I had noted this author's name many years ago and her Ballad series, specifically The Ballad of Tom Dooley (#9), but like the numerous authors and books I want to pick up, I hadn't yet. So, I was particularly pleased that this month's selection was by Ms. McCrumb!!
And I was not disappointed! What a unique story to research and expound on - a West Virginia murder in the late 1800's prosecuted on the "testimony" of a ghost. There were a couple times that I felt the story was a little more drawn out than necessary and a couple repetitions, but not so much that it took away from the enjoyment of the story itself.
Living near WV and being in the legal field I may have felt a bit more connected than most, but I think anyone who likes a bit of a legal thriller and well-researched and fascinating historical fiction will thoroughly enjoy this.
Quotes: " His own particular form of insanity was to see the world exactly as it was, and to despair in silence."
"It was generally the lower-class whites you had to watch out for - those who were afraid of you because the accident of their white skin was the only thing that allowed them to think they outranked anybody."
"Ordinary white people suddenly developed their own form of madness, although it was so universal that it passed for normality: they became unaccountably afraid of their dark-skinned neighbors."
"Maybe its easier for a father to turn away from a child than it is for the mother who gave birth to it."
"In the law, it isn't so much the truth that matters; it's the consensus."
"What professions doesn't make mistakes? Cooks cover their errors with sauces; architects with ivy; and doctors cover theirs with sod."
"Life is mostly contrary to expectations.."
"People never seemed to realize that the more they praised Dr. Rucker's supposed generosity, the less they seemed to value James Gardner's ability and worth."
"At times a trial came very close to being a game of chance...hoped he would never have to bet his life on the whims of a dozen random citizens."
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