By Delia Owens

“Female fireflies draw in strange males with dishonest signals and eat them; mantis females devour their own mates. Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers.”

Where the Crawdad Sings was a book that was out of my comfort zone. I’m not automatically drawn to lush Pat-Conroyish prose or anything with a whiff of Southern Gothic. But I have read and enjoyed such and I was won over by the glowing reviews that promised tragedy, cruelty, and sadness, yes, but also triumph, romance, and victory. The fact that it was a Reese Witherspoon book club selection sealed the deal. The novel delivered on all points. I didn’t read one glowing review that I disagree with.

I didn’t give it 5 stars. The resolution to the murder mystery did not seem supported by the facts, logistics, and evidence. Maybe I should re-read some parts because I felt like the author kind of went behind the reader’s back. But it might just be me. The red herrings were excellent. I wish there had been a more satisfactory outcome with Kya’s lost family. One loose end was tied up very sadly, but there were more left hanging. The trial was good, but lacked some drama. The ending with Tate seemed to be a little rushed and easily won.

So it’s not perfect, but I would recommend it to almost anyone. It’s a better book than many I have given 5 stars to, but it aimed high so my bar was set high.

December 24, 2018