Wiley Cash

On a placid Blue Ridge mountain lake on Labor Day Weekend in 1935, three locals sightseeing in an overloaded boat drown, and the cotton mill scion who owns the lake is indicted for their murders. Decades later Ben Crocker - witness to and reluctant participant in the aftermath of this long-forgotten tragedy - is drawn once more into the morally ambiguous world of mill fortunes and foothills justice.The son of mill workers in Carlton, South Carolina, Crocker is caught between competing loyalties to his family and future. Crocker wanted more than a rough-hewn life on a factory floor, so he studied accounting at the local textile institute and was hired as bookkeeper to the owner, George McCane, a man as burdened by his familial ties as Crocker and even less prepared for the authority of his mantel.McCane’s decision to renovate the Carlton Mill and lay off families connected to the Uprising of ’34, one of the largest labor strikes in U.S. history, puts Crocker in the ill-fitting position as his boss’s enforcer. Days after the evictions, the surprise indictment lands McCane in a North Carolina mountain jail and sinks Crocker even deeper into the escalating tensions between mill workers and the owners.While traversing mountain communities in McCane’s defense, Crocker must also manage the forced renovation of the Carlton Mill, negotiate with labor organizers led by local hero Olin Campbell, collaborate with McCane’s besotted brother, Angus, and fend off his father’s and wife’s skepticism of his own social aspirations. Hanging distractingly over Crocker’s upended life is his burgeoning infatuation with Novie Moreland - the young widow of one of those McCane is accused of killing. Though unrequited, Croker’s relationship with Novie proves to be a beacon of hope amid the shadows of political and social machinations in the darkest chapter in his long life.As the union retaliates and the McCane murder trial is settled, it is uncertain who the winners and losers have been in this generational clash of workers and owners, labor and capital, those tied to the land and its people and those who exploit both. When Crocker looks back from 1988 at these two crucial years in his life in the mid-1930s, he is left to wonder if he did right by himself and those closest to him. Against all better judgment, Crocker knows he must seek out Novie Moreland once more if he is ever to find closure with the past.

'A searing, thunderous, heartbreaking thriller.' CHRIS WHITAKER 'Taut, tense, and tender - this novel hits every note.' LILY KINGAn abandoned plane. A dead body. A small town threatening to explode.Investigating the mystery of an abandoned plane and a dead body, the Sheriff of the small town of Oak Island struggles to contain long-simmering racial tensions. His troubles are soon compounded by his returning daughter, whose marriage is falling apart, and the FBI pilot sent in to help with the case.

STAR PICK IN THE SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUB WINNER OF THE CWA GOLD DAGGER, FROM THE AUTHOR OF WHEN GHOSTS COME HOME 'Terrific.' JESS WALTER 'Mesmerizing.' O, the Oprah Magazine ____________ Wade disappeared on us when I was nine years old, and then he showed up out of nowhere the year I turned twelve... After their mother unexpectedly dies, Easter Quilby and her six-year-old sister, Ruby, are stolen away from their foster home by the father they haven't seen in years. Brady Weller, their court-appointed guardian, goes after them, suspecting Wade of having taken part in a recent high-profile robbery. But he's not the only one on their tail, as Robert Pruitt, a mercurial and deadly hunter, is determined to get to them first and claim his due. 'Exciting and suspenseful as well as moving, with a captivating heroine, this is a tremendous book.' Laura Wilson, Guardian 'Fast moving and grippingly suspenseful.' Irish Independent

STAR PICK IN THE SUNDAY TIMES CRIME CLUBWINNER OF THE CWA JOHN CREASEY NEW BLOOD DAGGER, FROM THE AUTHOR OF WHEN GHOSTS COME HOME'Bold, daring, graceful and engrossing.' BOBBIE ANN MASON____________They said Pastor Chamblis was a good man.They said he could perform miracles, heal the sick - like my brother Stump ...But I know what I saw and it wasn't no miracle.Only Jess really knows what happened to his mute brother, but scared and on the run, can he live to reveal the evil truth behind the charismatic Pastor?'Mesmerising. . . an intensely felt and beautifully told story.' New York Times Book Review

