This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Just A Second helps supply books and coffee.
Heart of a Runaway Girl by Trevor Wiltzen - Mabel Davison owns the motel and diner in a sleepy little mountain town with only a mine and a sawmill for industry. She's a single mom with a big heart and a gift for reading people, so she takes notice of a young couple one day - they seem to be arguing but not angry with each other, and the young woman is obviously very upset about something. Later Mabel hears the young woman was brutally murdered - and that the young man was arrested. She recognizes the young man, Winston, as one of the local pot dealers, but isn't convinced he would be a murderer. Winston is black, and the town has a large racist element, so Mabel even has to step in to get the state police involved when the white supremacists show up at the jail intent on a lynching!
Mabel visits Winston at the state prison and is convinced that he didn't murder the girl. With some unwitting and some reluctant help from the sheriff, Mabel sets out to find some real evidence that will lead to the real killer. With only her determination and her instinct to lead her, she gets into one scrape after another, and all the while she must also protect her two young sons from danger.
The racist drug lord of the town, Larson, is none too pleased with Mabel's meddling, and his warnings become more pointed as Mabel continues with her investigation. Despite the danger, Mabel realizes that things will never get better for her, or for her boys or anyone else, in her town unless Larson is challenged.
Mabel is a homey, warm-hearted character who wants what is best for her kids and wants fairness and justice for the people of her town. She offers hospitality and a sense of family to those who come to her diner, and is ready with some sass and momma-bear attitude when needed too. As the viewpoint character, her observations about life and the people of a rather dead-end town are both pointed and poignant at times. She carries the reader along in her quest to find the real killer, and the social issues (racism, drug abuse, crime and justice, broken families) that form the backdrop to the mystery are relevant in today's world even though the 1980s setting has a nostalgic feel.
The writing is very good and the characters are believable and balanced. There are a couple of unintentional viewpoint character shifts but overall an impressive debut. I'm not sure the title is a good representation of the story itself, but the setting and the characters are the real deal! It looks like this is the first of a series, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Mabel and the town of Blue River.
From the publisher:
In a 1980s mountain town fueled by the drug trade, a young couple gets into an argument at Mabel's Diner. Then the teen girl winds up brutally murdered, and the black boyfriend automatically jailed. Haunted by the tragedy, big-hearted, big-haired, single mom and waitress, Mabel Davison steps in and asks questions few want answered. But she's unprepared for the secrets she uncovers, and now more lives may be destroyed. including her own.
Get your small-town mystery with a twist today. Fans of original, character-driven investigative mysteries love it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
©2008-2021 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
