Appalachian Prey

After having left twelve years ago, Lilah Tedder came back to oversee her father’s affairs. Chauncy Tedder was murdered a week ago; Chauncy might have had a moonshine operation, but he wasn’t into drug dealing, which is one of the first things Lilah heard after her return to Lavender Mountain. Three months before, Lilah had visited, and during her break she and local deputy Harlan Sampson spent a glorious week together. Lilah was hoping for more, until Harlan confessed that he wanted to run for the sheriff’s office soon, and well… that being associated with the Tedder name was a liability, which was never said but hung in the air nonetheless. There are no leads into the Chaucy Tedder murder, but when a second murder occurs, Lilah starts to fear for her own life, and that of her unborn child… Debbie Herbert paints such a vivid picture of the small hillbilly town, along with the very complex family dynamics and the innumerable secrets that everybody hides, that I shared Lilah’s unease at being seen as a pariah, even though she is an upstanding citizen. Lilah and Harlan’s romance is tenuous, mostly because of his reservations about Lilah, his future, and his inability to acknowledge his feelings towards Lilah. This is done so carefully, that the reader knows no more than Lilah how Harlan will behave; it was unsettling, and precisely how it should be done. I would have liked to have a few more details about Lilah and Harlan’s relationship prior to their week together, because I was never quite sure if they had known each other before that time, or how well they had. Lavender Mountain, being a small town, I presumed they had known each other, but I don’t recall reading anything about it. Lilah and Harlan are strong, solid characters, but the secondary characters blew me away; they are exceptionally well crafted, and there was no way of guessing who was involved in what, or to what extent, or why. I love the cover, but to some degree it influenced my reading experience: the cover model is heavily pregnant, while Lilah is not even showing. I think some scenes would have had more impact had Lilah been further along in her pregnancy, especially towards the end. However, the author most likely had no say in the decision for the cover design. In any case, Lilah was a formidable and entirely believable heroine, and that is what really matters in the end. APPALACHIAN PREY is a rolling stone that gathers a lot of moss! While the main story arc appears to cruise right along in a linear fashion at a steady pace, the many layers soon begin to add up: Leah’s family, Harlan’s ambivalence, cold case murders; until all the ugly secrets are revealed and it all culminates in a rather scary – and so very realistic – conclusion, because of those masterfully drawn secondary characters. In a very subdued way, APPALACHIAN PREY captures your attention until you cannot stop reading because the more you learn, the more riveting it is. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I give 4 ½ stars

Emotionally gripping, action packed second chance romantic adventure filled with danger, passion and mystery. Highly entertaining and intriguing new world I can't wait to revisit. Lilah Tedder is a sassy and sexy mother to be that also happens to be the daughter of moonshiner and was trying her hardest to escape her families reputation and the one man she gave her heart to. When fate and her fathers murder pull her back home. Harlan Sampson is a sexy, strong and stubborn alpha male with the goal of being elected sheriff. He has been warred more than once to stay away from Lilah and her family but the undeniable attraction they have is more than magnetic. Loved every heart pounding twist in this gripping adventure.

This book is outside my comfort zone (I usually stick to fantasy and sci-fi), so I imagine that it rates at least 4-stars for those who normally frequent this genre. Interesting story, well written, and no plot holes. I will recommend this book to other readers.