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Title details for Before Familiar Woods by Ian Pisarcik - Available

Before Familiar Woods

A Novel

by Ian Pisarcik
Susan C. Hunter
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
On the outskirts of a town too tired for its own happenings, the boys were found dead inside a tent. Three years later, their fathers have disappeared too. Ruth Fenn's son was the boy they blamed. For three years, Ruth has accepted her lot as pariah, focusing on her ailing mother and the children left in her care by the struggling single parents of North Falls, Vermont. But now the additional loss of her husband is too much to bear, and she has no choice but to overcome the darkness or be consumed by it. But as she edges closer to the truth, she begins to uncover some secrets that are better left buried. That's when she meets Milk Raymond, a war vet who comes home to find his nine-year-old son abandoned by his mother. Unable to find work, with no idea how to be a father, Milk turns to Ruth for help. But as the mystery of Ruth's missing husband deepens, the fragile stability Milk has created for Daniel is shattered by the ill-fated return of Daniel's mother, who will stop at nothing to get her boy back. As these unsettled and interconnected lives hurtle towards a devastating conclusion, both Ruth and Milk are about to learn that their dying Vermont town has more secrets than they ever thought possible—and there are those who will do anything to protect them.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 10, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781666552034
      • File size: 234670 KB
      • Duration: 08:08:53

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 27, 2020
      Pisarcik’s outstanding debut begins in the aftermath of a tragedy. Three years after teenagers Mathew Fenn and William Downing died in a burst of violence triggered by heroin and fentanyl, Matthew’s mother, Ruth, remains shunned by the townsfolk of North Falls, Vt. Though everyone in the dying town at least ignores the flood of illegal drugs, Ruth is slowly coming to terms with the fact that she does deserve personal blame; she should have done more to protect her son. Meanwhile, she meets Milk Raymond, an alienated Afghan War vet who’s trying to figure out how to be a father to his son, Daniel, who has been traumatized by his mother’s addiction. Then Ruth’s husband vanishes, along with William’s father. And so Ruth is forced into an awkward, tentative, altogether convincing investigation. Familiar landscapes become quietly ominous as the characters set about doing what they have to do. The action builds toward a devastating yet mildly hopeful conclusion. Pisarcik is a writer to watch. Agent: Alec Shane, Writers House.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      This audiobook is a violence-laced, drug-themed tragedy ably performed by a trio of narrators. It has been three years since two teenage boys were found dead and bloody in the woods under circumstances that the residents of their small town in Vermont are not likely to forget. Ruth Fenn still struggles to understand what happened to her son, Mathew, and his friend, William. Then when Ruth's husband goes missing for a few days, and William's father disappears as well, Ruth's search leads to more than she wants to know. Individual characters are performed by more than one narrator, an interesting choice that adds variety and texture to the presentation. Listeners likely will be impressed by this first novel and its top-notch performers. G.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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