Nightwoods: A Novel

Very disappointing effort compared to Frazier's prior works. I could listen to Cold Mountain (and 13 Moons) every year for the rest of my life. This effort, not so much. I did not care for the reader at all and the story seemed to be going nowhere. I listened to 2 discs and then donated the set to the local libraryl.

Only in Appalachia

The more I think about Nightwoods, the more annoyed I get. After reading the hype in Entertainment Weekly, NY Times, etc., I eagerly pre-ordered the novel on my Kindle. I so wanted to like this novel. And I started reading, and it was beautiful. Frazier is quite the wordsmith and clearly loves his Appalachia.

But, the plot and characters were implausible. Luce, the main character, takes in her slain sister's mute children. Though she insists she has no maternal instinct, she is the epitome of a good mother. Bud, her sister's ex-husband, comes to town to find a hidden stash of money. Lit, the town sheriff, is a surprising relation to Luce and Stubblefield, a schlubby heir to the run-down Lodge, sparks, schlubbily a relationship with Luce.

The plot could have perhaps worked but the characters are so incongruous; their motivations are unreal. So Stubblefield develops a relationship with a recluse with two troubled kids because he remembers her from a beauty pageant when they were teenagers? Bud is a clown of a character. He can't find his way down a mountain but can mastermind murders? And the kids... They have that certain creepiness of the twins from The Shining. Of course they are mute. Of course they communicate in their own language. Of course they love setting things on fire. Of course this is all in response to some terrible, unnamed violence that Bud inflicted on them. Of course...

Erg...! It feels like Frazier wrote character sketches for several different books and then was tasked with throwing them all into one novel. They simply don't make sense, and this book will leave you with more questions than answers. Where do you find these kind of people? Maybe only in Appalachia.

Sometimes this book was difficult for me, mainly because I am a Japanese and not familiar with the southern English.
I thought the ending was dissatisfied. I thought probably the author was thinking a sequential deployment.
I was interested in this author's natural scenic descriptions since I read 'Cold Mpuntain'. So, I hope this novel's following developments
will be issued sometime.

The author takes the reader through detailed lives of dysfunctional characters with interesting descriptions of life in the back woods. I enjoyed Cold Mountain more because the story was more realistically set in time.

Sadly I agree with R.Mullins and Smallgood. I am no literary scholar but know what I like, including Mr. Fraziers' first two novels. This book left me cold, and many things didn't add up. It read like it was written in a hurry and I never was able to get into the plot and found the characters a bit sketchy and not believable. I will always look forward to Frazier's work, this one just fell short in my opinion.

Sadly I agree with R.Mullins and Smallgood. I am no literary scholar but know what I like, including Mr. Fraziers' first two novels. This book left me cold, and many things didn't add up. It read like it was written in a hurry and I never was able to get into the plot and found the characters a bit sketchy and not believable. I will always look forward to Frazier's work, this one just fell short in my opinion.

Charles Frazier set the bar high with his first two novels -- "Cold Mountain" and "Thirteen Moons" -- so I expected nothing short of spectacular with with "Nightwoods". The first two books were filled with lush, captivating prose that transported you back to bygone eras, and left you wanting more. Thus, "Nightwoods" went to the top of my read pile immediately upon its arrival but I was quickly disappointed and found myself looking for other pursuits each evening. While "Nightwoods" possesses some wonderfully crafted passages they were fewer than in Frazier's first two books, and overall I found the plot disjointed and the time period less interesting as well. Perhaps only giving two stars is a bit harsh, but I had expected so much more in "Nightwoods".

There are two authors that I'll read before seeing any reviews of their books - John Irving and Charles Frazier. My only regret concerning Mr. Frazier is that he is not more prolific. I find myself re-reading paragraphs to better appeciate his wonderfully descriptive prose. Nightwoods is not Cold Mountain - one of my five favorite books - but it is an entertainig story told in Mr. Frazier's unique and gifted style.

Cold Mountain was one of my favorite books, beautifully written with characters I cared about and admired. Nightwoods was slow getting into and I did not like any of the characters...all flawed beyond admiration. I felt Frazier's description of the Appalacian Mts. was up to par but I did not care at all for his characters which I did not feel he described very well either. I almost put the book down early but eventually finished and it was not with much of the normal pleasure I get from most books I choose to read. Disappointing!!

