Let Me Die in His Footsteps

by Lori Ray

Historical Fiction/Mystery

Book Description

On a dark Kentucky night in 1952 exactly halfway between her fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays, Annie Holleran crosses into forbidden territory.  Everyone knows Hollerans don’t go near Baines, not since Joseph Carl was buried two decades before, but, armed with a silver-handled flashlight, Annie runs through her family’s lavender fields toward the well on the Baines’ place.  At the stroke of midnight, she gazes into the water in search of her future.  Not finding what she had hoped for, she turns from the well and when the body she sees there in the moonlight is discovered come morning, Annie will have much to explain and a past to account for.

It was 1936, and there were seven Baine boys.  That year, Annie’s aunt, Juna Crowley, with her black eyes and her long blond hair, came of age.  Before Juna, Joseph Carl had been the best of all the Baine brothers.  But then he looked into Juna’s eyes and they made him do things that cost innocent people their lives.  Sheriff Irlene Fulkerson saw justice served–or did she?

As the lavender harvest approaches and she comes of age as Aunt Juna did in her own time, Annie’s dread mounts. Juna will come home now, to finish what she started.  If Annie is to save herself, her family, and this small Kentucky town, she must prepare for Juna’s return, and the revelation of what really happened all those years ago.

MY THOUGHTS:

4 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

This book is set in the South in the early to middle 1900’s, and it moves at about the same pace as I expected life did back then: slowly, taking time for things to happen, but they are oh so delicious when they do.

The girls in this rural Kentucky town have abilities called the “know how”; some are both with the gift of being able to predict when things will happen, or just strong feelings about certain things, and some are born without gifts.  The book tells the story of two sets of sisters, a generation apart, in which one sister has strong abilities and the other has none.

Our main character is Annie Holleran.  On the verge of becoming a woman, she and her sister go down to a forbidden property one night to perform the tradition of seeing one’s future husband in the well.  But instead of seeing a boy, Annie sees a body.  Events only get more sinister from there, as we begin to learn the story of Annie’s mother and her sister, and how events from the past can affect the present in ways we never expected.

I definitely liked Annie as a character.  Because of who her mother was, some people in their tiny town were wary of her and what her abilities might hold.  Annie is like her mother in some ways, but she’s her own person in the most important ones.  She abides by tradition but doesn’t focus her life around it.  She has her own thoughts on who she should marry and how he should treat her.

The story has a slight supernatural touch, just enough to give the plot a darkly mysterious edge but never fully explained.  The entire town is affected by “the know how”, whether a girl has it or does not, and the townsfolk all believe in the powers and hold them in high reverence.

As I said, the plot moves slowly, but watching it unfold in the way it did was a fantastic plot device within itself. You find yourself feeling many different things about the characters as you learn more about them, and you will change your mind completely on some things by the time all is revealed.

This is a great summer read for anyone who likes their mystery with a bit of the unknown.

About the Author

Lori Roy was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas where she graduated from Kansas State University.  Her debut novel, BENT ROAD, published in 2011, was awarded the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, named a 2011 New York Times Notable Crime Book and named a 2012 notable book by the state of Kansas. BENT ROAD has been optioned for film. Her second novel, UNTIL SHE COMES HOME, was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Novel.  Her upcoming novel, LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, will be published June 2nd. Lori also serves as treasure for the Sisters in Crime organization and is a liaison to the Author Coalition. She currently lives with her family in west central Florida. 

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

One reader will win a copy of LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS. US/CAN ONLY PLEASE.

To enter, please leave a comment on what your favorite flower is!

Winner will be drawn June 13.