Times are hard for everyone — it is 1936 and there are no safety nets for anyone. Ellie Robbin’s and her family are forced to move into town from their beloved countryside. Albert adjusts to town life faster and when the opportunity arises he becomes the sheriff. His sudden death forces Ellie to fill in for him in order to make ends meet. It takes a strong will to make the town and deputies accept her. Well written, the usual strong sense of place, strong feel for the people, and the history of the land. Loved it. ( )

Listed as No. 11 in McCrumb's ballad series, this novel isn't built on a legend, but grew out of a germ of historical fact. In 1936, the last public hanging ever carried out in the United States was presided over by a woman sheriff, who was filling out her deceased husband's term of office. This took place, not in the Appalachian region, but north and west in Kentucky bluegrass country. McCrumb, intrigued by the idea of a widow taking on the job of sheriff in order to feed her children during the Depression, wrote a story otherwise quite different than the factual situation that inspired it, set firmly in East Tennessee, with its focus on the fictional woman, Ellendor Robbins, not the crime whose perpetrator she was obliged to execute. In fact, she changed the nature of the crime, leaving out the inflammatory racial element, and giving us a murderer who is such a lost soul we can almost sympathize with his fate. We have no Bonesteels or Arrowoods; no supernatural elements, and little in the way of mountain lore, with one notable exception-- the practice of the Dumb Supper, at which young girls hope to meet their future husbands in person or in spirit, if only they follow the odd ritual just right. There was a stretch in the first third where Mrs. Robbins' introspection about what she was going to do after her husband died got quite tedious and repetitious (I GOT it --- she was one of the "solitary McCourrys", not comfortable around people, not given to socializing or small talk; I GOT it---her people would not ask for help, not even from family, not for food for their children nor a rope if they were drowning), but once she actually succeeded in persuading the County Commissioners to appoint her Sheriff, the story kept me fully engaged. ( )

Excellent book--lots of pathos and a true page turner. Could not put it down. Based on a real life female sherriff story. ( )

I loved this authors earlier books and the Nora Bonesteel and Sheriff series were just books that I'll always think of when reading anything by Sharyn now. Although this book started off interesting for me it just dragged and I really had to buckle down to finish it. ( )

A wonderful work of historical fiction. Set in the Southern mountains, as most of McCrumbs works are, this is the story of a young woman whose husband is the sheriff of a small town. Having moved there from the mountains, Ellie feels a little out of her element. She is used to keeping to herself, and she finds it difficult to interact with strangers, but when her husband unexpectedly dies, she ask the city commissioners to allow her to complete his term s sheriff. Out of pity for a widow with two small boys, they agree, but the job has unexpected duties that leave everyone, even Ellie, wondering if she can carry out the duties of the office. In addition to a wonderful story, an atmospheric setting, and beautiful writing, his novel has a lovely twist at the end. I really liked this book! ( )