The Gone Dead

by Chanelle Benz

[Melanie]

4.5 stars

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

Chanelle Benz is a new-to-me author, but when I saw that Bahni Turpin was the narrator, I decided to look further into the story. I liked the sound of the book blurb, so I decided to give this book a go. I’m really glad that I did. I had a great time reading this story and trying to figure out what was going on this small town on the Mississippi Delta.

Billie James is a half white, half black girl who is originally from a small town of Greendale, Mississippi. She moves to Philadelphia with her mother (the parents were split up prior to his death) when she was just a toddler after her father dies in an apparent accident. Now she’s going back to Greendale to cleanup her father’s house that she has inherited thirty years after his death.

After some strange occurrences around the house, she starts asking about things more. She’s talking a lot with the closest neighbors, a white family that has had connections with her family, going back to slave times. She’s also talking with her father’s brother and her father’s girlfriend at the time of his death. The more she digs, the more questions she has.

I really enjoyed this crime mystery set in the South, where there is a lot of history. Even in the present, you can see the differences between the different races, but this really isn’t a story about race. Race is brought up as it is part of the culture in the town and does have its place in this story. But this is mostly about Billie trying to learn more about her father and what happened to him and even what happened to her around the time of his death.

If you like crime stories set in small towns where everyone is connected in some fashion, this would be a great story for you to try. I really look forward to reading more books by Chanelle Benz.

Narration
As I said, Bahni Turpin is the reason this book really caught my eye. I’ve listened to her narrate several different types of stories and I always enjoy her narration. I really believe that she brings out the characters in the stories, with a wide array of voices and the perfect inflection in their tones to match their personalities. If you’ve never listened to Bahni Turpin, you’re really missing out and should give her a try.

**I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.