Where the Crawdads Sing

The novel covers events in the period 1952 to 1970 and the central character is Kya Clark, known to the local rural community of Barkley Cove as “the swamp girl”. The North Carolina setting of the novel is crucial because Kya becomes an integral part of it
The story is told on two timelines. It opens in 1969 with the discovery of a body in an old tower beside the swamp. The victim is Chase Andrews, a local man, the sporting pride of Barkley Cove, suave, confident and outgoing, he is married but has a reputation as something of a playboy.
The local police begin their investigation, then it reverts to 1952 where six year-old Kya, the fifth and youngest child of a ‘swamp’ family watches her fragile mother walking down the dirt track away from their home, leaving for good. Kya’s father is a violent drunk and Kya’s older siblings gradually leave the home too, unable to bear his aggressive dominance. This leaves Kya on her own with her father. At times they are able to live relatively agreeably together – he sometimes gives her money from his war pension (the family’s only income) and she is able to purchase supplies from the town – but mostly, he disappears, sometimes for days at a time, and Kya is forced to learn to fend for herself. Eventually he disappears altogether and Kya grows up alone developing an intimate knowledge of the natural world of the swamp, living in harmony with it.
Kya’s progress, from small child learning to live by her wits to beautiful young woman living alone and fending for herself, is told alongside the story of the police investigation into Chase Andrews’ murder. The account of the trial is told in gripping detail in a way that is reminiscent ofTo Kill a Mockingbird. I really enjoyed reading this book, the characters are all strong, fully thought through and well-rounded. I haven't seen the film and not sure that I want to because when books like this are so beautifully written, I often find something is lost when made for the big screen.