Deer Season by Erin Flanagan ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

 

“The list of what one person would never understand about another went on and on.”

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

September 2021; NEBRASKA; 978-1496226815
ebook, print (320 pages); mystery

It's 1985 in a small town in Nebraska -- one of those towns where everyone always knows everyone's business - and one of the teenage girls has just gone missing.  Did she run away or has someone taken her?  Everyone in town has an opinion and they've found the person that they think is responsible.  Meanwhile, her younger brother has to grow up fast as his family deals with the disappearance.

The story is told by two people - Milo, the 12-year-old brother of Peggy, the missing girl, and Alma, a farmer's wife.  Alma was a city girl who was talked into moving to the farm after her in-laws died.  She wasn't sure about the move but after numerous miscarriages, she knew that she needed a change.  No matter how hard she tried, the townspeople never really accepted her and she covers her loneliness with a brash personality to make people think that she doesn't care if she's accepted.  Alma and her husband hired a mentally challenged young man to help on the farm and try to help him out.  Alma is more than a mother to him as his own mother.  As the search for the missing girl goes on - Hal begins to look more guilty.  The day after the girl went missing - Hal's truck bed was full of blood and his bumper was dented and everyone knew that he had a crush on Peggy. He claimed that he shot a deer on opening day and that all of the blood was from the deer.  As the townspeople blame him more, Alma and her husband take care of him and protect him from harm.

Milo was Peggy's younger brother.  They were close and he knew that she often sneaked out of the house and got drunk.  He's very aware of what's going on but tries to stay calm for his parents.  He is forced to grow up quickly but he was a fantastic character and really was the heart of the book as he dealt with the issues of his sister's disappearance.

Deer Season is well written and full of interesting characters - Milo was my favorite.  There is a definite dichotomy of the normal day-to-day life - working in the barn, riding the school bus, going to the grocery vs the search for Peggy and the secrets that come out during the search.

I almost didn't pick this book up - I didn't want to read about deer hunters but I sure am glad that I did.  It kept me reading long into the night to see what happened to Peggy.  This is the first novel by Erin Flanagan and I look forward to her future books.

 

Buy Deer Season at Amazon

 

 

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina with her husband of over 50 years.  She grew up in Michigan but now calls North Carolina home. Since her travel plans had to be canceled for this year, she is starting to make plans for travel in 2021. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter.

 

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