Normally Appalachian tales are not my thing, at all. Sorry, Scott Nicholson, I tried and tried. Nothing of a kind in fact, something about small lives in remote backward locations just fail to engage a proper urbanite. But then again a book like this comes along and changes one's mind. At the very least it strongly supports my theory that great writing can make any story worth a while. Frazier's writing is terrific, his narrative just moves with such ease and grace, it's an utter pleasure to read. The story itself is small, nothing boombastic, just a young woman who finds herself stuck taking care of two small and difficult kids (her niece and nephew), a man who takes liking to her despite the challenging situation and a criminal after his cache. It's a solid plot and the narratives are expertly intertwined, but it isn't a thriller, more of a family drama or even a sort of love story if genres must be ascribed and the writing is the real star of the show here. It's a real thing of beauty, enough to make Appalachian backwoods engaging, such strong charismatic characters, particularly the main heroine. Lovely. And lovely book. Recommended.

'Nightwoods' by Charles Frazier is essentially a character study of folks who live in the NC mountains circa 1960. The lead character is a young woman who lives in a desolate lodge and cares for the two uncommunicative children of her murdered sister. Life is rustic and hard. People around her are crude and violent. One particular nasty piece of work comes into their lives which leads them to fear for their safety.

As expected, Charles Frazier does a masterful job in capturing the world of rural mountain folks. The dialogue seems spot on, and everything about the story seems very believable. It's really hard to find fault. However I found it all somewhat unengaging, perhaps the pacing was a touch too slow. It's the sort of book one likes but is hard to recommend to others.

Bottom line: the ugly underbelly of scenic NC mountains is exposed. 'Deliverance' minus the pig squealing.

Cold Mountain was such an exceptional book, one of those novels that picks you up and carries you along on a current of words, something you don't just read, you experience. I waited eagerly for "Thirteen Moons," but was very disappointed. "Nightwoods" didn't make things any better. Frazier's latest novel gives us a Gothic murder mystery set in the 1960s. His first visit to contemporary Appalachia is my least favorite of the three.

The book is slower than "Thirteen Moons" and the lack of dialogue leaves us curiously removed from the characters. The narrative is impassive; we cannot care about characters if the author doesn't. Luce, the heroine of Nightwoods, has no blood in her veins. She is no one we can identify with. Of course she is harboring a secret, so she must be Mysterious. But being mysterious is one thing. Being opaque is another. She never quite comes to life and we never get close enough to see what motivates her. After a while, we don't care.

It's not like Frazier can't create great characters. In Cold Mountain, every character was three dimensional, real, and cannily crafted. It's hard to believe how empty Luce and the other residents of Nightwoods are and how little they stir us.

The lack of dialogue may be the problem. We are seeing the characters from a distance and we never get inside their heads, never feel their emotions. He also gives us the story from three different points of view, a device that is more annoying than effective.

Even the mystery doesn't work. I don't want to be a spoiler, but anyone who has played "Why is this one different from the rest" should figure things out pretty quickly.

SPOILER ALERT!
Since reading Cold Mountain years ago, I had meant to go back and read Charles Frazier’s other novels. I recently finished Varina, the story of Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ wife, and really enjoyed the story and then started immediately started in on this novel. TOTALLY different! It is a strange story and not similar to the previous two novels I had finished but intriguing, to say the least.
A bit over-descriptive with colors, reflections and smells, the strangeness of those two children kept me coming back. I spend summers as a kid in the mountains of North Carolina and this story reminded me of the uniqueness of the people there.
I have to admit....a couple times, here in my SW Florida home, I thought I caught a whiff of wet, rotting leaves and smoke.....
Good read....

The quality of Frasier's prose in Nightwoods is often of such high caliber that it can literally take your breath away. In reference to a character's dreams, Frasier writes: "If you dipped a ladle of that water and drank it, visions would come so dark that you wouldn't want to live in the world that contained them."

The plot though just isn't substantial enough to measure up to the quality of the writing. The premise of the novel feels a bit stale and the characters, while generally well developed, struck me as bit too stereotypical. I never understood why the brother-in-law was so convinced that the two children knew where `his' money was. Since this is a key point and drives his behavior, some of the story felt contrived to me.

I must say though that I was so impressed with the quality of Frasier's writing that I immediately sought out Cold Mountain, a novel I had been intending to read for years. Nightwoods was the first novel I'd read by Frasier but I have since read Cold Mountain (I am a little behind in my reviewing). It may be unfair to compare the two novels but I won't let that stop me. Suffice it to say, Nightwoods, while beautifully written, is a lightweight compared to the power and poignancy of Cold Mountain. Cold Mountain is one of the best novels of the 20th century. Nightwoods is a very descriptive, gorgeously written novel that just doesn't have a compelling enough story and doesn't have enough new or insightful things to say about human events or human nature, for it to truly resonate with the reader.

