From Publishers Weekly
Fundamentalist Christian snake handlers and liberal back-to-the-landers; a secretive white supremacist militia and undercover police agents; simple rural mountain dwellers and sophisticated urban artistsβthrow in a counterculture commune of allegedly extraterrestrial origin and that still wouldn't cover all the disparate types who populate the Appalachian community of Ridley Branch, N.C., the setting for this well-crafted, dramatic tale of murder, miracles and midlife romance. Widow Elizabeth Goodweather, the 52-year-old proprietor of an herb and flower farm, becomes dangerously involved in a homegrown investigation when a housebound elderly neighbor refuses to accept the official verdict that her retarded yet woods-savvy son's death was accidental. Evocative detail brings the supporting characters vividly to life, as the plot moves between the mountain man's killing and an unsolved historical mystery that appears to eerily mirror the murderous modern scenario. Also admirable is the sensitivity with which Lane utilizes exotic religions to intensify the book's dark-toned suspense, while resisting oversimplification and insult. Her heroine's open-minded fascination with beliefs not her own should appeal to an unusually wide readership._ (June)_
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Review
''[A] well-crafted, dramatic tale of murder, miracles and midlife romance..... Lane utilizes exotic religions to intensify the bookβs dark-toned suspense, while resisting oversimplification and insult. Her heroineβs open-minded fascination with beliefs not her own should appeal to an unusually wide readership.''--Publishers Weekly