Book Review: Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost

 

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Content Warning: death, violence, murder, rape, sexual harassment, abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, domestic and including that of a child), pedophilia, grooming, animal death, abandonment, abortion, animal cruelty.

Kit Walker has spent the last fourteen years trying to forget her past. Once a part of the infamous "Texaco Twosome," robbing gas stations and conning everyone she meets alongside her caretaker, lover, and abuser, Manny Romero, she's decided to put it all behind her -- mostly because she is trying to be a good mother to her daughter, Charlie. But when Manny shows up, fresh out of prison and apparently eager to right his wrongs, Kit and Charlie are both thrown into a tailspin. Torn between the past and the future, Kit must come to terms with everything she's done and all that has been done to her, with consequences that will impact not only her and her daughter, but the entire town of Pecan Hollow.

Though this is Frost's debut, Shadows of Pecan Hollow often has a quality to it that is suggestive of a much more experienced author. This is not an easy book to read by any stretch of the imagination (pretty much any dark, heavy topic you can think of is covered here), but Frost does it with a quiet, human touch that explores both the darkest sides of humanity, and the more hopeful ones, too. 

Our heroine is Kit Walker: hard as nails, desperately trying to make a new life for herself and her daughter, and struggling with the weight of her past. For me, Kit was immediately likable, mostly because she is complex, flawed, and human. She's been in and out of foster homes her whole life, hurt by the people who are supposed to be the ones to love and care for her, and her righteous anger at the world is searing and realistic in its depiction. As you read on, it's easy to understand why Kit struggles to connect with others, why she is always prepared for people to do their worst. She's sympathetic, and because her character is so strong, it makes the story compulsively readable.

Her daughter, Charlie, is also a wonderful character, rather fully fleshed out in spite of the fact that we only get a few chapters with her narration. It's Manny, Kit's partner in crime and Charlie's father, who rounds out the cast. He works as a perfect foil for Kit. He's cruel and narcissistic, but it isn't difficult to see why Kit was and is so disarmed by him. Snaking his way into the hearts of others and taking advantage of them is simply second-nature to him.

The story itself is decent, primarily character-driven, something I personally enjoy. There are parts where it gets a bit sluggish, though, and I think that there's honestly a lot that could've been cut or pared down. Some of the writing, too, feels a bit clumsy, partnered with a few grammatical errors as well. These aren't particularly large issues, but they did impact my enjoyment somewhat. 

All in all, I'd recommend it - I think Frost does a masterful job of showing the aftereffects of lifelong abuse, and despite all the darkness in Shadows of Pecan Hollow, there's beauty, hope, and forgiveness, too.