Customer Reviews

She Walks These Hills

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

She Walks These Hills is another excellent book in the Appalachian series by Sharyn McCrumb. She again combines two stories - one in the present and one in the past along with a pinch of a ghost story, culminating in an overall satisfying novel.

This installment tells of the stories of Harm Sorley, an escaped murderer in the Appalachian area, a college professor following the trail of Katie Wyler, a pioneer woman trying to get to her home in 1799, and Hank the Yank, a bodacious radio personality who tries to get into both these stories. I will not give the ending away as some reviewers did, but you need to read this book to get the full flavor of the area and the era.

How do these three characters intertwine with each other - both from the past and present? It is up the reader to find out in this thrilling novel.

I thought when I first picked this book up that it was going to be one of those gothic potboilers with spooky ghosts, swooning women and brave (male) ghostbusters. Oh, and a scary, escaped killer out to wreak havoc on innocent people. It's got a tiny little bit of the goth in it, but it's much more than that. It's a modern story about modern people and takes on some big topics - prejudice, bigotry, justice, right and wrong, good and evil, stupidity in pursuit of noble causes. There's not a badly drawn character in the book; they all feel like real people with real complexities and complicated motives, often only precariously in control of the situations they get themselves into. The dialogues flow smoothly and sound real - you can hear these conversations. You'll recognize these people and you'll recognize yourself in them. Even the ghost story underpinning the book is fascinating and historically informative. If you're looking for a readable story that will hold your interest, this is it.

WOW! That's about how I feel about this novel written by Sharyn McCrumb. Of all the books I've read of late, this has to be one of the very best. I wish I could give it a 10 rating. The book was loaned to me. "Read this, I think you'll like it." Well, she was right. I didn't just like it. I loved it. Being of Cherokee decent, and knowing a little about the Appalachia area, naturally that sparked my interest. Being a native of the area, McCrumb has done a wonderful job with this novel. She mastered the plot, the characters, the dialogue and ME. I couldn't put the book down. I'm putting McCrumb at the top of my list as one of my favorite authors. The research and persons involved made this book everything that it is. My hat is off to McCrumb. Without further ado, I'm off to the library to gather another novel she's written. Take my advice and get a copy of this book. You'll see what I mean.

Of all her novels, this is by far my favorite of the McCrumb masterpieces, and I have read most (not all) of her diverse books. This one involves a woman who loves a sinner; he went to his death before he would divulge their relationship and cause her problems. Little did he know that by his actions, she would forever 'walk these hills' in a long black veil.

Before leaving the small town, I would call my local deejays of the morning to request the new release, SHE WALKS THESE HILLS, which gave them something to snicker about as it was an old, old song called THE LONG BLACK VEIL released in the fifties by Ferlin Husky. I later learned that Johnny Cash also had a pretty good version.

Ms. McCrumb varies in her subject matter and researches her later books to some extent. This is one of her best. It just may be my favorite of her varied ballads using some of the same colorful characters in Hamblen County, TN -- right up the road a piece from Knoxville.

This book was my introduction to Sharyn McCrumb, and I'm definitely partial to the Appalacian series. This was a haunting, unforgettable story that drew you in, not just to the story itself, but to the people and characters. It reads easily, and you don't want to put it down because you just NEED to know what's gonna happen. I love the way Ms. McCrumb tells two stories in parallel, and the way that the two stories seem to come together, although they are more than 100 years apart.

An enticing mystery on several different levels. The ghost of a pioneer girl walks the mountain trails in search of peace after being kidnapped by the Indians. A 63 year old felon escapes prison and believes he is still in the 1960's. Murder and mayhem abound in a present day Appalachian town. Set in the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains all is not what it seems.

A fast paced mystery with a dash of exclusivity that spices it up and gives it a punch of unique individualism. I did find it a bit predictable but enjoyable none the less. Kelsana 6/10/02

This is my first exposure to author Sharyn McCrumb, and she has a narrative style that is riveting. Great characters, showing strengths & weaknesses, like normal people. Add a touch of supernatural Appalacian folklore, and McCrumb's wonderful characters take off. Characters like Harm Sorley, Hank the Yank, Nora Bonesteel, Jeremy Cobb and, especially, Deputy Martha Ayers, were individually as different as they come, but they all managed to touch each other's lives as the story progressed. This is my idea of a real page-turner; I enjoyed it very much.

Sharyn McCrumb takes us back for another visit to Hamelin, Tennessee with terrific results. She is able to seamlessly switch back and forth from Katie Wyler's time in the 1790s to the escaped convict's 1960s to present day.

Blending an escaped convict, a deputy in training, a missing baby, a young woman from 200 years ago and the grad student following her path; Ms McCrumb creates a delightful story. As with the rest of the ballad series, the story is rich with well-developed characters. You keep turning the pages to find out what happened to poor Katie 200 years ago, and what will happen when the convict gets home to a town he no longer recognizes. It's very hard to leave the town and its people at the end of the book.

The only negative thing about the book is the graduate student. While, a very interesting idea to have a grad student study the plight of this young woman from 200 years ago, did the student have to be so stupid? I found myself getting very annoyed with this one character's cluelessness, and only found comfort in the fact that at he finally realized his situation.

Sharyn McCrumb's She Walks These Hills is set in eastern Tennessee in the early 1990s, a time before cell phones when people found it easier to disappear into the mountains. McCrumb builds her storylines around a fictionalized historical event of a young woman kidnapped by Indians in the late 1770s, bringing that idea into the modern-day world of an escaped convict and an understaffed police department searching for him.

There are many different characters populating this story, most of whom are colorful and interesting as brought to life by McCrumb's expert writing. The story moves back and forth between the situations and characters, giving us sympathetic looks at "hardened criminal" Harm Sorley, aspiring policewoman Martha Ayers, Ph.D. candidate Jeremy Cobb, local deejay Hank the Yank, hick teenager Sabrina Harkryder, and local wisewoman, Nora Bonesteel. There are several other characters involved as well, and all this jumping around can be a bit unsettling at times. Expecting more of an historical element apparent based on previous readers' comments, I was a little disappointed in that particular aspect of the novel. The mystery is good, however, though a bit transparent.

This is an easy read, and one that would easily fulfill anyone's appetite for a good whodunit. Things get tied up neatly by story's end, and that's the most important thing in a book of this nature. Enjoyable.

I can't believe that I bought this book and stuck in in the back of a dresser drawer one day while cleaning house. When searching for something to read and being "homesick" for the mountains at the same time, I remembered the picture on this book I'd squirreled away. What a treasure. This book had everything I was looking for. I'd also met my favorite author in the first book I'd read written by Sharyn McCrumb. If you haven't read it, it is the best. All of her ballad series are awesome this is my favorite.