An abandoned plane. A dead body. A small town threatening to explode.'A searing, thunderous, heartbreaking thriller. Wiley Cash has talent to burn.' Chris WhitakerWinston did not hear it so much as feel it as it passed over their house and into the trees across the waterway.The sheriff struggling for re-election and haunted by his past.The mystery plane which crash-lands on his island.The daughter returning home to hide from her troubles.The FBI pilot sent in to help.As the mystery of the abandoned plane and the dead body stokes long-simmering racial tensions, a moment of reckoning draws ever closer for the town of Oak Island. When Ghosts Come Home is the thrilling new page-turner from prize-winning novelist Wiley Cash.'An unputdownable knock-out.' Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy

Winner of the SIBA Southern Book Prize for Fiction"I loved it and devoured it with fury, straight to its blazing end." --Lily King, author of Writers & LoversFrom the New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home, a tender and haunting story of a father and daughter, crime and forgiveness, race and memory.When the roar of a low-flying plane awakens him in the middle of the night, Sheriff Winston Barnes knows something strange is happening at the nearby airfield on the coast of North Carolina. But nothing can prepare him for what he finds: a large airplane has crash-landed and is now sitting sideways on the runway, and there are no signs of a pilot or cargo. When the body of a local man is discovered--shot dead and lying on the grass near the crash site--Winston begins a murder investigation that will change the course of his life and the fate of the community that he has sworn to protect.Everyone is a suspect, including the dead man. As rumors and accusations fly, long-simmering racial tensions explode overnight, and Winston, whose own tragic past has followed him like a ghost, must do his duty while facing the painful repercussions of old decisions. Winston also knows that his days as sheriff may be numbered. He's up for re-election against a corrupt and well-connected challenger, and his deputies are choosing sides. As if these events weren't troubling enough, he must finally confront his daughter Colleen, who has come home grieving a shattering loss she cannot fully articulate.As the suspense builds and this compelling mystery unfolds, Wiley Cash delves deep into the hearts of these richly drawn, achingly sympathetic characters to reveal the nobility of an ordinary man struggling amidst terrifying, extraordinary circumstances.

Winner of the SIBA Southern Book Prize for Fiction"I loved it and devoured it with fury, straight to its blazing end." --Lily King, author of Writers & LoversFrom the New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home, a tender and haunting story of a father and daughter, crime and forgiveness, race and memory.When the roar of a low-flying plane awakens him in the middle of the night, Sheriff Winston Barnes knows something strange is happening at the nearby airfield on the coast of North Carolina. But nothing can prepare him for what he finds: a large airplane has crash-landed and is now sitting sideways on the runway, and there are no signs of a pilot or cargo. When the body of a local man is discovered--shot dead and lying on the grass near the crash site--Winston begins a murder investigation that will change the course of his life and the fate of the community that he has sworn to protect.Everyone is a suspect, including the dead man. As rumors and accusations fly, long-simmering racial tensions explode overnight, and Winston, whose own tragic past has followed him like a ghost, must do his duty while facing the painful repercussions of old decisions. Winston also knows that his days as sheriff may be numbered. He's up for re-election against a corrupt and well-connected challenger, and his deputies are choosing sides. As if these events weren't troubling enough, he must finally confront his daughter Colleen, who has come home grieving a shattering loss she cannot fully articulate.As the suspense builds and this compelling mystery unfolds, Wiley Cash delves deep into the hearts of these richly drawn, achingly sympathetic characters to reveal the nobility of an ordinary man struggling amidst terrifying, extraordinary circumstances.

Winston did not hear it so much as feel it as it passed over their house and into the trees across the waterway.The sheriff struggling for re-election and haunted by his past.The mystery plane which crash-lands on his island.The daughter returning home to hide from her troubles.The FBI pilot sent in to help.As the mystery of the abandoned plane and the dead body stokes long-simmering racial tensions, a moment of reckoning draws ever closer for the town of Oak Island. When Ghosts Come Home is the thrilling new page-turner from prize-winning novelist Wiley Cash.

Ella May Wiggins' husband has run off again, and she must keep her four young children alive with the only work she can find -- the night shift at a North Carolina mill. When union leaflets begin to circulate, she yearns for the better life the organisers promise. But the mill owners, backed by other nefarious forces, claim the union is nothing but a front for the Bolshevik menace sweeping across Europe, and they will use every means in their power, including bloodshed, to prevent the workers banding together.

