Saturday, November 5, 2011

The Boy Who Shoots Crows-Randall Silvis

The Boy Who Shoots Crows


Randall Silvis

Berkley, Dec 6 2011, $15.00

ISBN 9780425243466



In Cumberland County, Pennsylvania twelve year old Jesse Rankin heads into the woods with a rifle almost every day. Affluent former New York artist Charlotte Dunleavy, who prefers to be left alone, has noticed the tweener’s daily sojourn.



This time Boy Who Shoots Crows fails to come home. Sheriff Mark Gatesman questions the newcomer whose responses are spotty as she suffers from a migraine. However she mentions seeing high school student Dylan Hayes on a tractor in the area where Jesse was last seen.. Assuming foul play, Gatesman suspects Dylan harmed the younger child, but has no evidence beyond a foggy recollection of the painter saying she thought he was nearby.



This is an entertaining police investigative psychological suspense although I have a bias having had a child born in Camp Hill in Cumberland County. The story line looks deep into the minds of the four prime players, but especially the painter. However, that depth also slows down the pace of the search for the missing child. Still the mystery will grip readers as Randall Silvis provides clues and red herrings in plain sight.



Harriet Klausner



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