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In the 1960s, Chloe Newcombe often visited her brother James, in Venice California, where he rented the bottom portion of a home lived in and owned by his good friend, Erica Hill. The three lived an open and free hippy lifestyle together for many years. But, as often happens with the passage of time, people's lives change. Chloe ended up in New York as an investigator, James died of AIDS, and Erica retreated to the Arizona desert. When James's boyfriend also dies, he wills his Arizona home to Chloe. She then decides to start a new life in Dudley, Arizona, as a victims' advocate. The job includes helping witnesses and violent crime survivors to get their lives back in order. One part of Chloe's job is to teach a class in Victim Witness volunteer training. At the start of one class a familiar looking woman comes in and Chloe realizes that it is Erica Hill. Chloe and Erica hadn't seen each other in many years and Erica suggests that they get together to have a talk. Chloe agrees but truthfully, she has no intention of ever meeting Erica. She's not certain why, but she doesn't want to see her. Even when she catches sight of Erica and her son, Troy, around Dudley, she doesn't stop to talk to them. Erica never returned to the class and so the two never did get together. A short while later, Chloe receives a call to go to a crime scene to help calm down a witness. The new bookmobile lady was killed and the witness who found the body was upset. The witness was an elderly lady, Dot Stone, and the murdered bookmobile lady was Erica Hill. Chloe then feels terrible that she never met with her old acquaintance. Guilt makes her certain that if she had met with her friend, then somehow her involvement could have helped and saved Erica from being killed. When Troy Hill is accused of his mother's murder, Chloe decides to see if she can figure out what was going on in Erica's life. Chloe learns that she wasn't the only 'friend' who had turned her back on Erica. It seems that she had asked to talk to many people in Dudley. None of them thought Erica was worth the time or trouble. Chloe then takes it upon herself to discover what secret her old friend held. HIGH LONESOME ROAD is one of the best mysteries I've ever read. I had no inkling who the murderer was until the last few pages of the book. Betsy Thornton filled this novel with some wonderful characters: Dot Stone, a strong widow who refuses to leave her home even when she is sure the murderer will come for her next; Stuart Ross, Troy's lawyer, who also knew Erica in the past and shows a present day interest in Chloe, and Kyle Barnett, a former detective in the Dudley area until he killed a man and then moved to another city. Another wonderfully crafted character is Erica herself, who, even though she was murdered early in the book, is still a big part of the town and the story. The author describes the Arizona desert with great care and beauty. Not only does her prose make you feel as if you can almost see the sunsets, she also perfectly describes the pecans that grow from Dot's trees. Thornton gives us an excellent mystery in a superb book. The reader is introduced to a range of people who might have killed Erica, and I wasn't able to figure out who the murder was until the very end. HIGH LONESOME ROAD is a fantastic book, not only because the mystery aspect of it is so well thought out, but also because the characters are people who will interest and appeal to you. All the inhabitants of this book continue live with you for a while after you've finished reading. The book also makes you wonder if the friend you decided not to have coffee with the other day might have had something important to tell you.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, May 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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