The first story tells us about Rockville, the others are about the people who live in this town. They all agree on one thing which is that they don't need outsiders. And because of that, outsiders don't last long in Rockville. The people in Rockville love their quiet and peaceful life, but all of that changes when they find the body of a young girl. Who killed this girl, and why? These are the questions that are on everybody's mind.
One of the town’s people is a female police officer who moved to Rockville because she needed a break and a new job, with promotion if possible. There's also Cindy Mueller who’s married to a violent man, and she has decided not to tolerate any more of his behavior. And of course like in every town there is gossip, and the victim of gossip in Rockville is Carla Wagner. She suffers a lot from it but she's strong.
Shallow Grave and Other Tales is a bundle of stories, but the main characters are all connected to each other, they are all "Rockvillians" as they like to call themselves. There are many others who have an interesting story to tell in Rockville but I have to keep this short. To meet them, just read Shallow grave and other tales.
E. J. McFall has written this book in a way that when you read it, it's like someone is sharing his or her personal story, exclusively to you. I loved every story, one after another. It wasn't easy to put this book beside me. While reading, you get sort of dragged into the stories and you feel like you're right in the center of Rockville. I can assure you, with Shallow Graves and Other Tales E. J. McFall has written a first class novel!
Reviewed by Annick for Euro-Reviews
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