I love books in which a character fleeing trouble or looking for a new start decides to pack their bags and head to hopefully greener pastures. And when Lone Women begins 31 year old Adelaide Henry is escaping a very bad situation. Her parents have been murdered and Adelaide is setting fire to their home.
What happened? Did Adelaide kill her parents or was it someone or something else? Regardless, Adelaide knows she can't stay in Lucerne Valley and so she decides to escape to Big Sandy, MT, a small rural community where the government is giving out free land to anyone willing to make a go of it. Adelaide brings with her some books and a mysterious locked steamer trunk. But if she is looking for safety Big Sandy may not be the place to find it. In fact some of the town's people are as scary as what she is trying to flee from.
Lone Women is a combination western and supernatural horror novel. You find out early what the steamer trunk contains but learning this secret didn't spoil the book for me. Adelaide is a sympathetic character and I became invested in her struggle to escape her past and start a new life. But as Adelaide learns you can't leave your past or your family behind. As much as you may want to move on, the guilt stays with you.
All of the characters we meet in Big Sandy are well drawn and they have their own secrets. I recommend this novel and Victor LaValle is a writer worth checking out.
Oh nicely review. I had this one on my summer list in 2023 and never got to it. But I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Sounds like Adelaide has much to endure and bridges to cross. What did you think of the ending --- was it a big knockdown or a small triumph, lol? It sounds like she needs to move on from the Big Sandy. I will keep LaValle in mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan and the ending was quite something let me tell you but I am happy to say that things turn out well for Adelaide and her friends. It's a horror novel with a satisfying ending.
ReplyDeleteI thought Lavalle did a great job at capturing the time period and setting, though I was underwhelmed at the mystery in the steamer trunk. Maybe because I was expecting this story to lean more towards horror and dark supernatural than it ended up doing. If I'd been expecting just a historical fiction story about lone women in the American West I might have ended up liking it better.
ReplyDeleteA good point in that a book has to be advertised correctly. There are horror elements in Lone Women but it leans more towards historical fiction. I did see elements of the Frankenstein story in Lone Women where you have someone who is different, disabled and is locked away when all they really wanted was to belong.
ReplyDeleteCombining the western genre and supernatural horror sounds unusual. Normally I like unusual stories but I don't lean towards horror. Still, a very interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot to say that I did get a copy of A Redbird Christmas. I am even going to try to read it before the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy, so glad you have a copy of Redbird Christmas. I think you will really enjoy it its heartwarming.
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