as I watch Elizabeth and those around her take on lives of their own.

Please visit my web site for more information. www.vickilanemysteries.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly brilliant page-turner mystery, June 6, 2005

By 

F. Atwater - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signs in the Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

Vicki Lane's thrilling tale of Elizabeth Goodweather's "true-life" adventure still lingers in my thoughts more than a week after finishing the book. The story became real to me and the characters reminded me somehow of relatives I must have living somewhere in the mountains of Appalachia. My wife didn't complete her reading for a couple of days and I enjoyed teasing her, telling her repeatedly that I knew who done it, so to speak. This was much more than just an entertaining read for both my wife and I. The eloquence of character and scene development drew us into the storyline. Vicariously participating in the drama as we read, Signs in the Blood became an experience a mystery we, as readers, solved right along with the loveable Elizabeth. Although it doesn't seem to make much sense to read again a mystery - because I know the ending - I think I'll sit down with Signs in the Blood again, just for a visit with Elizabeth, Laura, and Ben. At least I know now that nobody else will get killed.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars new and different, June 24, 2005

By 

Eleanor Wolf (SAINT PETERSBURG, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signs in the Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

A charming trip into the mountains of North Carolina and the strange people one might find there...not to mention a murder mystery par excellence! The leading character, Elizabeth, is so life-like that we get to know her and like her immediately. Let's hope she is only beginning her adventures in the mountains. Placing the story in this environment lends itself to a much different tone than the hard-boiled types you find in most such novels, thus the title for this review. IF you find yourself attracted to this idea I say buy it without question!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly stunning debut., August 28, 2005

By 

John R. Miller "John Ramsey Miller" (N.C.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Signs in the Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

Vicki Lane is a master storyteller who paints a stunningly vivid picture of the people and of the amazing geography that is Appalachia. Prepare to be amazed, because Vicki Lane's hauntingly fluid novel does exactly that and much more.