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Title: Celilo's Shadow
Author: Valerie Wilcox
Narrator: Doug Greene
Format: Unabridged
Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
Language: English
Release date: 09-21-17
Publisher: Beacon Audiobooks
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective
Publisher's Summary:
Guilt is a powerful force. No matter how much time has passed, it's always there, ready to punch you in the chest when you least expect it. All it takes is something ordinary - a brief glance, a certain food, or a melody on the radio - and regret strikes hard and fast. For Odessa Feldman, the trigger is a Pacific Northwest storm.
When the muddy bones of a murder victim buried over 50 years ago are discovered in the storm's aftermath, Odessa overcomes her long struggle with guilt to finally reveal the truth. But her overdue confession comes with a difficult price - reliving her role in the tragic summer of 1956 and worse, betraying the best friend she'd ever had.
Dessa and Ellie Matthews were both 14-years-old when they met that summer. Ellie's father was a foreman at the dam under construction on the Columbia River. At least that's what he said. But, like murder and the motives behind it, some things in life are rarely as they seem.
Members Reviews:
A great read!
Celilo's Shadow paints a picture of small town life in the 1950s, and reflects the tension between Native Americans trying to preserve their way of life, governmental disregard for treaties, and bigotry of the white population before the Civil Rights movement of the 60s. As a native Oregonian growing up in the area where the story is set, I was unaware of the blatant racism. This story brings out the clash of cultures while weaving a tale of intrigue of small town greed and McCarthyism. The story contains some very interesting twists where all of the victims are not necessarily innocent. A great read!
Interesting and unique setting, but story didn't gel.
This book, set in the pre-concrete days along the Columbia River, uses a snippet of a current story to tell the tale of what life was like in the late 50s in Oregon. I feel as though by bouncing between the two stories, it didn't provide the main story of that era the completion it deserved. I think if the book was set entirely in the 50s, it would have been far more interesting. I did enjoy the descriptions of the people and the racial (and religious and political and social) tensions that were pervasive. I thought the author captured those very well. But it felt as though the book didn't know how to end so it was easier just to jump ahead to people reflecting on it.
Lots of twists and turns
I enjoyed this story very much. Took me a few chapters to really get into it but after that I could hardly put it down. Lots of twists and turns clear to the end of the book. Nicely written. It was not very raunchy at all as one reader said. And, maybe it was a bit negative on the Indians, as another reader stated, but that's the way things were back in those days. A bit of history in the book as the government tames the Columbia River with dams. Not good for the fish, nor the fishermen, the Indians.
Great setting not so great story
Would have been 3 stars but for the evocative description of time 1956 Northwest. You could almost see the Indians salmon fishing at the falls- soon to be eliminated by the dam. The story however left much to be desired. While i liked the character of the narrator the story suffered from the author's need for political correctness and throwing in far too many villains.