Meet the folks of Liberty, New York—newcomer Leeanne Hessinger’s friends, students, co-workers, and boss. Did one of them kill Leeanne? Or did her murky past catch up with her?
Who Killed Leeanne? delivers a twisty mystery but also takes a deep dive into psychological thriller territory as the reader follows aspiring writer Leeanne Hessinger through the last year of her life. As we learn about Leeanne, her past, and the string of bad decisions that define her relations with the Liberty community, the picture of her ultimate demise slowly shifts into focus.
Leeanne and Her New “Friends”
Leeanne, Sheriff Judy Kavleski, and various witnesses and suspects tell us their story as the novel slips back and forth through time. We see Leeanne, escaping a dangerous marriage, arrive in Liberty with little more than a clunker car and a lot of ambition to write the novel burning inside her. She gets a low-paying but rewarding job as a writing teacher in an after-school program and makes a few friends at the Arts Center. But are these people a healthy influence on Leeanne?
The writing presents a keen eye for description of people’s emotional depth as well as setting (see Mira Gibson’s guest post on evocative location, here). The town and its environment function as a character, alluring but also menacing, as are so many of the story characters. Few people in this book are what they appear to be on the surface.
My favorite character was likely Sheriff Judy, channeling the heavily pregnant Marge Gunderson (Frances McDermond) from Fargo combined with the tough, wisecracking Liz Danvers (Jody Foster) in the most recent season of True Detective.
A Compelling Story
Who Killed Leeanne? was a great and quick read—a late night, “one-more-chapter” sort of book that had me guessing right up to the end. I didn’t see the dénouement coming, but it made total sense.
To me this book is begging to be a movie. (Who do I see about that?) The author’s screenwriting background is evident as each scene is visual and highly charged.
The book deals with some heavy topics such as spousal abuse, rape, and teen-age sexual exploitation with sensitivity and grace, but if these themes are a no-go for a particular reader, then perhaps choose another story.
If you found this review of Who Killed Leeanne interesting, you might like to read my review of Grave Regrets.
Click here to order The Big Cinch, new supernatural noir novel from Kathy L. Brown.
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You’ll find my latest Sean Joye short story in the St. Louis Writers Guild’s new members anthology. Love Letters to St. Louis contains my first science fiction story, “Welcome to Earthport Prime: A Self-Guided Tour.” This adorable letter-shaped volume of short stories, poems, essays, and illustrations. Profits benefit the guild’s young writers’ program.