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LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS (AUDIO)
by Lori Roy Read by Andi Arndt and Emily Woo Zeller
Blackstone Audio, June 2015
Unabridged pages
$34.95
ISBN: 1504601882


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In LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, Lori Roy weaves together two stories about rural Kentucky families. The first one is set in 1952 when Annie Holleran turns exactly fifteen and a half, the moment of her "ascension to womanhood." It is a magical time in rural Hayden County when young girls are supposed to sneak off at midnight, peer down a well, and, with the help of a flashlight, see the face of their intended reflected in the water. Later in the summer, a kiss from the chosen man will seal their eternal love.

Annie sees no beau's face in the well, but she and her younger sister, Caroline, do spot the arm of a dead woman at the edge of the bushes. The body turns out to be that of Mrs. Baine, matriarch of a family that has long warred with the Hollerans.

It turns out that once, back in 1936, when Annie's mother, Sarah, and her sister, Juna, were about Annie's age, Mrs. Baine's sweetest son, Joseph Carl, fell for Juna's dark charms and may have had a sexual relationship with her. Or did he seduce her and also kill her younger brother, Dale, who died mysteriously in the tobacco fields? Many did not trust Juna or her accusations because she had black eyes and was a woman with "know how": she could see the future and work magic. Even her own father refused to look her in the eye, avoided her, and seemed to blame her for all that had gone wrong.

Now that Mrs. Baine is found dead, Sarah's daughter, Annie, and others with the "know how" have a terrible feeling that Juna is about to return to stir up more trouble and claim her place in her unwelcoming family.

Lori Roy appears to have done much historical research to piece together the intricate details of the difficult lives of tobacco farmers in rural Kentucky. Before television homogenized Americans, groups like those in Hayden County had their own distinct languages, folklore, and medicinal remedies. (The use of lavender oil in this novel plays a salient part in this novel.)

Though some of Roy's other novels have used multiple narrators (for instance, UNTIL SHE COMES HOME, set in 1950s Detroit), her new venture seems to have jarring jumps between the 1930s and the 1950s. However, Roy's vibrant, descriptive style is brought to life by the two narrators. Emily Woo Zeller reads the part of Annie (1950s) while Andi Arndt tackles the sections about Sarah and Juna (1930s). The two voices help differentiate the alternating stories, which otherwise might be a bit confusing because the two parallel tales have overlapping characters. Both narrators hold their own in portraying various members of the Baines and the Hollerans and come across as native speakers of the local dialect, which is a tribute to their skill.

While LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS is not so artful as UNTIL SHE COMES HOME, those who enjoy historical narratives or Southern Gothics will take great pleasure from this unusual inside account of another America.

§ An avid audiophile, Karla Jay is a retired professor of English and Women's & Gender Studies. She is a frequent contributor to this site.

Reviewed by Karla Jay, August 2015

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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