Where The Hurt Is
by Chris Kelsey
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Pub Date 21 Jun 2018 | Archive Date 30 Nov 2018
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Description
It’s a hotter-than-usual April night in 1965. The social revolutions rocking America have mostly bypassed Burr, a tiny rural community in Western Oklahoma. Like much of the state, Burr remains the same as it’s been: Religious. Conservative. Football-crazy. And 100% white. When an anonymous young African-American woman is found murdered on the train tracks outside town, most residents would rather look away. Burr’s police chief, troubled former local football star and war hero Emmett Hardy, doesn’t have that luxury. A New Deal liberal in Goldwater Country at the height of the Civil Rights Era, Emmett is an outsider in a place he nevertheless knows like the back of his hand. Charged with finding the killer, Hardy’s search forces him to slice through layers of hypocrisy into the heart of a town that stubbornly ignores the hate staring it in the face—a hate that threatens to rot its collective soul.
Advance Praise
“This sensational small town crime thriller is a perfect beach read.” –Best Thrillers
“It is a masterful and moving account of a murder and the racial injustice of the sixties where racist in power clung to any vestige of the privileges they felt were exclusively theirs.” –Authors Reading
“Poignant and funny, studded with characters who haunt your imagination long after you’ve read the final page.” —Anne Hillerman, New York Times bestselling author of Cave of Bones
“Where the Hurt Is showcases Kelsey's genuine flair for deftly crafted originality in terms of narrative driven storytelling.” –Midwest Book Review
“Kelsey is smart, concise, and funny, and he makes Chief Emmett Hardy a
lovable character you’ll want to follow forever.” —Julie Holland, author of the
national bestseller Weekends at Bellevue
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781684330713 |
| PRICE | US$20.95 (USD) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Kat M, Bookseller
A memorable and engrossing read. Kelsey's protagonist is on the right side of flawed white-hat, very likeable, and the narration was compelling. The author did a great job of bringing Burr and its residents to life, and while I kind of guessed who the murder was early on, the journey getting to the unveiling was fun.
I don't normally sign up for crime series, but in this instance I'd certainly pick up a sequel should the author ever choose to write another.
This was an ARC in exchange for an honest review. With kind thanks to Netgalley and Black Rose Writing.
Denice L, Reviewer
I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma that was 100% white in the 60's so the backstory is very real to me. The story line is realistic and it's easy to see the author wants the reader to understand the characters. Chris Kelsey has taken a snapshot in time and mixed in an atmosphere of fear and indifference to produce a quality mystery that any reader will enjoy. Don't skip any pages or you'll find yourself backtracking to figure out who done it.
Donna S, Reviewer
The 1960's in fictional Burr, Oklahoma: small-town boredom and small-town minds, nowhere to go and nothing to do, rednecks and racism, and lots of alcohol. And the murdered body of a young black girl found tossed near the train tracks.
Police Chief Emmett Hardy, one of a handful of liberals in a town no bigger than a handful itself, is determined to find the killer. While others would have just shrugged off the murder of a "colored" girl, he can't do that. Ill-equipped to do much more than write speeding tickets in his tiny burg, Emmett sets out to investigate and bring to justice the murderer.
Narrated by the folksy police chief, the story is a true-to-life depiction of small town life in mid-sixties Oklahoma. Threaded through with both humor and pathos, this engrossing tale highlights the racists and church-goers that make up this community (often one and the same in this town) and where their loyalties lie.
A thoroughly enjoyable read that I couldn't put down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for a copy of this book, and a huge apology for the delay in reviewing this wonderful book.
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