Winner of the Southern Book Prize for Literary FictionNamed a Best Book of 2017 by the Chicago Public Library and the American Library Association"Wiley Cash reveals the dignity and humanity of people asking for a fair shot in an unfair world."- Christina Baker Kline, author of A Piece of the World and Orphan Train The New York Times bestselling author of the celebrated A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy returns with this eagerly awaited new novel, set in the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina in 1929 and inspired by actual events. The chronicle of an ordinary woman's struggle for dignity and her rights in a textile mill, The Last Ballad is a moving tale of courage in the face of oppression and injustice, with the emotional power of Ron Rash's Serena, Dennis Lehane's The Given Day, and the unforgettable films Norma Rae and Silkwood.Twelve times a week, twenty-eight-year-old Ella May Wiggins makes the two-mile trek to and from her job on the night shift at American Mill No. 2 in Bessemer City, North Carolina. The insular community considers the mill's owners--the newly arrived Goldberg brothers--white but not American and expects them to pay Ella May and other workers less because they toil alongside African Americans like Violet, Ella May's best friend. While the dirty, hazardous job at the mill earns Ella May a paltry nine dollars for seventy-two hours of work each week, it's the only opportunity she has. Her no-good husband, John, has run off again, and she must keep her four young children alive with whatever work she can find.When the union leaflets begin circulating, Ella May has a taste of hope, a yearning for the better life the organizers promise. But the mill owners, backed by other nefarious forces, claim the union is nothing but a front for the Bolshevik menace sweeping across Europe. To maintain their control, the owners will use every means in their power, including bloodshed, to prevent workers from banding together. On the night of the county's biggest rally, Ella May, weighing the costs of her choice, makes up her mind to join the movement--a decision that will have lasting consequences for her children, her friends, her town--indeed all that she loves.Seventy-five years later, Ella May's daughter Lilly, now an elderly woman, tells her nephew about his grandmother and the events that transformed their family. Illuminating the most painful corners of their history, she reveals, for the first time, the tragedy that befell Ella May after that fateful union meeting in 1929.Intertwining myriad voices, Wiley Cash brings to life the heartbreak and bravery of the now forgotten struggle of the labor movement in early twentieth-century America--and pays tribute to the thousands of heroic women and men who risked their lives to win basic rights for all workers. Lyrical, heartbreaking, and haunting, this eloquent novel confirms Wiley Cash's place among our nation's finest writers.

The New York Times bestselling author of the celebrated A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy returns with this eagerly awaited new novel, set in the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina in 1929 and inspired by actual events. The chronicle of an ordinary woman's struggle for dignity and her rights in a textile mill, The Last Ballad is a moving tale of courage in the face of oppression and injustice, with the emotional power of Ron Rash's Serena, Dennis Lehane's The Given Day, and the unforgettable films Norma Rae and Silkwood.Twelve times a week, twenty-eight-year-old Ella May Wiggins makes the two-mile trek to and from her job on the night shift at American Mill No. 2 in Bessemer City, North Carolina. The insular community considers the mill's owners--the newly arrived Goldberg brothers--white but not American and expects them to pay Ella May and other workers less because they toil alongside African Americans like Violet, Ella May's best friend. While the dirty, hazardous job at the mill earns Ella May a paltry nine dollars for seventy-two hours of work each week, it's the only opportunity she has. Her no-good husband, John, has run off again, and she must keep her four young children alive with whatever work she can find.When the union leaflets begin circulating, Ella May has a taste of hope, a yearning for the better life the organizers promise. But the mill owners, backed by other nefarious forces, claim the union is nothing but a front for the Bolshevik menace sweeping across Europe. To maintain their control, the owners will use every means in their power, including bloodshed, to prevent workers from banding together. On the night of the county's biggest rally, Ella May, weighing the costs of her choice, makes up her mind to join the movement--a decision that will have lasting consequences for her children, her friends, her town--indeed all that she loves.Seventy-five years later, Ella May's daughter Lilly, now an elderly woman, tells her nephew about his grandmother and the events that transformed their family. Illuminating the most painful corners of their history, she reveals, for the first time, the tragedy that befell Ella May after that fateful union meeting in 1929.Intertwining myriad voices, Wiley Cash brings to life the heartbreak and bravery of the now forgotten struggle of the labor movement in early twentieth-century America--and pays tribute to the thousands of heroic women and men who risked their lives to win basic rights for all workers. Lyrical, heartbreaking, and haunting, this eloquent novel confirms Wiley Cash's place among our nation's finest writers.

