Summer of the dead - Julia Keller

The first death came unexpectedly.
An old man attacked outside his home, his murder a shock to the town.
Then the second death came and, with it, fear.

For Raythune County's prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins, the inexplicable killings in Acker's Gap are all she can think about. Everything - the oppressive summer heat, her absent daughter, her troublesome sister - fades into the background as she tries to work out who could be responsible.

As the tension escalates, and suspects begin to emerge, Bell will have to face demons from her own past as she comes head-to-head with a killer bent on destroying all those who stand in their way...

Julia Keller was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. The chief book critic for the Chicago Tribune, she has taught both creative and non-fiction writing at Princeton, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, and won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2005. Her first novel, A KILLING IN THE HILLS, was highly acclaimed is also available from Headline.

A rare talent and a must read
Karin Slaughter

A gripping, beautifully crafted murder-mystery
Scott Turow

A remarkably written and remarkably tense debut. I loved it
Dennis Lehane

A terrific debut - atmospheric, suspenseful, assured. I hope there's more to come in the story of Bell Elkins and Acker's Gap
Laura Lippman

Be careful opening this book because once you do you won't be able to close it. A killer novel
Tom Franklin

Julia Keller's lyrical and evocative prose in Bitter River propels the novel until all you can do is hang on until the final page. Her sense of place is spot-on and bittersweet
C.J. Box