The Unquiet Grave cover art

The Unquiet Grave

A Novel

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

$14.95/mo. after 30-day free trial. Cancel anytime.
Try for $0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for $28.85

Buy Now for $28.85

About this listen

 From the New York Times bestselling author of Prayers the Devil Answers and The Ballad of Tom Dooley, a “fascinating historical fiction novel you won’t be able to put down” (Bustle) based on one of the strangest murder trials in American history—the case of the Greenbrier Ghost.

Lakin, West Virginia, 1930: Following a suicide attempt and consigned to a segregated insane asylum, attorney James P.D. Gardner finds himself under the care of Dr. James Boozer. Testing a new talking cure for insanity, Boozer encourages his elderly patient to share his experiences as the first black attorney to practice law in 19th-century West Virginia. His memorable case: defending a white man on trial for the murder of his young bride—a case that the prosecution based on the testimony of a ghost.

Greenbrier, West Virginia, 1897: Beautiful, willful Zona Heaster has always lived in the mountains. Despite her mother’s misgivings, Zona marries the handsome Erasmus Trout Shue, Greenbrier’s newest resident and blacksmith. Her mother learns of her daughter’s death weeks later. A month after the funeral, Zona’s mother makes a chilling claim to the county prosecutor: her daughter was murdered, and she was told this by none other than Zona’s ghost...

With her unique and “real knack for crafting full-bodied characters and using folklore to construct compelling plots” (Booklist), Sharyn McCrumb effortlessly demonstrates her place among the finest Southern writers at work today. Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Thriller & Suspense Ghost Murder Haunted Crime Mystery West Virginia
All stars
Most Relevant
The Unquiet Grave is a good novel. As a reader, the character of Mary Jane Heaster,stands out from a lot of other fictional mothers ,as one of the most remarkable. If she had been a lawyer, she would make sure, that justice has been served. She also is someone ,that supports her children and also challenges them.
In some of these stories, you either never see the mothers, or they are unreliable and/or vicious self serving
females , who hate their daughters.
As a reader , it is refreshing to see a mother who will go the distance fir her child, even though the child is headstrong and spoiled , as was the said' Zona '. Why doesn't every writer follow Suit?
She is the centre of the story and for once legend, becomes more than a fancy. Sharyn Mccrumb has written 12 ballad novels and two other series. Her characters are robust and relatable. we need more writer like her.

Mary Jane Heaster

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.