To uncover the truth, she’ll have to break the code of the hills … angel.
But as Elsie sinks her teeth into the case, everything begins to turn sour. The star witness goes missing; the girls refuse to talk about their father, who terrorizes the courtroom from the moment he enters; and Elsie begins to suspect that their tough-as-nails mother has ulterior motives. To make matters worse, Elsie receives gruesome threats from local extremists, warning her to mind her own business.
While Elsie swears not to let a sex offender walk, she realizes the odds—and maybe the town—are against her, and her life begins to crumble. But amidst all of the conflict, the safety of three young girls hangs in the balance …
A powerful debut, with the haunting atmosphere of Winter’s Bone and the page-turning suspense of Alafair Burke’s thrillers.
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“The Code of the Hills” is one of those books you want to read— but you also are wary of reading because the subject matter is so disturbing. Sexual abuse, physical abuse and mental abuse is never fun to read about, but we have to know about to combat it. Author Nancy Allen kicks off her Ozarks series with a real page-turner centered around alleged acts of a father and mother to their teen an preteen daughters. We come to find, in this story, that it is more widespread than imagined but still very difficult to prove in court because no one wants to testify, no one wants to talk about it and no one wants to admit things like that reall happen. Allen does a good job with character development and telling a story, and it rings tru from a descrptive point as to the hill country of southern Missouri. There are more books in the series; perhaps we see more of Elsie, Josh, Ashlock and others in the future. For sure, we see the potential for an author very adept at telling an entertaining, informative and influential story.
Ms. Allen is an attorney and her books are remarkable in their detail and the difficulties of trying a challenging case. It is not like television and every one does not confess or testify that you anticipate. And, as a local attorney you recognize the characters that we all know quite well from the Judges, the attorneys, and the bailiffs. Great series.
Excellent book by this first time author. I hope there are many more to come.
This is a great legal thriller, I got it free and quickly bought the next 2, there were some bad reviews on the second one but I like all three read all of them in 2 days couldn’t put them down
Can a female prosecutor in the Ozarks send a father to prison for incest, in an area of the country where females are debased, mistreated and disrespected? There were very few males in the story that were likeable and many of the females were victims. The protagonist herself was portrayed as a victim, which gave this story a unique edge. She was flawed and weak in many respects of her personal life, but had the strength and determination to help female victims. The plot was predictable, but the writing was engaging and enjoyable.
Great build of characters and plot.
took me back to my Ozark upbringing
an eye opener
It didn’t keep my interest up. I gave up at 25% read.
HEATBREAKING STORY
This book was disturbing because it’s true and often in the news, but a page turner. You just keep hoping justice will be served.
I liked the book but it was unbelievable yet believable – I didn’t know this much about this part of the country but I know and knew these things happened. It was an eye opener.
I liked the book though I hate to think about the abuse some children go through in their lives. The authors detail was excellent. I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading.
The subject matter was a tough one, but the writer handled it really well. The main character was wonderful.So real and fresh. I would read another one of her books.
I enjoyed this book so much that I am now reading her second book of the Ozark Hills and I am sure I will continue with the rest of the series.
Just finished this yesterday. As the State’s prosecution against a man accused of incest with his daughters, Elsie gets the case way too late to have slam-dunk evidence. She meets with walls put up against her at every turn, including her boss who will stop at nothing to take the credit for herself if things go well. If they don’t, she’s the first to push our heroine under the bus. Elsie deals with a ton of adversity, but I would like to have had the story line expand a little with her future romance. A good ending, but could have been s t r e t c h e d just a little.