This is a strange story.
I wanted that to be my entire review, but someone would call me on it.
I picked this book off the library shelf. I couldn't believe it was a Sue Grafton novel. It was written in 1967. It had the drab olive-colored appearance of a book read so often, it had been to the bindery for a face lift. There was no fantastic art on the cover. There were no stellar praises from fellow authors on the back. I had never heard of Keziah Dane and was offered no hints as to what the story was about. I was on my own.
I wasn't expecting another one of the famous alphabet mysteries. That's good, because this book isn't like any other in Ms. Grafton's collection.
Keziah Dane is the woman behind the title of the book. She was widowed two years earlier by a great flood that destroyed the whole town. Keziah's husband, Floyd, and her eldest son, Urie drowned trying to rescue others. Keziah and her six surviving children were left to fend for themselves, while they lived in a small houseboat on the very river that destroyed their family.
The story begins on November 21, 1939. Keziah has put the family dog out of its elderly misery. The family knows it is for the best as they bury Henry on the land near their boat.
A man named Web is hiding in the woods. He sees the Dane family burying something. He assumes it is money. He descends on the family disguised as a traveling preacher. He believes that the Danes are poor for the sake of appearance, and that they really have a lot of insurance money from Floyd's death. Web decides he is going to pretend to be a preacher, play sweet with the family, and steal all of their "hidden" money.
Keziah Dane is a good Christian woman, so she welcomes "Preacher" into her home, no questions asked. The Dane children are suspicious of Preacher, however, and watch his every move.
In this story, we follow the Danes through a tumultuous few days in their lives. Keziah deals with the family's poverty and how to provide a Thanksgiving meal. The eldest surviving son, Matthias, contemplates an engagement to a local girl. Ezra, another son, wants to return to the ruins of their flooded town. He is hoping to pick up scrap metal underwater for money. However he isn't sure he can handle returning to the water that claimed his father and brother.
I can't tell you much more of the story without giving everything away. I will offer this final teaser, however. Somewhere in this middle of all this, there are a couple of murders.
As I said before, this is a strange story. It is slightly creepy, slightly funny, and slightly sad. It is also nothing like anything I have read by Sue Grafton.
I say this tale is creepy because it reminds me of how I felt when I read Deliverance. There's just some icky backwoods element shared by the fake preacher and Floyd's insane semi-invalid mother.
I'm not sure it is appropriate, but I found some dark humor in Keziah Dane as well. Maybe it is my twisted mind, but I thought the oddball preacher and the Dane characters were funny in general.
Obviously, the story is sad because of the tragedies involved (the flood, loss of family, poverty, etc). Fortunately, the positive faith and determination of the Danes lightens the tone a bit.
Should you decide to read Keziah Dane, do so without any assumptions or expectations. Had it not been printed on the spine, I never would have believed Sue Grafton wrote this book.
Would I recommend this book to my friends? Well, yes but I am afraid it would be hard to find. It is a good story, not a great story. Should you really want to read it, you will most likely find a copy through a public library interlibrary loan.
Overall, I enjoy Sue Grafton's alphabet books. They are light, entertaining mysteries. If you can't find a copy of Keziah Dane, I highly recommend the entire Kinsey Milhone series.
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