It takes eight pounds of pressure to rip off a human ear. Considerably more force is needed for an arm or leg. Surprisingly, little effort, however, is needed to pull the guts out of someone and hang them from a tree.
These are the words that greet readers in Kalvin Ellis’s debut novel, In The Hills Above The Gristmill. A story about a podcaster named Paisley Mott who investigates a series of brutal murders in an Appalachian mining town.
I remember reading that opening and sitting up straighter. The opening line of a book is so important because it’s the hook that gets readers to turn the page and the next one and the next one. Kalvin’s work was a call to arms for me. Not only was I intrigued, but I just had that feeling that I had something special in my hands. Reading further only confirmed that. Continue Reading
