Nightwoods    by Charles Frazier Order:  USA  Can Random House, 2012 (2011) Hardcover, Softcover, CD, e-Book      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth It's the early 1960s in a small town in North Carolina. Luce is living as a caretaker of a property that previously was a mountain resort. Her life has been harsh and she just wants to get away from the world. Her neglectful mother deserted Luce and her sister Lily when they were very young. Their father was abusive. As, years later, was Lily's husband Bud. After Lily's twins, Frank and Dorothy, came along, the abuse worsened until, finally, Bud killed Lily while the twins watched. Now, Luce is to care for the twins who haven't spoken since they witnessed the murder of their mother. They do have a mean streak and unfortunately love fire. Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons, both momentous novels, presents his fans with another extraordinary story of loss and love in the mountains. Published in 2011, somehow I missed it. Just came across a copy of Nightwoods and loved every page of it. Frazier has the very enviable talent of being able to take his readers and place them almost physically in each scene. His wandering in the mountains was very real to me and had me hanging on every beautifully chosen word. The characters he created could have been any resident of the North Carolina mountains. Spot on. It's a true delight of a story and one not to be missed. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Historical books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews