Let Me Die in His Footsteps

Book excerpt: Everyone knows Hollerans don’t go near Baines. Aunt Juna was the start of all the hatred between the families, and even though she’s been gone a good many years, the hatred has stayed put. On a dark Kentucky night in 1952, exactly halfway between her fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays, Annie Holleran crosses over into forbidden territory. It’s been that way since Joseph Carl Baine was hanged in 1936. But local superstition says that tonight Annie can see her future in the Baines’ well. What she sees instead, there in the moonlight, is a dead woman. And suddenly the events of 1936, events that have twisted and shaped the lives of Annie and all her kin, are brought back into the present. Juna will come home now, to finish what she started. And if Annie is to save herself, her family and this small Kentucky town, she must face the terrible reality of what happened all those years ago. Inspired by the true story of the last lawful public hanging in the United States, Let Me Die in His Footsteps is a gothic masterpiece filled with tension and dread. Lori Roy was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas where she graduated from Kansas State University. After having worked as a tax accountant for several years, Lori began her writing career. Her debut novel, Bent Road, was awarded the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Novel and named a 2011 New York Times Notable Crime Book. Her second novel, Until She Comes Home, was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Novel. Lori serves as treasurer for the Sisters in Crime organisation and is a liaison to the Author Coalition. She currently lives with her family in west central Florida and her most recent novel is Let Me Die in His Footsteps. ‘This Depression-era story is a sad one, written in every shade of Gothic black. But its true colors emerge in the rich textures of the narrative, and in the music of that voice, as hypnotic as the scent coming off a field of lavender.’ New York Times ‘[A] hybrid of mystery, coming-of-age, and Southern gothic literature...It’s taut and evocative—things simmer and sizzle underfoot, and the book practically smells like a lavender field.’ Los Angeles Times ‘A richly detailed, highly suspenseful Gothic novel filled with indelible imagery.’ Huffington Post ‘An atmospheric, vividly drawn tale that twists her trademark theme of family secrets with the crackling spark of the ‘know-how’ for a suspenseful, ghost-story feel.’ STARRED Review, Booklist ‘Powerful...should transfix readers right up to its stunning final twist.’ STARRED Review, Publishers Weekly ‘A Faulkner-ian tale of sex and violence from the Kentucky hills.’ Kirkus 'This is a page turner: it has a tension-filled, gripping plot with quite a few twists and a heart-stopping climax. A brilliant novel that will have readers seeking out earlier works by this talented author.’ BookMooch ‘Primitive beliefs, killings and a public hanging all feature in this brilliantly written novel—southern gothic at its best.’ Listener ‘Let Me Die in His Footsteps is a lyrically written semi-gothic novel...It embraces a powerful atmosphere that glowers from its pages, leaving a dark, brooding impression that is hard to shrug off.’ Stuff NZ