Rating: 
Summary: Much (much, much, much) ado about not very much
Review: Sharyn McCrumb is usually very adept at juggling multiple story lines, but this time, I'm afraid, it's not really worth it. Two plot lines are interwoven: the 1831 trial and execution of young Frankie Silver, and Sheriff Spencer Arrowood's present day reinvestigation of a 20-year old crime. An additional two murders are thrown in for good measure, but have little to do with anything. Unfortunately it all adds up to very little. The 1831 diary is a bore, mostly because we know the outcome from the beginning. It ends up being little more than an unending catalogue of vintage minutae, interesting if historical fiction is your bag. The present day reinvestigation is not much more involving, despite McCrumb's always valuable insights into human nature. The solutions to the "mysteries," as they are, are obvious and not particularly revelatory. All in all, not McCrumb's best.
Rating:
Summary: This is definitly not her best work.
Review: I have read, and greatly admired all of Sharyn McCrumb,s Spencer Arrowood books. This one however, was a big disappointment. The tale of Frankie Silver as told by Burgess Gaither was real slow going, and did not keep my interest at all. I finished reading this book, but I found myself very reluctant to continue, which is very unusual for me when it comes to Sharyn McCrumb. My opinion is that Nora Bonesteel should appear more often in this dry novel. She has been a great character in past books, and she should be used much more often.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Up To Par
Review: This is a good book, but not a great one. It doesn't measure up to the other books in the series--notably The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter and She Walks These Hills. The first is chilling and the second is truly tragic. This installment is interesting but not compelling.I found two major problems with this book. One was the Harkryder case. In the end, it was too quickly solved (sure, it took Arrowood decades, but he hadn't thought about it for most of that time). The other problem was the redundancy in the Frankie Silver portions. McCrumb makes the same point over and over and over. I got it the first time. I'd also like to reiterate an earlier comment--that the framing of the historical mystery is very like that used by Josephine Tey in Daughter of Time. I noticed it right away, and couldn't shake the feeling that this book is derivative. Tey used the device of the injured investigator more effectively, in my opinion. I read that book in high school and still remember it. I doubt that The Ballad of Frankie Silver will stay with me that long.
Rating: 
Summary: The BEST book I have ever read!!!
Review: I had to read this book for an english class I am taking. I am a college student, and frankly I have never enjoyed reading. But after reading "The Ballad of Frankie Silver" my life has been transformed. I couldn't put the book down! I just finished it today and I am shopping Amazon.com for another Sharyn McCrumb book. All day I haven't stopped thinking about this story of strength, truth and beauty. I don't think that I will ever forget the story of Frankie Silver and I know that everyone that reads it will feel the same. I say "Bravo" to Ms. McCrumb!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A Nice but Unconvincing Defense of the Hillbilly
Review: I have avidly devoured Sharyn McCrumb's "Ballad Series" books ever since the first one, "If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O", which got me totally hooked. (I also enjoy the more light-hearted Elizabeth McPherson series, but not quite as much). I like the description of the Appalachian Mountains People and the passionate way Ms. McCrumb call attention on their plight. In the "The Rosewood Casket" she succeeds quite well in making you feel for the poor white farmers ruined either by heartless industrialists and opportunists or because they have to stand by helplessly when "endangered species" raptors decimate their livestock. In this newest effort, she makes the point that the Hillbillies are the one minority group that doesn't get "political correctness" protection - she never mentions the phrase "white trash" but it is implied. Her argument is that these people are fair game for minority slurs ("He's just a redneck") and do not get equal justice under the law. If the State has to execute someone on death row, it can't be a woman, it can't be a black, but it's OK if it's a poor white. And that that is true now as it was true back in 1833 when Frankie Silver was the first woman hanged for murder in that particular neck of the woods. One does feel for Frankie Silver, but in Fate Harkryder as a poor, put-upon hero, Ms. McCrumb has chosen badly. If all hillbillies are like him, his brothers who let him be executed for a crime they committed, or that "redneck" (in real life) who shot a poor Japanese student on a Halloween night a few years back, not to mention Susan Smith, who killed her own children (also in real life) and tried to blame a black man, are the specimens of these people we should feel for - I'm sorry, but I can't dredge up any sympathy for them at all. Other than that, the story is well-written, with nice twists and turns, specially the parts about Frankie herself, who's as likable a heroine as can be found. And as always, I love the parts with Nora Bonesteel and her Sight. So, this was a slight disappointment - on the same theme, "If I'd Kill Him When I Met Him" made the point for contemporary justice much more poignantly - but I'm still looking forward to Sharyn McCrumb's next Appalachian novel. Keep them coming, please, Ms. McCrumb!
Rating:
Summary: Something a Little Different
Review: McCrumb weaves a very interesting tale between cases 100 years apart in her usual comfortable but clever style. Almost as good as the book is Ms. McCrumb's explanation of her research into the legend who was Frankie Silver. Well done. Only problem is: these terrific books featuring Sheriff Spencer Arrowood are not coming fast enough! And I did miss Nora Bonesteel in this book who wasn't used much.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable summer read
Review: Sheriff Arrowood's obsession with the case of Frankie Silver over a century ago is interesting because of how the author connects it to a 20 year old case that the sheriff has growing doubts about. We know that Frankie and Fate are each doomed but their stories are no less compelling. What also fascinates the reader is that Frankie Silver did exist. We are left to wonder how much has really changed today between the upper and lower classes?
Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but still enjoyable
Review: This is an enjoyable book and was very easy to read. Yes, Ms McCrumb goes back and forth from the past to the present, but all it takes to follow from one time period to another is a capable reader. This one wasn't as spell binding as some of the others of this type, but it does hold the reader's attention. Get the others and read, read read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Waste Of Time
Review: Because I have read and enjoyed previous books by this author, I was expecting a good story. In the first part of this book, the mystery is, 'where in time are you?'. McCrumb jumps back and forth over several years time without giving any clues to the reader. No headings direct the reader to time, place or narrator. I suppose this style is thought to be artsy, but I found it annoying. I really couldn't connect with any of the characters until the father of Frankie Silver came on the scene and he was only a minor character. There was way too much uninteresting and unnecessary filler. By the time I reached the unremarkable end, I felt I had wasted my time on this one.
Rating:
Summary: So ever lasting of a story...
Review: Shocking, intense, but so realistic of a novel! Each character's tale will stay engraved into our hearts. Brilliant author that brings you into a captivating world of writing and whose root of wisdom cannot help but grow into any willing soul.... I humbly salute you Sharyn McCrumb.
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