Julia Keller – författare

In a town ravaged by deception, can one woman make a difference?From Pulitzer-prize winner Julia Keller comes A Killing in the Hills, the first in a series featuring prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins, set in the beautiful, crime-ridden town of Acker''s Gap. Perfect for fans of Linwood Barclay and Henning Mankell.''A terrific debut - atmospheric, suspenseful, assured. I hope there''s more to come in the story of Bell Elkins and Acker''s Gap'' - Laura LippmanNestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, visitors see only Acker''s Gap''s stunning natural beauty. But for those living there it''s a different story. The mountain roads harbour secret places, perfect for making the prescription drugs that tempt its desperately poor.Bell Elkins left a broken teenager, savaged by a past she couldn''t forget. But, as prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, Bell is back and determined to help clean up the only home she has ever known.As winter sets in and her daughter is witness to a shocking triple murder, Bell finds her family in danger. Can she uncover the truth before her world is destroyed again?What readers are saying about A Killing in the Hills:''A mesmerizing book''''The intertwined plots play out against a beautiful portrayal of this rural area, a wonderfully conveyed portrait''''I am an avid thriller reader and in my opinion this ranks among the best of them''

Concealed beneath the water, her body wants to be found...Bell Elkins returns in Bitter River, the gripping second instalment from Pulitzer prize winner Julia Keller. Perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane and Linwood Barclay. ''Julia Keller''s lyrical and evocative prose in Bitter River propels the novel until all you can do is hang on until the final page. Her sense of place is spot-on and bittersweet'' - C.J. Box Acker''s Gap, West Virginia: a high-school student - sixteen, full of promise, and pregnant - is found murdered in a car at the bottom of the Bitter River. Her death devastates the community, but one among them must be responsible. Bell Elkins, Raythune County''s prosecuting attorney, is determined to bring the killer to justice.But someone else has their own agenda. Amid the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains, another act of violence is about to strike. As Bell and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong work to uncover the truth, one thing is certain: no one can truly understand Acker''s Gap until they are in the thick of it.Bell returned to her hometown to make a difference. But just how much is she willing to risk?What readers are saying about Julia Keller:''Julia Keller creates brilliant characters''''Keller''s style of writing is poetic and dramatic. It is incredibly unusual. She seamlessly weaves the story-lines together''''Five stars''

Julia Keller''s Dark Star Calling is the third and final book in the Dark Intercept Trilogy, a high-concept YA science fiction saga.Out in the observatory, protruding from the vast gap in the roof, was the giant telescope. It stared unblinkingly into the night sky, its gaze peering deep into the wilderness of stars. Somewhere within that wilderness was the single star Rez was determined to find.New Earth, 2297. A year after the resurrection of a universal surveillance system called the Intercept, New Earth is collapsing. Humanity is depending on a group of five friends to find them all a new home.Humanity''s fate rests in the hands of Violet Crowley, a headstrong rebel and former detective turned hopelessly mediocre politician; Shura Lu, scientific genius and magnificently gifted artist; Kendall Mayhew, New Earth''s Chief of Police; Tin Man Tolliver, Kendall''s top deputy; and Steven J. Reznik, aka "Rez," NESA Director and Chief Technologist.Together they discovered their utopian home is on an unstoppable collision course with Earth. Together they look to the stars to find a world suitable for human life and what they find there—or rather who—will change them all forever.At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In A Killing in the Hills, a powerful, intricate debut from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller, a mother and a daughter try to do right by a town and each other before it''s too late.What''s happening in Acker''s Gap, West Virginia? Three elderly men are gunned down over their coffee at a local diner, and seemingly half the town is there to witness the act. Still, it happened so fast, and no one seems to have gotten a good look at the shooter. Was it random? Was it connected to the spate of drug violence plaguing poor areas of the country just like Acker''s Gap? Or were Dean Streeter, Shorty McClurg, and Lee Rader targeted somehow?One of the witnesses to the brutal incident was Carla Elkins, teenaged daughter of Bell Elkins, the prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, WV. Carla was shocked and horrified by what she saw, but after a few days, she begins to recover enough to believe that she might be uniquely placed to help her mother do her job.After all, what better way to repair their fragile, damaged relationship? But could Carla also end up doing more harm than good—in fact, putting her own life in danger?*BONUS CONTENT: This edition of A Killing in the Hills includes a new introduction from the author and a discussion guide

In the next stunning novel from Pulitzer Prize-winning Julia Keller, following the popular A Killing in the Hills, a pregnant teenager is found murdered at the bottom of a river.Phone calls before dawn are never good news. And when you''re the county''s prosecuting attorney, calls from the sheriff are rarely good news, either. So when Bell Elkins picks up the phone she already knows she won''t like what she''s about to hear, but she''s still not prepared for this: 16-year-old Lucinda Trimble''s body has been found at the bottom of Bitter River. And Lucinda didn''t drown—she was dead before her body ever hit the water.With a case like that, Bell knows the coming weeks are going to be tough. But that''s not all Bell is coping with these days. Her daughter is now living with Bell''s ex-husband, hours away. Sheriff Nick Fogelsong, one of Bell''s closest friends, is behaving oddly. Furthermore, a face from her past has resurfaced for reasons Bell can''t quite figure. Searching for the truth, both behind Lucinda''s murder and behind her own complicated relationships, will lead Bell down a path that might put her very life at risk.In Bitter River, Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Keller once again weaves a compelling, haunting mystery against the stark beauty and extreme poverty of a small West Virginia mountain town.

