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The Virgin of Small Plains

On sale

8th December 2011

Price: £5.49

Selected:  ebook / ISBN-13: 9781444732894

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January 1987, Small Plains, Kansas. On the night of the decade’s worst blizzard, a boy discovers the naked corpse of a beautiful girl. No-one can identify her, so the people of the town bury her with a gravestone marked with the date and ‘Peace Be Unto You’. Seventeen years later, the mysterious dead girl – the ‘Virgin of Small Plains’ – has inspired a local myth. In the two decades since her death, strange miracles have visited those who faithfully tend her grave; some believe her spirit can cure deadly illnesses, while others credit her with the town’s economic prosperity. Word of the legend spreads and Small Plains becomes a haven for an onslaught of spiritual seekers and the terminally ill, all hoping the Virgin will answer their prayers. When the mysterious Mitch Newquist reappears and a vengeful tornado devastates Small Plains, the truth begins to emerge.. What really happened seventeen years ago? Why did Mitch suddenly disappear the same night the Virgin’s body was found – abandoning his first love, Abby Reynolds? And why are some of the town’s leading citizens so determined that the truth remain buried?

Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Mesmerizing... cleverly planted surprises and the convincing portrait of smalltown life make this a memorable read.
Denver Post
..a writer of substantial literary power and gravitas... Pickard's latest is a darn good read, and anyone smart enough to pick it up can't help but admire it.
Glamour
"a great novel - a very tense thriller that leaves you guessing until the very end.'
The New York Times
Tantalizing . . . Pickard writes with insight and compassion.
Library Journal
An absorbing tale of love and deceit... very readable.
Detroit Free Press
Suspenseful. . .Pickard keeps the surprises coming and the tension high all the way to the end.
Sarah Weinman
an outstanding tale of suspense that goes back two decades, involves a wonderfully real love story thwarted and probes the corrosive effects of secrets.