A KILLING IN THE HILLS

Shannon McManus does a terrific job narrating Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller’s debut novel. Keller’s engaging storytelling and outstanding character development provide McManus with rich material. On an ordinary morning at the Salty Dawg restaurant in Aker’s Gap, West Virginia, 17-year-old Carla Elkins witnesses the murder of three old-timers, regulars who’ve been having morning coffee together for years. Her mother, Bell, Raythune County's prosecuting attorney, is battling drug trafficking in their small town. Carla believes she knows the shooter, but since she met him at a party where there were drugs, she can’t tell her mother. McManus handles the various ages, accents, and genders with controlled enthusiasm, delivering a gripping performance of Keller’s many shocking plot twists and breathtaking descriptions of Appalachia’s beauty. First-rate listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2012]