Member Review

"The Line That Held Us" is a beautifully written Southern tale of what lengths people will go to in order to protect the ones they love. It jumps into action immediately by describing how a nighttime hunting trip goes wrong (shocking, right?) and how multiple members of a tight-knit Appalachian community are dragged into one man's quest for revenge. Joy's writing is inherently brutal - there are many scenes of graphic violence and grotesque descriptions that are not for the faint of heart. But I was impressed by how gorgeous his writing still feels. There is so much emotion and also a beautiful wondering of the human condition that I wasn't expecting to find in a noir novel. The only thing that was really a downside was the ending. It felt sort of abrupt and left too many loose ends - so I was left with an unsatisfied feeling instead of total appreciation for Joy's talents.