In 1944, three young men from a small town in West Virginia are among the American forces participating in D-Day, changing the fortunes of the war with one bold stroke. How is that moment aboard a Navy ship as it barrels toward the Normandy shore related to the death of an old man in an Appalachian nursing home seventy-two years later?In Sorrow Road, the latest mystery from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Julia Keller, two stories—one set in the turbulent era of World War II and one in the present day—are woven together to create a piercingly poignant tale of memory and family, of love and murder.Bell Elkins, prosecuting attorney in Acker’s Gap, West Virginia, is asked by an old acquaintance to look into the death of her beloved father in an Alzheimer’s care facility. Did he die of natural causes—or was something more sinister to blame? And that’s not the only issue with which Bell is grappling: Her daughter Carla has moved back home. But something’s not right. Carla is desperately hiding a secret.Once again, past and present, good and evil, and revenge and forgiveness clash in a riveting story set in the shattered landscape of Acker’s Gap, where the skies can seem dark even at high noon, and the mountains lean close to hear the whispered lament of the people trapped in their shadow.

Based on a real-life event, Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Keller’s latest Bell Elkins novel Fast Falls the Night takes place in a single 24-hour period, unfurling against the backdrop of a shattering personal revelation that will change Bell’s life forever.The first drug overdose comes just after midnight, when a young woman dies on the dirty floor of a gas station bathroom. To the people of the small town of Acker’s Gap, West Virginia, it is just another tragedy. It is sad—but these days, depressingly familiar. But then there is another overdose. And another. And another. Prosecutor Bell Elkins soon realizes that her Appalachian hometown is facing its starkest challenge yet: a day of constant heroin overdoses from a batch tainted with a lethal tranquilizer. While the clock ticks and the bodies fall, Bell and her colleagues desperately track the source of the deadly drug—and engage in fierce debates over the wisdom of expending precious resources to save the lives of self-destructive addicts.

In the 23rd century, there is a radiant world of endless summer where peace is maintained through emotional surveillance performed by a peculiar device called the Intercept. When Violet Crowley, the sixteen-year-old daughter of New Earth’s Founding Father, is smuggled an artifact covered mysterious markings, it''s up to her and her friends to decipher the message. Julia Keller''s "The Tablet of Scaptur" is a standalone story set before the events of The Dark Intercept.At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Bone on Bone, the next powerful chapter in Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Keller''s beloved Bell Elkins series, sends readers headlong into the thick of a mystery as young as today''s headlines -- but as old as the mountains that hold these lives in a tight grip. How far would you go for someone you love? Would you die? Would you kill? After a three-year prison sentence, Bell Elkins is back in Acker''s Gap. And she finds herself in the white-hot center of a complicated and deadly case -- even as she comes to terms with one last, devastating secret of her own.A prominent local family has fallen victim to the same sickness that infects the whole region: drug addiction. With mother against father, child against parent, and tensions that lead inexorably to tragedy, they are trapped in a grim, hopeless struggle with nowhere to turn.Bell has lost her job as prosecutor -- but not her affection for her ragtag, hard-luck hometown. Teamed up with former Deputy Jake Oakes, who battles his own demons as he adjusts to life as a paraplegic, and aided by the new prosecutor, Rhonda Lovejoy, Bell tackles a case as poignant as it is perilous, as heartbreaking as it is challenging.

"[An] emotion-charged mystery.... Keller''s sleuths are easy to like and the murder story is moving; but the object of fascination here is Wellwood, a state-run mental institution with a dark history as a repository for ''rebellious, unruly women.''" —The New York Times Book ReviewPulitzer Prize-winning author Julia Keller welcomes readers back to West Virginia, where her lyrical and moving stories of the people of her native state have unfolded since A Killing in the Hills, the acclaimed first novel in the series.Deep in the woods just outside Acker''s Gap, West Virginia, rises a ragged chunk of what was once a high stone wall. This is all that remains of Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. And it is here that Bell Elkins – prosecutor turned private investigator – makes a grim discovery while searching for a missing teenager: A dead body, marred by a ghastly wound that can only mean murder.To solve the mystery of what happened in these woods where she played as a child, Bell and her partners – former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes – must confront the tangled history of Wellwood and its dark legacy, while each grapples with a private torment. Based on a true chapter in the troubled history of early treatment for psychiatric illness, The Cold Way Home is a story of death and life, of despair and hope, of crime and – sometimes, but not always – punishment.

