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3.72 AVERAGE

mj_86's profile picture

mj_86's review

3.0
dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

eprudden's review

3.75
emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
bookdragon28's profile picture

bookdragon28's review

5.0
adventurous dark mysterious reflective
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
colorqueen's profile picture

colorqueen's review

4.25
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ceruleanseas's review

3.5
dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Weatherly  Wilder has a gift--she can talk the death out of someone, but only once. When her beloved cousin Adaire dies in a bicycle accident, Weatherly is convinced that it was murder. With the help of her friends and the clues that Adaire left behind, Weatherly is going to find out the truth, even if she has to cross the police, the richest family in town, and even her own awful grandmother to do it.

This magic-infused mystery is set in small-town Appalachia, so the dysfunctional family dynamics meet small town gossip from the very beginning. Despite the murder mystery aspect of the story, it ultimately feels like a story about family and learning to escape the cycle generational trauma.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advance Reading Copy of this book!

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lizardlp's profile picture

lizardlp's review

2.5
slow-paced
lacyreads's profile picture

lacyreads's review

5.0

This was so heartbreaking and sad. It was unique and unexpected. The magical realism interwoven with the appalachian folklore. Definitely worth the read.

I don’t think this is bad, just a little too gross for me. 

kimshimsy's review


I gravitate towards books in which Appalachia is the setting. That's what drew me to In the Hour of Crows. I think it's essential that the writer of these kinds of books at least KNOW Appalachia- born there, raised there, lived there. Without firsthand knowledge of the people and the place, Appalachia and its people will become caricatures. Dana Elmendorf seems to have the ethos to write about Appalachia (her biography indicates she was raised in a small town in Tennessee).

In the Hour of Crows feels like Appalachia. The characters and situations are well-drawn, and the storyline is solid. I know these people and these places, as they are as much in my blood as in this story.

I'll be looking for Elmendorf's second book, slated to publish in 2025.