3.5 Takes a while for this story to actually get going, but I love this type of fiction, so I persevered. A combination of folklore, ghost story and a real murder trial, set at the turn of the century in Appalachia. This author does these types of stories so well, and always does an amazing amount of research. Dark in tone, rich in atmosphere, a strong character in Mary Jane, a mother who would do anything to see that her daughter received justice, at a time when woman had little power. Inside a...

3 Stars.“The Unquiet Grave” by Sharyn McCrumb is a fictional tale based on one of the strangest murder trials in American History which took place in 1897 – and had to do with a folklore legend of the Greenbrier Ghost. The book was extremely well researched.The book flips back and forth between two time frames. The first is Greenbrier, West Virginia and 1897, where young Zona Heaster marries a man nicknamed “Trout”, whom she hardly knows and suffers dire consequences. Her mother Mary Jane is a s...

Traveling Sisters Group Review with Norma, Lindsay, Susanne, and DianeI read The Unquiet Grave with three of my Traveling Sisters and this one had us situated in different coulees in the end with our enjoyment and rating for this book.We all did have similar thoughts on The Unquiet Grave however it did affect our overall enjoyment of the story a little differently. We all really enjoyed the Appalachian ghost story with the turn of the century real murder case and appreciated all the research put...

Times change, but men mostly don't.James P.D. Gardner sits quietly in his darkened room in this former hotel now serving as an asylum for the insane. Although a renowned African American attorney of long standing in Lakin, West Virginia, Gardner had attempted suicide. Like the legal volumes stacked on his office shelf, life's complications carried oppressive weight and took up too much space.Dr. James Boozer, young and inexperienced, leans in closer and encourages Gardner to participate in the "...

I love historical fiction.....especially when there's a bit of a ghost story to compliment it.....and this is a good one!Based on the true story of one of the strangest murder trials in American history, Sharyn McCrumb tells the tale of an 1897 legend.....the Greenbrier Ghost.It's 1930 when while incarcerated in West Virginia's asylum for the colored insane that 63 year old country lawyer James P. D. Gardner recounts his connection to an old murder case defending a white man.In addition to learn...

Traveling Sisters Group Review with Brenda, Lindsay, Susanne, and Diane!THE UNQUIET GRAVE by SHARYN MCCRUMB was an interesting, very informative, and a well-researched tale that was based on the true story of one of the strangest murder trials in American history, of an 1897 folklore legend of the Greenbrier Ghost.  I absolutely love these types of stories especially if there is a ghost involved but somewhere in the middle this book lost my attention and I had a hard time finishing it. This book...

Sharyn McCrumb is a long-time favorite author of mine. Her ballad books are food for my literary soul, with her hauntingly beautiful tales of the Appalachian Mountains folklore. This time she’s veered away from those ballads with a historical novel based upon a true incident. There actually was a murder trial where the accused, Erasmus Trout Shue, was brought to trial for the murder of his wife, Zona Heaster Shue, based on the testimony of his deceased wife. Zona’s mother attests to the fact tha...

2.5 stars This book started off strong, slowly dragged in the middle and then finished with a bang. Unfortunately, the dragging middle part was from about the 40% mark to the 97% mark. I started to lose interest around the halfway mark and had to force myself to keep reading. Had this not been a Traveling Sister Read, I probably would not have finished it. What I enjoyed about the novel was finding out that this was based on “the true story of one of the strangest murder trials in American hist...

I confess that I sometimes enjoy watching the Travel Channel and in particular those shows pertaining to America's Most Haunted Places. When I discovered this novel,The Unquiet Grave written by Sharyn McCrumb, the description held a ring of familiarity for me. Then I remembered... this novel, based on a true crime which occurred in Greenbrier County, West Virginia in the late 19th century had also been featured on a show on the Travel Channel. This tale of the Greenbrier Ghost has become an impo...

