Dahlia's Gone

Katie Estill's DAHLIA'S GONE tells the story of three women in a small Ozark town whose separate lives are joined by murder. Not a typical cozy mystery nor a typical suspense thriller in which all ends are tied up in a nice bow, DAHLIA'S GONE stands out as a poetic work of fiction, melancholic in voice, that looks at the lives of women through an almost spiritual eye. DAHLIA'S GONE will appeal to readers craving something a little different from strict genre formulas, readers who love multiple genres, and readers who want to put reading preconceptions aside and to enter the imagination of a book and to be led into new ways of seeing. Norah Everston asks her neighbor Sand Williams to watch in on her two teenage children while she and her husband finally take some time out for themselves and a vacation. Sand agreed without thinking about it even though she had no particular connection to Norah and did not even like her that much. When an intense rainstorm threatens to wash out the bridge, Sand feels guilty for neglecting her promise. She checks on Norah's children only to find Dahlia murdered, her blood drained from the washed body and the mentally disabled son distraught. Unaware and almost detached from his sister's death, Timothy can only pray in a kind of franticness. Sand feels that in one moment of distraction, her word to Norah begins to create unforeseen bonds and complications. Norah now blames her for the horrible disruption to her family and fears the shunning of her fundamentalist church more than anything. Deputy Patti Callahan, the first officer on the scene, discovers that this case will alter her life in unforeseen ways. DAHLIA'S GONE tells the story of how Dahlia's death reverberates in the lives of three women. Dahlia's death separates them from the past, and from others. Sand sees the world as if separated by a camera lens. Dahlia's death alienates Norah from family and church, the two things that have been her foundation and protection from the past. When everything is taken away from her, will Norah crash and burn or will she rise to the challenge? When everything is gone and she can no longer protect herself, will self-destruct or find a richer kind of comfort and spirituality born from sorrow? A sudden shocking revelation tears through the fabric of their lives, not once but twice as the mystery behind Dahlia's murder finally finds resolution. Out of the depths of sadness, can friendship and maybe hope be born? DAHLIA'S GONE captivates with its sometimes eerie, poetic and melancholic narrative voice. Visual imagery is a key to this novel, allowing the reader to feel the character's separation and sadness. The river and water imagery permeates the landscape, building up a view of the deep emotional undercurrents, tinged with a poetic spirituality connecting the characters in this Ozark town. DAHLIA'S GONE is an unusual mystery-suspense read --- and one I adore! DAHLIA'S GONE has a certain spiritual vision that emerges

Reviewed by AJ Cooper for Reader Views (4/07) This is a story of three strong women brought together by the most horrific of circumstances. Sand is the married, free-spirited, next-door-neighbor to Norah. Norah is the mother of two, a son and stepdaughter. Patti is the divorced, local police officer. The first line, "A promise can change a life." stopped me in my tracks and I realized just how true a statement that really is. The disappointment of the first line hits home when Dahlia, Nora's stepdaughter is found dead in her bed with her stepbrother, Timothy downstairs watching television. Norah the stepmother of Dahlia has made Sand promise she will check-up on her kids while she takes a trip with her husband. Sand thought she was doing the right thing in agreeing to help her neighbor since they had watched Sand's house while she was away with her husband. Because of the terrible storm that was going through the area at the time of the discovery Sand was enlisted by the local police to take the crime pictures. The murder ripped the entire town apart and everyone expected that a stranger must have committed this horrible crime. This is an intimate view of the workings of a small town and how quickly the town took sides, many were against Sand because she was after all suppose to be keeping an eye on the kids. The revelation of the killer just about broke the back of the entire town. I could not stop reading this book. The suspense grabbed me and never let go until I read the last word. No one ever expects something bad to happen in their small town and when it does it turns everything upside down. Anyone that enjoys a good mystery will find "Dahlia's Gone" a real pleasure. The words are so descriptive and I can really picture in my mind what is going on. I will be recommending this book to my family and friends.

A gorgeous book, both in appearance and in the skillful writing. I couldn't put it down! The characters were so real, I feel like I've made some friends ( and some that I don't care to meet again) LOL . Katie Estill's skills are remarkable and the Ozarks pictures that she paints are equally as appealing as is the 'flow' of the story she weaves. The psychological nuances are wonderful, making the novel timeless in it's appeal. I plan to tell everyone I meet about this wonderful book!

This is the story of changing relationships -- particularly between women -- set against the backdrop of a horrible murder. It's more than a suspenseful page-turner; it takes us into the minds and lives of people very different from us but for whom we can feel empathy. This is a story that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.

I liked the characters in this book. I was also impressed by how much was evoked within its pages-- emotions, and events, and color, without any sense of hecticness. Big things happen, and I was still left with a sense of the specialness of quiet activities in ordinary life.