Harper Muse
384 Pages
Sometimes you pick up a book on a whim and it is so good that you wonder where that book has been waiting. Such is the case with Tell Me Something Good by Court Stevens. This is her first adult novel and I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down and read it in a single reading session. I stayed up way too late on a work night to get to the end of this one.
The book starts with a heinous tragedy that hasn’t happened yet, but very well could, depending on what happens in the next three hundred pages. This terrible event could be the product of at least one other awful event in the backwoods of Kentucky. Old murders and new murders drive the narrative. It is an example of class warfare at its very base. If you have some money, you might end up in Bent Creek. Meanwhile in Luxor, it’s a hardscrabble life, a life so tenuously holding on that the school district cannot pay to fuel the buses. The Haves and the Have-Nots are shown in stark ugliness.
When the original murders took place two decades before, it was passed off as not a local problem since there were similarities to a Texas crime. The locals shrugged their shoulders and quickly forgot about the sinister deed. Except they didn’t. The ripples from that moment still upset the surface today, dictating who talks to who, and what relationships can be formed. In a small town where everyone knows everyone else and everyone talks, there are still secrets that can upset the status quo.
This is a story about more than just the characters who live in these two towns. This is the story of a small community, struggling to remain relevant in a world that has seemingly left them to their own devices. From the opening pages, this book was captivating. The strings that tied all the characters together crossed, knotted, and frayed. As a reader, I eagerly turned the pages trying to decipher the relationships. Just when I thought I might have it figured out, I was thrown for a loop and dove in for a deeper read.
Court Stevens gives us a narration that is very unique. I was amazed at how well it was done. As I was reading it, I couldn’t help but imagine a narrator doing a voice over for a dramatic television show. It flowed so naturally. This voice immediately drew me in and made me feel like I was a part of the story. I was immersed in the tale that was being told.
The author’s characters could walk off the page. They are fully fleshed out and have differing personalities that draw the relationships closer together with incredible realism. You will want to root for the good guys and boo the bad guys. Sometimes it’s not easy to tell which side a character is on, and that echoes real life. The harder you try to pigeonhole a character, the more Stevens frustrates you with their actions. I loved it all.
In the end, the reasoning behind the crisis from the first pages being adverted or happening is deftly done. I was not ready for that surprise, but it made the whole rest of the book make sense in a way that will surprise you. It worked so well.
I cannot stress enough how much I loved Tell Me Something Good by Court Stevens. I would highly recommend it to everyone who is a reader, and even to those who generally aren’t. I sincerely hope that Stevens writes more adult fiction. As it is, I may have to take a gander at some of her young adult fiction just to see if I feel the same things for them as I did with this book. Regardless, Court Stevens is a new voice that I want more of.
Craig Bacon wants to write a book about a small town that rings as true as this book. Small towns are the heartbeat of the country, regardless of what those city dwellers think.