Winner of the Southern Book Prize for Literary FictionNamed a Best Book of 2017 by the Chicago Public Library and the American Library Association"Wiley Cash reveals the dignity and humanity of people asking for a fair shot in an unfair world."- Christina Baker Kline, author of A Piece of the World and Orphan Train The New York Times bestselling author of the celebrated A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy returns with this eagerly awaited new novel, set in the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina in 1929 and inspired by actual events. The chronicle of an ordinary woman's struggle for dignity and her rights in a textile mill, The Last Ballad is a moving tale of courage in the face of oppression and injustice, with the emotional power of Ron Rash's Serena, Dennis Lehane's The Given Day, and the unforgettable films Norma Rae and Silkwood.Twelve times a week, twenty-eight-year-old Ella May Wiggins makes the two-mile trek to and from her job on the night shift at American Mill No. 2 in Bessemer City, North Carolina. The insular community considers the mill's owners--the newly arrived Goldberg brothers--white but not American and expects them to pay Ella May and other workers less because they toil alongside African Americans like Violet, Ella May's best friend. While the dirty, hazardous job at the mill earns Ella May a paltry nine dollars for seventy-two hours of work each week, it's the only opportunity she has. Her no-good husband, John, has run off again, and she must keep her four young children alive with whatever work she can find.When the union leaflets begin circulating, Ella May has a taste of hope, a yearning for the better life the organizers promise. But the mill owners, backed by other nefarious forces, claim the union is nothing but a front for the Bolshevik menace sweeping across Europe. To maintain their control, the owners will use every means in their power, including bloodshed, to prevent workers from banding together. On the night of the county's biggest rally, Ella May, weighing the costs of her choice, makes up her mind to join the movement--a decision that will have lasting consequences for her children, her friends, her town--indeed all that she loves.Seventy-five years later, Ella May's daughter Lilly, now an elderly woman, tells her nephew about his grandmother and the events that transformed their family. Illuminating the most painful corners of their history, she reveals, for the first time, the tragedy that befell Ella May after that fateful union meeting in 1929.Intertwining myriad voices, Wiley Cash brings to life the heartbreak and bravery of the now forgotten struggle of the labor movement in early twentieth-century America--and pays tribute to the thousands of heroic women and men who risked their lives to win basic rights for all workers. Lyrical, heartbreaking, and haunting, this eloquent novel confirms Wiley Cash's place among our nation's finest writers.

The critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller A Land More Kind Than Home--hailed as "a powerfully moving debut that reads as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird" (Richmond Times Dispatch)--returns with a resonant novel of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, set in western North Carolina, involving two young sisters, a wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins.After their mother's unexpected death, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are adjusting to life in foster care when their errant father, Wade, suddenly appears. Since Wade signed away his legal rights, the only way he can get his daughters back is to steal them away in the night.Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.Narrated by a trio of alternating voices, This Dark Road to Mercy is a story about the indelible power of family and the primal desire to outrun a past that refuses to let go.

The critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller A Land More Kind Than Home--hailed as "a powerfully moving debut that reads as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird" (Richmond Times Dispatch)--returns with a resonant novel of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, set in western North Carolina, involving two young sisters, a wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins.After their mother's unexpected death, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are adjusting to life in foster care when their errant father, Wade, suddenly appears. Since Wade signed away his legal rights, the only way he can get his daughters back is to steal them away in the night.Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.Narrated by a trio of alternating voices, This Dark Road to Mercy is a story about the indelible power of family and the primal desire to outrun a past that refuses to let go.

In his phenomenal debut novel--a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small North Carolina town--author Wiley Cash displays a remarkable talent for lyrical, powerfully emotional storytelling. A Land More Kind than Home is a modern masterwork of Southern fiction, reminiscent of the writings of John Hart (Down River), Tom Franklin (Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter), Ron Rash (Serena), and Pete Dexter (Paris Trout)--one that is likely to be held in the same enduring esteem as such American classics as To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and A Separate Peace. A brilliant evocation of a place, a heart-rending family story, a gripping and suspenseful mystery--with A Land More Kind than Home, a major American novelist enthusiastically announces his arrival.