Gale Massey makes a gritty and thrilling crime debut set in small town, Parsons, in New York, a place where once your family is saddled with a history and reputation as convicts, thieves and cheats, its hard to escape the heavy weight of peoples' judgements and expectations. 19 year old Jamie Elders is bright and intelligent, her life has not been easy, her mother is in prison, and all she wants is to escape from Parsons. She is a great poker player, a gift honed from her mother's skills in the game, she has plans of becoming a professional player in Florida. However, it all goes to hell in a handcart after Jamie makes a series of poor decisions that land her in a whole heap of trouble and in enormous debt to her nasty piece of work, abusive and corrupt Uncle Loyal, a man deep into illicit gambling with connections in high places.

Whilst there are aspects of Jamie with her fraught personal life that are naive, her background has ensured that she has a native understanding of the world she lives in. She is loathe to leave her younger troubled brother, Toby, in the care of Loyal, a man who plainly cannot be trusted. She has no choice to do as she is forced to anything and everything that her despicable Uncle Loyal asks, and he is asking a lot when he demands that she gets rid of a the dead body of a well known and liked character. He goes too far with his intention to frame Toby for the murder. The resourceful Jamie refuses to take this lying down as she sets out to extricate herself and save Toby from the clutches of Uncle Loyal in her search to secure some form of justice in a unforgiving town and a little help from a detective. Set in the world of gambling, the narrative comes from the perspective of a number of characters. I loved the character of the feisty Jamie whom life has dealt some difficult cards, you just cannot help but root for her throughout. This is a great story, compelling and entertaining, that never failed to hold my interest. Just brilliant! Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books for an ARC.

The Girl from Blind River is a fast-paced, impressive debut novel from Gale Massey. In it we meet Jamie Elders, a young woman of nineteen who’s trapped in Blind River, a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business and in which children are pegged from birth to follow family bloodlines.

When Jamie and her brother were young, their mother was sent to prison. Their uncle Loyal took them in, saving them from the “evils” of the Social Services Department. Anxious to break away and branch out on her own, Jamie wants to head to Florida to make money on the professional poker circuit. She learned cards from her mother early on and has the instincts of a savant, yet her age and inexperience necessarily mean she is somewhat naive. She also can’t leave Blind River as long as her brother Toby is in the care of the abusive Loyal who is in cahoots with a corrupt judge.

Jamie’s naiveté also leads her to a going-nowhere affair with a married man who uses her for more than just sex—he films her in a sex tape without her knowledge. Despite her faults, she is well-rounded, but resourceful, smart, and strong. Her backstory is sprinkled in judiciously. The other characters are also well-rounded. No one, however, is totally innocent

Massey does a terrific job amping up the tension. Jamie borrows from the money she collects from Loyal’s illegal gambling machines and loses it. In fiasco after fiasco, she grows deeper in debt to her snake of an uncle. Only when a detective from out of town convinces her to tell the truth of what she knows does Jamie see an end to her life in Blind River.

Thank you #NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the E-ARC copy of this book.

The Girl From Blind River was a well written and engaging read about a girl trying to find her way out of a small town. There are some familiar themes with stories in small towns- corruption, cover ups and the detective that never gives up but they were done well. Jamie was easy to connect with and root for as well as believable.

This book wasn't exactly what I thought it was going in but I enjoyed it none the less. This is my first time reading anything by this author and I will definitely check out what she does next.

Jaimie Elders is 19 and trapped in a small town, trying to live down the reputation of a mother who'd been in prison, a troubled brother where her loyalty runs deep, and being indebted to an uncle that has masked his reasons for taking her and her brother in for his own illegal gambling activities.

The tale is familiar--a diabolical judge that runs the town, the married man who uses a young girl, a murder that is being covered up, the detective that refuses to give up until he uncovers the truth. Yet through the sometimes naive, but always resourceful eyes of Jaimie, it's a story that kept me turning the pages to know how it would turn out. From page one, I was drawn in and rooted for Jaimie to find her way out. In the end it's a story of hope, that we are not destined to live any other life than the one we choose.

Unfortunately, this book did not appeal to me. I couldn't connect to the main character and didn't enjoy the writing or secondary characters. The plot sounded interesting, but the execution didn't work for me. We will probably still purchase the book for our collection, as I'm sure there is an audience for it. Thanks.

Description
Everyone says the Elders family are nothing but cheats, thieves, and convicts—a fact nineteen-year old Jamie Elders has been trying desperately to escape. She may have the natural talent of a poker savant, but her dreams of going pro and getting the hell out of the tiny town of Blind River, New York are going nowhere fast. Especially once she lands in a huge pile of debt to her uncle Loyal.
My Thoughts
Jamie has the misfortune to come from a small town where everyone has some kind of reputation. Her family, the Elders are known to all and not because of their brilliance or charitable nature, but rather because they are criminals. Jamie wants to leave this town and her family behind, with the exception of her brother Toby. However, her Uncle Loyal has other plans, including framing Toby for murder and making Jamie dispose of the body. Has Jamie learned enough from her family to turn the tables on her Uncle Loyal, save Toby and escape her life in Blind River?
I quite liked this story, perhaps because I am from a small town and understand how someone can have a parent or sibling with a bad reputation and be branded as 'no good' not because of who they are or what they have done, but just because of another family member. Jamie has been dealt a bad hand, but how she handles herself and how she envisions her future is at the heart of this story. She is no innocent Little Miss Sunshine type character, but rather someone just trying to secure a better life.I thought her character was very well written and her situation believable. This is the first book I have read by Gale Massey and I will be interested to see what she writes next.
Thank you, Gale Massey, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC to read and review.

#TheGirlFromBlindRIver #NetGalley

Thank you #NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the E-ARC copy of this book

Life can be tough living in a small town where everyone knows everyone. It can be even tougher when your family has a terrible reputation. When Jamie's mother goes to prison her and her brother Toby move in with their Uncle Loyal. Loyal is a con man, running crooked poker games and gambling machines. Jamie is forced to work for her uncle and to help him hide a dead body. Will Jamie and her brother ever get away from Loyal and have a better life? A very well written story, I would definitely recommend this book.

xI'm sure if I understood poker I would have enjoyed this book more. All the talk of this card versus this on the river, I just didn't get. Jamie seemed a spunky protagonist even if she was naive at times. Jack was bad news - anyone could see that. Still she trusted him. I just don't like to gamble with anything. Money, love, job. I like secure. It is hard for me to understand why anyone would risk something a deck of cards. In all the movies and books, it never ends well.

I enjoyed this book so much I told my husband to read it too. Believably sad but easy to imagine the truth is out there in some cold house. I felt so sad for the two children and their never knowing the love of a parent.

A story about a small town where they all know each other, the type of small towns that is hard to escape from, It was an enjoyable book, easy to understand ,

Jamie is only 19, but even she knows her family’s reputation is not something to be proud of. The Elderly’s are widely despised by the members of their community because of their propensity for crime and violence. Jamie wants to get as far away from them as possible, but a debt she owes to her Uncle Loyal keeps her on a short leash until she can pay him back. Unfortunately, Loyal isn’t looking for money, he’s looking for someone to do his dirty work, so when he calls Jamie one night and tells her she has to get rid of a dead body, she has no choice but to obey. Besides getting clear of her family, Jamie is trying her best to keep her brother Toby out of Loyal’s clutches. But when Loyal frames Toby for the murder, Jamie has no choice but to fight fire with fire. After all, she’s an Elderly and she’s learned form the best. I really liked this spin on the heroine, Jamie’s no squeaky clean, innocent little miss, she’s a kick ass woman on a mission