Prayers The Devil Answers: A Novel

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Synopsis

In Depression-era Appalachia, a desperate sheriff’s widow takes on her late husband’s job and discovers that a prayer the devil answers comes at a terrible price.

The year is 1936 and society provides no safety net for newly widowed Ellie Robbins, a woman in a small mountain town who suddenly has to support her family on her own. She’s not trained to be a teacher or a nurse, the only respectable careers for a woman. So in order to care for her children, Ellie takes the only job available: that of her late husband, the sheriff.

Ellie has long proven that she can handle herself, and her role as sheriff is largely symbolic. Yet the wariness of her male subordinates and the townspeople is palpable. Soon, as dark secrets come to light, Ellie is forced to grapple with the tenuous ties she shares with a convicted killer and the small-town superstitions that have plagued her for years.

When a condemned killer is sentenced to death for his crime, her opportunity to do so presents itself in a way she never expected. There’s one task that only a sheriff can carry out: the execution of a convicted prisoner.

Atmospheric and suspenseful, Prayers the Devil Answers is rich with the same masterful attention to historical detail and captivating folklore that you cherished in McCrumb’s renowned Ballad novels. Her luscious writing brings her unforgettable characters to life with the “pure poetry” (The New York Times Book Review) that defines her astounding novels. Prayers the Devil Answers is a mesmerizing depiction of one woman’s tenacity and strength in even the most harrowing of circumstances.

Chapters

  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 01 Title

    Duration: 31s
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 02 Prologue

    Duration: 19min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 03 Ch1

    Duration: 26min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 04 Ch2

    Duration: 34min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 05 Celia

    Duration: 08min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 06 Ch3

    Duration: 11min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 07 LonnieVarden

    Duration: 10min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 08 Ellendor

    Duration: 16min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 09 LonnieVarden

    Duration: 11min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 10 Ch4

    Duration: 20min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 11 LonnieVarden

    Duration: 03min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 12 Ch5

    Duration: 25min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 13 Ch6

    Duration: 30min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 14 LonnieVarden

    Duration: 19min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 15 Ch7

    Duration: 34min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 16 Ch8

    Duration: 20min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 17 Ch9

    Duration: 29min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 18 Ch10

    Duration: 37min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 19 Ch11

    Duration: 30min
  • PrayersTheDevilAnswers 20 TheKilling

    Duration: 29min
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