Coward's Hole, Rhode Island - 2013

Roberta Wilcox has reluctantly returned home to the tiny farming community where she grew up. After losing her teaching position at the University of Maryland, as well as any chance of getting a grant to finish the research on her book, she has stepped off the train and back into a life she doesn't want to remember. There is a nationwide oil crisis, resulting in fewer vehicles on the roads, more difficulty getting supplies to rural towns, and a state government rife with corruption. Roberta is immediately made aware of mysterious goings-on locally. She comes home to find that while many things haven't changed since her childhood, there is something very strange happening in the close-knit community.

Roberta's father and grandmother work their small farm and lumber mill, determined not to relinquish the three-hundred-year-old legacy left by their family. Much to Roberta's chagrin, her older half-sister, Paula, is in residence also, despite having a husband and job in a larger town. Paula is bitter and angry that she can't convince their grandmother to leave, but mostly because of her jealousy over Roberta having left for college and a fulfilling career. Roberta's reception by both her father and Paula is chilly, although her eighty-nine-year-old grandmother, May, is thrilled to have her other granddaughter home. But they all seem to be hiding something, leaving Roberta feeling like an outsider.

Just what is going on in Coward's Hole? Roberta knows that her father's life-long enemy, State Senator Fred Maine, is controlling the rationing of gasoline and supplies to the rural areas, but there seems to be something else happening between the two men. Then there is Roberta's childhood sweetheart, Steve, who has his fingers in many pies, and who wants to pick up where they left off romantically. And the newcomer in town, Lucas, who quietly goes about his business of living off the land and wooing Roberta. Then a government agent, Anthony Piccirelli, moves into town to try to recruit residents for The Ring, a state government system where people live in clustered housing near larger cities.

Family strife, community cohesion, and mysterious happenings are layered plots in this well-written, very intriguing first novel by Ms. Cotter. As a fellow resident of Rhode Island, I can attest to the excellent portrayal of the Swamp Yankees of this state, as well as her spot-on description of the South County countryside. The exciting and moving conclusion is well-worth the wait, and I was surprised at the outcome.

Don't miss this terrific -- and topical -- story of people trying to deal with society's ills and human relationships.

Jani Brooks