Ratings2
Average rating3.5
From critically acclaimed author David Joy comes a remarkable novel about the cover-up of an accidental death, and the dark consequences that reverberate through the lives of four people who will never be the same again. When Darl Moody went hunting after a monster buck he's chased for years, he never expected he'd accidentally shoot a man digging ginseng. Worse yet, he's killed a Brewer, a family notorious for vengeance and violence. With nowhere to turn, Darl calls on the help of the only man he knows will answer, his best friend, Calvin Hooper. But when Dwayne Brewer comes looking for his missing brother and stumbles onto a blood trail leading straight back to Darl and Calvin, a nightmare of revenge rips apart their world. The Line That Held Us is a story of friendship and family, a tale balanced between destruction and redemption, where the only hope is to hold on tight, clenching to those you love. What will you do for the people who mean the most, and what will you grasp to when all that you have is gone? The only certainty in a place so shredded is that no one will get away unscathed.
Reviews with the most likes.
This book started off strong, was pretty sluggish at the mid-way point, and ended in damn near amazingland. Yeah, you've been there.
“Blurred lines” a Coen bros film. That's what this book should be called. Almost everything was two sides of the same coin and it was super worthwhile.
Protagonist vs. Antagonist? Blurry.
Right vs. Wrong? Blurry.
Piety vs. Perversion? Blurry.
Perhaps the shining accomplishment of this tale was the gorgeous scene setting. Every leaf sagged under the the dew of Joy's love of Jackson County. I kid you not, I have not often been so totally transported to a story's locale like I was with this one. What's more? Joy found a way to make even the landscape a chatacter in the story. He used it to provide exposition and to set tone and to inspire feeling and it was wonderful.
Fair warning: It's a bit dark-ish.