In Appalachian Book of the Dead, Asheville-based author Dale Neal’s third Blue Ridge Mountain-set novel, the energy of presumed-dead murderer Angel Garcia Jones haunts the woods in which he disappeared years ago and the lives of the people who live on its edges. Among these residents are local girl’s summer camp caretaker Doyle Smathers, yurt-dwelling, Buddhist-meditating detoxer Sharon Morse and restless Chicago transplants Joy and Cal McAlister. Their narratives intersect in what’s been described as “a metaphysical thriller, a meditation on recovery and reincarnation, marriage and betrayal, death and rebirth [and] an exploration of how our fears give flesh to our hungry ghosts.” The former Asheville Citizen Times reporter and columnist will read from his latest work at Malaprop’s on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. Free to attend. malaprops.com. Author photo courtesy of Neal
Smart Bets: Dale Neal
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