This discounted ebundle includes: The Dark Intercept, Dark Mind Rising, Dark Star CallingJulia Keller’s The Dark Intercept Trilogy is a thought-provoking science fiction adventure series that challenges the voluntary surrender of liberties for the perception of safety.When the state controls your emotions, how hard will you fight to feel free? When the state is no longer watching, what will you give to feel safe?“The Dark Intercept grabbed me from the first page and shook me until the last. A riveting and suspenseful story of love, risk, and betrayal.”—Emmy Laybourne, author of Berserker“In this fast-paced book, Julia Keller shows she’s at the top of her game—and her game is creating chills and absolute terror.” —New York Times bestselling author R.L. Stine on Dark Mind RisingThe Dark Intercept: In a radiant world of endless summer, the Intercept keeps the peace. Violet Crowley, the sixteen-year-old daughter of New Earth’s Founding Father, has spent her life in comfort and safety. Her days are easy thanks to the Intercept, a crime-prevention device that monitors emotion. But when her long-time crush, Danny Mayhew, gets into a dangerous altercation on Old Earth, Violet launches a secret investigation that will lead her to question everything she''s ever known about Danny, her father, and the power of the Intercept. Much like the device itself, The Dark Intercept will get under your skin.Dark Mind Rising: New Earth, 2296. Two years after the destruction of a universal surveillance system called the Intercept, New Earth struggles to keep crime under control. The citizens are free, but not protected. Violet Crowley, the eighteen-year-old daughter of New Earth''s founder, has opened Crowley & Associates, a private detective agency, to handle the overflow from the overburdened police force. Violet''s first case—a death written off as a suicide—becomes an obsession. Soon a series of similar deaths leads Violet to believe the Intercept is not only still running—it''s in the hands of a killer.Dark Star Calling: New Earth, 2297. A year after the resurrection of a universal surveillance system called the Intercept, New Earth is collapsing. Humanity is depending on a group of five friends to find them all a new home. Together they discovered their utopian home is on an unstoppable collision course with Earth. Together they look to the stars to find a world suitable for human life and what they find there—or rather who—will change them all forever.At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

High summer in Acker''s Gap, West Virginia—but no one''s enjoying the rugged natural landscape. Not while a killer stalks the small town and its hard-luck inhabitants. County prosecutor Bell Elkins and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong are stymied by a murderer who seems to come and go like smoke on the mountain. At the same time, Bell must deal with the return from prison of her sister, Shirley—who, like Bell, carries the indelible scars of a savage past.In Summer of the Dead, the third Julia Keller mystery chronicling the journey of Bell Elkins and her return to her Appalachian hometown, we also meet Lindy Crabtree—a coal miner''s daughter with dark secrets of her own, secrets that threaten to explode into even more violence.Acker''s Gap is a place of loveliness and brutality, of isolation and fierce attachments—a place where the dead rub shoulders with the living, and demand their due.

From the night-black depths of a coalmine to the sun-struck peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, from a riveting murder mystery to a poignant meditation on the meaning of love and family, the latest novel in the critically acclaimed series strikes out for new territory: the sorrow and outrage that spring from a real-life chapter in West Virginia history.Royce Dillard doesn''t remember much about the day his parents-and one hundred and twenty-three other souls-died in the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster. He was only two years old when he was ripped from his mother''s arms. But now Dillard, who lives off the grid with only a passel of dogs for company, is fighting for his life one more time: He''s on trial for murder. Prosecutor Bell Elkins faces her toughest challenge yet in this haunting story of vengeance, greed and the fierce struggle for social justice. Richly imagined, vividly written and deeply felt, Julia Keller''s Last Ragged Breath is set in West Virginia, but it really takes place in a land we all know: the country called home.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Julia Keller comes A HAUNTING OF THE BONES, another suspsenseful and provocative story that will keep readers up all night...Bell Elkins, prosecuting attorney for Raythune C1ounty, West Virginia, had always believed what she''d been told: Her mother abandoned the family when Bell and her sister, Shirley, were children. Later, Teresa Dolan died somewhere out West.And then comes a shattering discovery.During an excavation in a remote area of the county, a skeleton is found. DNA testing proves it is related to DNA already on file: that of a convicted felon named Shirley Dolan. Along with the age and approximate time of death, the DNA link leads to a chilling conclusion: These are the remains of Bell''s mother, Teresa Dolan. She didn''t run away. She was here all along. And further examination reveals that she was a homicide victim.Bell automatically pins the blame on her late father, Donnie Dolan. But evidence emerges that it could not have been him. And so Bell must solve the most agonizingly personal case of her career: Who murdered her mother?