A must-read suspense

Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins is a fast-paced suspense novel that is hard to put down. From page one, the reader is drawn into a clever plot with lovable characters; three women who believe someone they know is a serial killer in their small Southern hometown of Amaryllis, Mississippi. The catch is that they all think it's someone different.

The chapters vacillate between the characters' points of view, each unique and well-developed. Cherrie Mae is a scholarly and spunky widow who has cleaned houses her entire adult life. One day she snoops in the wrong place and opens up a can of worms. Tully is a pregnant nineteen-year-old married to the baby's father, who happens to be volatile and abusive. Deena is a practical hairdresser who knows everybody in town. She is very protective of her abnormal brother.

 Woven throughout the story are snippets of a report written by a native of Amaryllis who no longer lives there, but is in love with Deena. He won a Pulitzer Prize for the article on the closet killings, which have been occurring for three years. I found this a clever way to provide the reader with backstory. Another feature in this book which I particularly like is the inlusion of a glossary with famous quotes used throughout the story by Cherrie Mae. Also, the favored discussion questions can be found in the back.

I loved Gone to Ground and would have read the entire novel in one sitting if their were enough hours in the day. It reminded me a bit of The Help by Kathyrn Sockett (which I previously discussed here), although the storyline is completely different. Read it and you'll see what I mean.

*Added bonus-- This book is suitable for adolescents and adults.*