Nightwoods / Charles Frazier / 259 pages

Liked this book a lot. It's a character driven novel that takes place in small town in the mountains of 1960's North Carolina. Luce is a young woman who is a hermit, living in an old rundown lodge and reveling in the day and the seasons of natural world. She comes from a very broken background and has incredible strength to live through being abandoned by her mother, being mostly ignored by her father, raped by a school teacher, having her sister murdered and taking in her twin niece and nephew who have very serious issues. Add to this her brother-in-law, who murdered her sister, was acquitted and is determined to find the twins who witnessed the murder and may know where his stolen cash is hidden. Frazier does a fantastic job with the narrative, characters, and plot, creating a book you can sink into. It sounds awful and depressing but it's not. It's about strength of character, courage, and recognizing what's important. Recommend