Synopsis
A spellbinding novel of sin and salvation, adultery and revenge in a small Mississippi town...
Once Leona Sayres was a good Southern woman married to the town preacher. But from the day Averill buried her newborn baby girl, Leona has seethed in unspeakable loneliness and rage.
She knows there is only one way to ease her pain. Leona must murder that sensuous man of God, her husband, Averill Sayres.
Suddenly Leona has done the unthinkable. And from out of the silent woods around her parsonage, from the dusty Mississippi hills, come the cries and whispers of her past, of the circumstances that brought her to this time and place: a murderer waiting for justice to arrive.
Reliving a life gone terribly wrong, Leona cannot see that she is only one part of a far more complex drama. For all his lies and secrets, Averill Sayres had secrets beyond her guessing. And for all her talk of loyalty, Leona’s own best friend has played a role in Leona’s fate.
Now Leona cannot stop what she herself has set in motion: a chain of events that will unmask an astounding secret, and change a town and its people forever.
Publishers Weekly
The weaknesses are glaring, but the strengths are undeniable and impressive in this auspicious sophomore effort from the author of Sacred Dust (1996). Despite writing that ranges from lush to florid and characters that sometimes fail to stay in character, this tale of Southern lust and betrayal offers some telling glimpses of serious talent. Set in rural Mississippi, Hill's tale snakes back and forth in flashbacks from 1997 to the present, revealing one truth here and hiding another one there. Heading the cast of troubled souls is Leona Clay, whose comfortable smalltown beginnings dissolve in a torrent of tragedy--father's death, mother's death, unwanted pregnancy, abandonment. Then, perhaps, she finds salvation through marriage to preacher Averill Sayres, who somehow survived an abusive childhood to become a minister. Beautiful Soames Churchill, Averill's benefactress and Leona's friend and patron, plays at being a grand Southern lady while tolerating husband Henri's philandering since it excuses her own. These intertwined stories revolve around the fate of Leona's newborn, stillborn or murdered child and the vengeance Leona seeks in the child's name. The suspense level suffers somewhat because frequent flashbacks disrupt the narrative flow and confuse the chronology of events. Nonetheless, Hill has created some powerful imagery, some memorable characters and an atmospheric setting that will captivate lovers of romantic suspense. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.