The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies

November 19, 2007
Hills's gripping fourth John McIntire mystery (after 2006's Witch Cradle
) introduces the Hofer clan, who move to rural St. Adele, Mich., in the 1950s. When Reuben Hofer, an abusive father and husband, is shot dead in his tractor, town constable McIntire investigates and finds few who will miss Reuben. During WWII, Reuben spent time in a camp for rebellious conscientious objectors, not far from St. Adele. His extremely ill wife raised their children mostly on her own, only to have Reuben walk back into their lives and run the household like a prison camp. As word of Reuben's death spreads, strangers show up in town, as does Reuben's rigidly religious sister. Hills weaves her tale skillfully with a plot as richly textured as her Midwestern landscape. Her characters—untamed, reticent, lonely and proud—are exquisitely rendered in this postwar morality tale.

January 15, 2008
In the rural 1950s Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the father of a dysfunctional family is murdered in a field. Soon Constable John McIntire ("Witch Cradle") discovers that the man was far from ordinary and that this case will haunt him for life. Hills uses little-known historical events and facts to give her series pizzazz.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2007
Hills? series, featuring Constable John McIntire of the small town of St. Adele in Michigan's Upper Peninsulain the 1950s, has garnered increasingly positive reviews for atmospheric, suspenseful accounts of murders solved by the protagonist's dogged pursuit. This fourth entry centers on the murder of Reuben Hofer, shot on his tractor in a hay field, a man considered too new to the area to have local enemies. But the investigation turns up various possible motives: Hofer had served a term in the nearby Civilian Public Service camp for conscientious objectors before returning to the area; his slave-driving ways caused his three oldest children to hate him; and his wife?a morbidly obese, sick woman?feared for their children's future with him after her death. While this has a neat (if not altogether happy) resolution, it suffers in comparison to Hills? earlier titles (particularly Hunter's Dance, 2004, and Witch Cradle, 2006), thanks to a less-absorbing plot and a paucity of background for continuing characters. Still, fans of what remains a promising series will want to stay current.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)