A teenage girl uncovers the dark secrets of her Smoky Mountain town while searching for a missing classmate in this gripping coming-of-age mystery perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.
Nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Beulah has always seemed steady—rooted in tradition, shaped by generations, and slow to change. But in 1986, the ground has shifted, and no one feels that more than fifteen-year-old Barrett Childress Owens. Between her parents’ unraveling marriage and a school full of kids she can’t connect with, she feels invisible in her own hometown.
When Lacy Gunderson, the captivating new girl everyone is curious about, suddenly vanishes, the town’s calm surface fractures. Search parties comb the woods. A police investigation begins. Rumors multiply. Families close ranks. And Barrett begins to sense how much the adults around her choose not to say. As Beulah clings to its usual rituals—including the annual Miss Kudzu pageant, which has shaped local girlhood for decades—Barrett is forced to navigate a community where loss lingers in the air and secrets are carefully kept. Her journey through the uncertainty reshapes her understanding of friendships, family, and the complex place she calls home.
A rich coming-of-age story with a pulse of mystery and a budding romance, What Happened in Beulah explores the fault lines of a small town and the courage it takes to face the truths people would rather bury.
What did I think?
I got a lovely surprise when I opened the cover of What Happened in Beulah as there's a map! I love poring over maps in a book and it really helped to visualise the town of Beulah before I had even read a single word.
The main character is a teenager and I loved her unique and evocative voice that seemed to speak to me through Christy Scott Cashman's beautiful prose. Seeing the world through Barrett's eyes is very refreshing and honest as she navigates friendship, family and her first crush.
It is so much more than a coming-of-age story though as someone in Beulah is hiding a dark secret from the past. When one of Barrett's classmates goes missing, the community start pointing fingers rather than rallying together. As awful as it is that a young girl has gone missing, it is perfectly balanced by Barrett being very entertaining and often amusing.
What Happened in Beulah is a haunting, poignant and compelling tale steeped in mystery and atmosphere. I couldn't put it down once I picked it up and I really couldn't have predicted the ending. Fantastic!
I received a gifted paperback to read and review for the Novel Tours Instagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment