All small towns have their own local legends. From the Frogman of Loveland, the werewolf of Defiance, or Gore Orphanage in Wakeman, these creepy tales often keep us guessing the truths of different stories. But what if a town’s ghost story unintentionally helped hide the facts of the murder of a teenage girl? In Karin Nordin’s newest stand-alone YA novel, Sweet Little Lies, the entire town of Braxton Falls, Ohio celebrates as Riley King, The Braxton Butcher (who was arrested for the murder of town sweetheart Amber Wicker), has officially been sentenced to death after 15 years in jail. Amber’s sister Lexie, however, still has a feeling about his innocence.
Nordin’s story weaves together relatable small-town characters and scenery that could easily be set in the backdrop of Cuyahoga Falls, including the high school where the main character works as a custodian. On the horrifying night of their high school homecoming dance, Amber’s body is found mutilated in the woods of the Wynwood Witch– the town’s ghost legend. Lexie is immediately blamed by their parents for not protecting Amber, while also coincidentally being the girlfriend of the accused murderer. Fifteen years later, Lexie continues to try reeling in her own life, having stayed out of touch with Riley and been given continuous silent treatment by her drunken mother. Nevertheless, when she receives a mysterious letter from him on the day his death sentence is announced, Lexie becomes a detective in her sister’s life story. Why wasn’t Amber at the dance at that time? Did Riley actually attack her sister? If so, why would have caused him to lash out? And did the wrath of the Wynwood Witch cause any of this, even if it isn’t real?
While it focuses on the story more than most of David Lynch’s work, the mystery of Sweet Little Lies feels drawn straight from Twin Peaks and the murder of Laura Palmer. The periodic timeline shifts between the present day and 2007 introduces clues without the interference of having an unreliable narrator. Instead, these sections act more as a prequel novella broken up throughout the novel where the story points relate, only connecting when main characters recall events. These earlier events, however, are still told by the story’s protagonist, therefore keeping outside influences in the case hidden from the reader. The character of Lexie is conflicted between wanting the ongoing stories about her family to be over and assuming Riley was the killer, but also recalling her childhood and wanting Riley to be innocent like she remembered him.
Despite being her first stand-alone novel, Nordin has written two previous books, Where Ravens Roost and Last One Alive, both in her Nordic crime series featuring Detective Kjeld Nygaard. Based on these three novels, it is obvious her writing skills reside in the mystery genre. Written for a teen audience, Sweet Little Lies is perfect for readers of any age, especially those who live in or grew up in a small town and still know the local dirty secrets.
For more information about Karin Nordin, visit www.karinnordin.com. Sweet Little Lies is available on Amazon in ebook format.
Hear Nordin discuss her writing on Fallscast episode 71.
