Fast Falls the Night by Julia Keller

No day in Acker’s Gap, WV is a treat. It’s most well-known for its “notorious clans of petty thieves and lazy liars and mean drunks and nonstop troublemakers living in a daisy chain of dingy trailers.” A less literate sociologist might say it’s a place where “diseases related to cigarettes and whiskey and obesity - and now drugs – has settled into the area like a turkey vulture on a fence post.” 

Raythune County WV.

It’s Belfa Elkins’ home. The help and support from an aging Deputy Sherriff got her into college and then law school in DC. She came home and eventually was elected to be the Raythune Country Prosecutor. Three other women from her law school class have invited her to join their newly formed firm in DC. Something to think about, especially after this particular day.

Midnight out at a Marathon station, a strung-out girl wants to use the restroom. The overnight guy, Danny, knows why, but gives her the key anyway. Happens so often that the owner says to go roust ‘em out if they are in there for more than 20 minutes. He goes to check and finds her on the disgusting floor. Calls 911. A Deputy and the EMS arrive. The girl is alive, but barely. Naloxone doesn’t work so it’s off to the hospital, but she dies before they even get her in the van.

Mexican heroin has infiltrated Raythune county. And this batch is deadly. It’s been cut with carfentanil – a deadly opioid that is 100x more potent than fentanyl, 5000x more potent than heroin, 10,000x more potent than morphine. Don’t even let this stuff touch your skin. And it’s on the streets of Acker’s Gap.

Before the menace is stopped, there will be 33 ODs and 3 deaths . . . in a single 24-hour period.

Keller tells the story of this horrific day from the viewpoints of the main players:

·             Danny, the Marathon station’s overnight attendant.

·             Sally Ann, the short-lived girl in the gas station bathroom.

·             The County Prosecutor’s office: Bell Elkins, (with a long-buried secret), the two Assistant Prosecutors, the office secretary, and Bell’s older sister (with her own secret).

·             EMS tech Molly – African American with a special needs little brother. Like so many in Acker’s Gap, she also has her own secret.

·             Deputy Jake, A WV native, but not from Raythune County. Has the hots for Molly.

·             Paul. Pastor of the local free will church. He and his wife have been shuttled through a few earlier assignments due to a personal weakness of his.

·             Eddie is the caretaker of Paul’s church. Eddie is a vet not recovering well from a brain injury in Afghanistan. And don't forget to pile on the PTSD. Eddie lives in the church basement.

·             Raylene. Early 30s but still looks like she should be getting ready for the prom. Has a 5yo daughter Marla Kay. Raylene is a piece of work working scam after scam. Latest is to hang out in grocery parking lots with Marla Kay and a sign asking for money to help with her child’s cancer treatment. Eddie is Marla Kay’s father and worships the group she walks on, but Raylene keeps Eddie at bay.

·             Plus a few less prominent, but no less important, residents of Acker’s Gap.

I’ll be honest. This is one depressing story. By page 75, I was ready to return this 2017 book to the library. The writing was terrific. No question. A real pro put this together. 

But the story . . . one OD after another mounting up as the day progresses. And so many of those saved by the rapid responses of the EMS are just plain pissed that the naloxone slammed the door shut on their high. You can save ‘em, but they’ll just start looking for their next fix. All ages, all classes. Even the millionaire coal company lawyer wasn’t immune.

But I stuck it out and was richly rewarded. Keller slowly reveals one secret after another that underlies the actions and relationships of the residents.The dogged work of Bell and her office, Deputy Sheriff Jake, and EMS Molly finally end this most tragic day right up until the author presents a cliff hanger in the last paragraph.

Julia Keller, the author, is from Huntington, WV and apparently, something like this actually happened in Huntington sometime in the last 10-15 years. Keller was awarded a Pulitzer Prize during her tenure with the Chicago Tribune. Looks like this is the 7^th Bell Elkins novel. Seeing as how I like books based up and down the Appalachians, I suspect I’ll be paying Bell Elkins another visit. 


Special shout out to Gonzalo Baeza (an FOC - Friend of Charlie Stella) for bringing Keller's name to my attention.

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