It's a good novel but it isn't memorable. It didn't make enough of an impression on me. The best thing I can say about it is that it encouraged me to read Cold Mountain.

High in the mountains of North Carolina, a young woman named Luce works as the caretaker at a decaying rustic lodge. When her sister is brutally murdered, Luce takes custody of her sister's two young children, twins who have not spoken to anyone since their mother's death. As Luce works to help the children move past the horrors they have witnessed, two more strangers arrive in town. One is the heir to vast parcels of mountain land, including Luce's own lodge, which may be sold off to pay the estate's mounting debts. The other stranger has even more sinister intentions!

This was a great read--unsettling in parts, but balanced with tenderness. A fast-paced story full of colorful characters, what more could you ask for?

From the author of COLD MOUNTAIN comes a three-part tale of earning trust, showcasing how very good love can be...and how very bad.

Luce grew up in the town on the lake. Everyone figured the pretty cheerleader would up and leave as soon as she could. Her mom had, and her dad... well, he did all right by Luce and her sister Lily, but it wasn't like there was a lot of hugging and mushy words. So what a surprise, then, when Lily was the one who left. She fell in love with Bud Johnson, and the couple ran off to enjoy a bit of wedded bliss. Except it didn't work out that way. Twins came along, and the arguments came more and more frequently until, one day, Bud took care of Lily once and for all. She had it coming, what with hiding away the fortune he had toiled so hard to steal.

"...it wasn't even as if love factored much. Luce didn't expect to love the children, and she sure didn't expect them to love her ever. That was a lot to ask in either direction. But there was something she was feeling toward them, and it had to do with their survival."

While Bud awaited trial for Lily's murder, the State whisked the kids away to stay with Aunt Luce. Life had been simple until then. Caretaker of the lakeside lodge a mile across the water from town, Luce has long prized her isolation. Now her sister is dead, and the children, voluntarily mute and prone to arson, have invaded her peace.

In a perfect demonstration of how the courts sometimes fail miserably, Bud is acquitted. His first thought as a free man is that he wants back what's rightfully his: all that money. And he figures: Where else could it be but with those two little brats? He certainly searched his home enough times and tried to beat the truth out of Lily. Instead, he killed her before she told him where she had it squirreled away.

As Bud's love was turning to violence, young Mr. Stubblefield's is starting a slow burn. As the new owner of the lodge, Stubblefield is pleasantly surprised to find Luce there, bringing back memories of the crush he had on her years before. Well, maybe it never really went away.

Unused to male attention, Luce doesn't exactly welcome Stubblefield's new presence in her life, but she doesn't push him away either. At least not too forcefully. But Luce isn't one to let romance of whatever sort you might call it distract her. The children must come first. Stubblefield doesn't seem to mind. In fact, they become the glue that binds them all together. Of course, Bud wants to change all that.

With the beauty of the Carolina mountains as a backdrop, Charles Frazier tells this unforgettable story of a woman whose amazing strength and fierce defense of her beliefs rip her world apart, yet who pushes on toward a better life. And not just for herself. NIGHTWOODS is Frazier's pinnacle achievement to date.

Reviewed by Kate Ayers

This beautifully written tale evokes the scenery of Appalachia in all its wild splendor and also examines the issue of what constitutes love -- and what it means to be a human.

Luce, the main protagonist, a former beauty scarred by a youthful rape, lives alone in a giant abandoned lodge by the edge of a lake surrounded by mountains. Suddenly she is confronted with the challenge of looking after the two children of her murdered sister. The kids are so abused and traumatized that they barely speak. They are like feral kittens, untamed, uncivilized, apt to set things on fire, trusting only of each other.

Meanwhile the murderer Bud has been freed due to the incompetence of a young prosecuting lawyer and slippery tactics of a veteran defense attorney. He has the idea the kids know something -- and also that Luce has a stash of money hidden somewhere in the lodge.

We also meet Stubblefield, the young heir to the lodge who becomes besotted by Luce. Stubblefield must gain the trust of the scarred Luce just as Luce must somehow reach into the damaged souls of the two kids, Dolores and Frank. And both must somehow deal with the brutal and psychotic Bud.