5 stars for the meticulous historical research McCrumb undertook and for her attention to contextual nuance and details. I was leaning towards 4 stars until I finished the novel and came upon the Author's Note, which explained the basis of The Unquiet Grave as the folktale of the Greenbrier Ghost of West Virginia, a tale born of the real life story of Zona Heaster Shue (pictured below).Zona Heaster ShueZona Heaster Shue was a young, beautiful farmers' daughter who married an equally handsome bla...

This is my second attempt to read this book. Not sure what turned me off the firsttime but I am hooked now!15/3/18 Having now finished reading, I would recommend this book to lovers of Historical fiction and also to those who love an old fashioned Courtroom Trial.I struggled in my first attempt, to follow whose perspective the narrative was coming from. However once the stage was set and characters fleshed out, I really enjoyed this story. The chapters regarding Mr Gardner were interesting excep...

Almost my cup of tea(not enough blood, guts and Gore!LOL), but still a good read.

The Unquiet Grave is about the Greenbrier Ghost legend in West Virginia. The story tells about a ghost of a young woman, Zona Heaster Shue, who visits her mother and tells her how she had died. Mary Jane is determined to prove that Zona was murdered. She goes to town to tell the prosecutor that Zona ghost appear to her and knows she was murdered. Zona's body is then exhumed and everyone was shocked to find that Mary Jane was right!The Unquiet Grave is one of the best books I have read in a long

Zona Heaster is a beautiful redhead who wants more out of life than the mountains of West Virginia can offer her in 1897. After secretly bearing a child out of wedlock, she takes up with a 35-year-old blacksmith whose good looks and easy charm are impossible to resist. Their whirlwind courtship doesn’t last long, however, and within months of their wedding Zona is found dead. Everyone but Zona’s mother accepts her death as a tragic accident and the funeral would likely have marked the end of her...

Enjoyed this book mostly because of the extensive research done by the author. Not as spooky as I was hoping for but interesting and well written. Worth the read!

4.5 stars....unique story telling told from POV of Attorney Gardner and mrs. Heaster. This is really a fascinating story that is both factual and part folklore. I appreciate McCrumb’s research on her subjects, time and place. The voice of Attorney Gardner had me in the first chapter, very convincing even though the chapter opens up with him in an asylum. Interesting account of murder set in late 1800’s. Very enjoyable read. Highly recommend.Update:visited Zona’s grave today 6/10/18 “Greenbrier g...

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.2.5 - 3 starsI had a really hard time getting into this book. The beginning grabbed me and I was very interested in Mary Jane & Zona’s story. But once the story focus shifted to James and Dr. Boozer, I started losing interest. I had a very hard time staying focused and invested in the story and there was just too many details and recollections from James that just did not seem relevant to the story at all.I really enjoyed the c...

Voice, voice, voice; nobody writes like Sharyn McCrumb. Here her dry, dark humor combines with her expertise in Appalachian culture and above all, her deep respect for the working poor, and the result is a masterpiece of an historical mystery. Thanks to Net galley for the DRC, and to Atria for sending a hard copy galley and a finished copy of this excellent novel. However, had I paid full freight, I’d have come away happy. This book will be available to the public September 12, 2017.Based upon t...

A fascinating fictional account based on the Greenbrier Ghost. Set in 1897 West Virginia, the story of young headstrong and promiscuous Zona Heaster who quickly falls for and marries handsome, sweet talking Trout Shue, a young man working for the local smithy. After a brief honeymoon Zona's mother Mary Jane realizes all is not well in the marriage and shockingly discovers that Zona has died suddenly under musterious circumstances. More shocking is that one night Zona appears to her mother to tel...

The Unquiet Grave is a retelling of a folk story about a ghost who appeared as a witness at the trial of the man who murdered her, through her mother. The narrative is broken up, as far as the timeline and point of view, between the mother’s present in 1897 and the lawyer’s assistant in a 1930s asylum. It’s based on real life and though at times I felt impatient with the various characters involved with the trial, it’s the mother, Mary Jane, and the details of her life in West Virginia and her p...