My one criticism of this book is that the climax failed to deliver the emotional punch that seemed to be building. That sense of menace, of malevolence unchained, is in the end too easily turned aside. But I do heartily recommend this novel for lovely writing that matches the scenery it describes and for a touching and selfless love story that speaks to the possibility of redemption and the necessity to confront evil.

It is easy to picture Frazier as a writing instructor: classes full with a waiting list; every instruction clear and visualized, so easy to obtain. Frasier’s words literally roll around the tongue with such satisfaction the reader is reluctant to let them go. He writes with knowledge beyond human years of a setting of which he has become a part. I regret only that I have read all but one of his books, which I will enjoy next, but slowly to allow enough time for another to be created.

Luce lives alone in the woods and prefers it that way. Then the preschool twins of her murdered sister are given to her and she struggles to turn them from their troubled and destructive ways. Meanwhile the killer is hunting for something, and it may involve her or the twins.

Frazier introduces us to a variety of characters and gradually brings them into the story. Sentences are often fragments, so we get the impression of scenes and ideas coming as thoughts. And this brings a sense of intimacy. We are there, not only in the vividly described scenes but also inside a character's attitude, made believable by providing background and a taste of local culture. The pace is leisurely and deep, as expected of a literary novel. Nevertheless, as the story progresses in unexpected ways, suspense builds to an unpredictable but realistic ending.

Here is a fascinating tale, worthy of a reader's attention.

What an interesting story! The characters in this book are definitely quirky and extraordinary.

Luce lives alone in a large old lodge in the hills of North Carolina on the other side of the river from the small town, deciding to stay on after the owners die because "why not? Who else will look after the place?" She is a reclusive woman and everything there suits her just fine until her twin niece and nephew arrives, which really upsets the apple cart of her ordinary and independent life.

After her sister is murdered by her husband, Luce becomes guardian of her children. She is anything but thrilled about this arrangement, but tries to make the best of it because the children have no where else to go.

The children refuse to talk and always get into some sort of trouble, such as setting fire to things and killing chickens. Luce does her best to control them but it is very difficult, if not impossible, yet she refuses to believe they may be retarded and thinks they are very smart and just traumatized from the whole situation of their mother being murdered.

Luce walks everywhere she goes, to the small village for the few needs she has and to the neighbors, an old woman who makes potions and homemade remedies. Luce is quite a fascinating character and at times it almost seems as if she is living her life on auto-pilot and walking around in a daze or trance, but then the children will do something deplorable and she must act and try to talk some sense into them.

The scheming brother-in-law eventually returns thinking that Luce has the money her sister hid from him.

I loved all the description in this book and the unforgettable characters, although at times it moved so slow I thought it would be hard to read another page, but then it would take off again. Otherwise, the writing meanders all over with flowing descriptive sentences and Luce's quirky character traits and daily rituals. When thinking about it, it does make you wonder if oddness just doesn't run in the family genes.

Despite the slowness of this overall story, I enjoyed the descriptions very much and those put you right in the story with the characters and the beautiful scenery of the hills.

A definite dislike is no quotation marks at all. This was hard to figure out at first. I've never seen another book written this way. Please use quotation marks next time because it would be much easier to read. I would give it three stars for that, but the story was very interesting and memorable so I'm giving it four.

Part love story, part thriller, this is a hugely atmospheric story set lovingly in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. It's impossible not to get a feeling for the landscape from this book.

If you have read Charles Frazier's "Cold Mountain", or indeed seen the film, then you'll have a fair idea what to expect from his latest offering - "Nightwoods". As with "Cold Mountain", the landscape of the Appalachians is the dominant character, this time set in the 1950s. He even manages to get his requisite bear into the story although thankfully it fares rather better than the unfortunate beast in his first book. The dark, oppressing majesty and beauty of the mountains and woods pervades the whole story.

The story centres around Luce, a loner who lives a reclusive life as the caretaker of an old hunting lodge in North Carolina. Why this young woman has sought the solitude of live on the edge of the lakeside town is explained. It's a sad tale of rural misunderstanding that means that even her father, the local police officer, has no contact with her despite living so close by. When Luce's sister, Lily is murdered, Lily's traumatized twins show up on Luce's doorstep bringing the real world into her life in dramatic ways. The two children don't speak although initially it is unclear if this is a result of their trauma. At around the same time, her benefactor for whom she has been looking after the lodge dies and his grandson comes to the town to check out his inheritance.

The darker element of the story arises when Lily's ex-husband is freed by the court of her murder and, convinced that there is a missing horde of cash which surely the children have, he too arrives in the town.

The book is, then, something of both a romance and a thriller. Trust is hard won in Frazier's rural North Carolina. The development of the relationship between both Luce and the twins, who at first are hell bent on setting everything alight, and Luce and the grandson is slowly drawn out. Initially they are unaware of the threats that present themselves in the form of Lily's ex-husband Bud, but all that is about to change.

The story-telling is convincing but what is most evident is the love for the landscape. In Frazier's novels, often the characters have more communication with the landscape than with each other and this is again true here. Some of the descriptions are beautiful, but if you are looking for a fast paced story, as the basis of this book might lead you to expect, you will be disappointed. Things seldom happen fast in Frazier's books.

Rather, the story simmers along and the sense of drama slowly engulfs the reader like a mountain fog moving down a valley. It has heaps of atmosphere and texture.

REVIEW:

The owner of a remote lodge in North Carolina has died. Luce has been living there as caretaker. Luce is a very interesting character and a person all of her own. As you get to know her in the book, she becomes even more interesting. She is not only the caretaker of the lodge but now she is caretaker of her twin niece and nephew, Frank and Delores. Their mother had been murdered by their father. the children are more than a handful. They won't talk. They are always getting into trouble of one sort or another. Luce feels they have been abused. While all this is going on, a cold blooded killer has just been found not guilty of murder. Bud goes back to find Luce for the money from one of his robberies. His wife had hidden it. The author is very descriptive, just a little too descriptive for my taste.. He describes rural Appalachia in quite detail.

I thought I would really like the book since COLD MOUNTAIN was such a good read. The problem I had with the book was that I got lost in the wording of the sentences. The dialogues didn't seem to flow evenly.I didn't care for having to re-read some of it because it didn't click the first time. Finally, the book did open up and it became a good enough read. I just thought I would like it more than I did. Hopefully there is a new book on the horizon that will awe all of us. This is my own personal opinion, Everyone should read it and conclude for themselves how they feel about it. Everyone sees things differently.

I would give this book 3 STARS

I was given a complimentary copy of this book NIGHTWOODS by the author Charles Frazier for this unbiased review.

I experienced a sense of deep sadness when I finished Mr. Frazier's most recent book for two reasons: 1) I had grown fond of the characters and setting of this tale and 2) he has no other books (that I can find) on the horizon. The wait for the next visit to Western North Carolina will be too long in coming (even if it were next week). When it does arrive, however, it will be met with the excitement akin to meeting a returning family member who has been on an extended trip. Such is the ability of this author to create a story, people it with "real" characters, and place it in an area of rugged beauty with sufficient description to allow the readers' imagination to paint a lush picture of the setting of their own imagining.
Nightwoods is set in the early 1960's, a time of innocence on the brink of huge change. With the exception of the villain, all of the characters are identified by their "Christian" name, a technique that heightens the feeling of being in a small town and gives near immediate intimacy. The story is told in alternating points of view related in the third person, in so doing, Mr. Frazier brings the reader into the mind of his characters with the added benefit of enough distance to get a clear picture of where the character "is" relative to the story. The six months the book covers in the events of this hamlet is short enough not to lag but long enough for the reader to become involved with this community.
Luce is almost a hermit, living in the lodge of an abandoned resort in the mountains of North Carolina. She enjoys the solitude, connection with nature and the freedom she has as caretaker of this property. When her sister, Lily, is murdered, Luce is left with caring for her sister's children - Delores and Frank - twins who were damaged before they witnessed their mother's death - who use fire in an attempt to alleviate the pain they experience. How she protects these children from the murderer, seeks to help them heal and how to reconnect with people who are safe and care for them fills the pages of the novel with breath and the tension needed to make the words "live."
In the process of watching Luce tend to her charges, the reader learns the reasons for her isolation, as her niece and nephew are not the only broken members of this family, and glimpse the truth of the reality that we help others heal from the depths of our own woundedness. Luce does not feel up to the task of raising the children, wants nothing more than to be left alone in the beauty of a decaying landscape yet she finds the internal resources to absorb their pain and being to heal from her own. When she faces the most horrific of her fears that strength is proven to be made of steel. Afterward, when the question arises as to whether or not the threat has "been taken care of," she can sit quietly with the question of that ambiguity because she knows she possesses the strength to face what she must for those she loves and whom love her.
This book reaches to the core of family, community and the hope that, in some way, the "simple days" can be regained. It also reveals that the "simpler time" was only not that simple. People still hurt one another, betrayal was common yet people still chose to love others, take responsibility for family and live a life that is full. All while, somehow, facing down threats to a stalemate and living with the probability that those demons would reappear. Now, as then, we get up when we fall down and learn how not to fall in the same way again.

Luce lives contentedly in her isolated life until she is given the care of her murdered sister's two young children. Damaged and made distrustful of people by their experience, Luce tries to find ways to get through the protective shell they have developed to keep out the world - a world that becomes ever more threatening as their step-father arrives in town.

Charles Frazier has written a thoughtful and thought-provoking book here. He slowly introduces us to each of the characters, allowing time for us to understand what has shaped each one and brought them to this place at this time.

The theme of survival runs strong through the book. Luce's own story is as bleak as that of the children but her strength has made her able to carve out a lifestyle that gives her contentment. When that contentment is threatened, the characters are plunged into a different kind of struggle for survival as they find themselves having to face the dangers of the wooded mountainside in winter.

The author conveys a real sense of place and time. The description of the small-town community in the `50s comes over as completely authentic; and the natural world of the mountain, woods and lake is depicted in a way that gives a sense of power and timelessness to set against the brief and petty struggles of humans.

This is not a car-chase, gun-shooting type of thriller - it is much more than that. A slow-burner, building an ever-increasing atmosphere of fear and unease. But there is also warmth here, room for hope and kindness and love. A beautifully written, haunting novel - highly recommended.

NB This book was provided for review by the store Vine UK

The writing is exquisite. His descriptions of the physical world are gorgeous. But what really fascinated me is how he could so delicately reveal to us all the complex characters in this book. Unlike another reviewer, I found the main characters extremely likable. Luce, Stubbefield and the children just gripped me with their innocence and vulnerability. The tension of all the moving parts of this book makes it a real pager turner.
Highly recommend.

On many levels, "Nightwoods" qualifies as a thriller. Charles Frazier crafts the novel by creating characters we care deeply about, while leaving enough distance between the characters and the reader to keep us guessing right up to the climax of the book. But this is far more than a page-turner. Frazier is a spare but lyrical writer whose craft is finely honed, and he uses several conceits in this novel that creep up on you slowly but surely. In many ways, this is a tale of good versus evil, but the shades of gray between black and white are often blurred. The one truly evil character is clearly drawn, as are the heroes and victims, but there are several characters who contribute to the evil and stymie the heroes unwittingly, fewer who help the needy characters, and even one animal character whose self-preservation instinct turns out to be heroic.

The main story and characters are fascinating, but we get to know them only by skipping back and forth in time, which demands attention to detail and nuance. He also surprises the reader with the relationships he reveals between and among the characters.

The first sentence is a stunning introduction to three of the main characters: "Luce's new stranger children were small and beautiful and violent." Luce, a near-hermit young woman who ekes out a minimalist living acting as caretaker for an abandoned resort lodge, has been made guardian of her murdered sister Lily's twins, a boy and a girl aged about 6 who have been traumatized by witnessing their mother's murder. The murderer, her sister's husband Bud Johnson, is a low-level criminal with a high-level hair-trigger violent streak. His guilt in stabbing Lily with a butcher knife in front of the children is obvious to readers, but he is acquitted by a jury that believes his lawyer's contention that Lily was a near-whore who deserved what she got, and that the only witnesses, now mute, are believed "feebleminded." Frazier's story arc follows Johnson as he tracks the children to Luce's isolated lodge looking for a cache of stolen money Lily hid from him.

The web of the tale draws in Stubblefield, the ne'er-do-well heir to the lodge who remembers the beautiful young Luce from his summers spent in the small town, Lit, the local sheriff, Lola, Luce and Lily's unmaternal mother, and Maddie, an elderly neighbor who is one of the few people Luce and the twins trust.

As the characters become more familiar and the story develops, the reader is lead into a deeply entangled tale that becomes more menacing with each page. As the climax develops, it's really an edge-of the seat thrill to read on to the end.

I loved the atmospheric quality of Frazier's "Cold Mountain," and this book has that same sense in many ways. The mystery and menace Frazier adds here is something a reader of that previous bestseller might not expect, but the thrilling nature of "Nightwoods" is exciting and gripping.