lyoness913's Full Review: Nancy Pickard - The Virgin of Small Plains: A Nove...
Nancy Pickard'sThe Virgin of Small Plains was selected as my Book Club's latest pick because Pickard is from the same suburb in Kansas where all live. I had never heard of any of her books but I was excited about the author and the novel. Although I read The Virgin of Small Plains in one day, I felt it was a good read and an interesting mystery.
Pickard sort of jumps back and forth in time, from 1987 to 2004. We see the main characters, before and after the dead body of a young teen girl was found in the winter of 1987. We meet Mitch and Abby, they are young high school sweethearts in small town Kansas. They are actually in Abby's room, and they are about to have sex for the first time. Abby's father is a doctor, and her parents are fast asleep. She tells Mitch to go to her father's supply closet so that he can get a condom and they can get on with it. Mitch has no idea that when he leaves the bed, he won't be coming back home for seventeen years.
While Mitch is on his voracious journey, Abby's father gets an emergency call. Mitch's father found a dead body frozen in the snow, and Abby's father and the town sheriff have the body in Abby's house. Mitch watches them smash her face in with a rifle and he consequently runs home, scared and confused. When he gets home he tells his father the story, and his reaction, oddly, is to send him away. Mitch's parenst don't allow him to come back. Mitch has no idea, but when Abby goes to ask his mother what's happened, she's told she is a bad influence on Mitch and his family doesn't want her near him.
We cut to 2004, and we find out that the dead girl was anonymously buried. People come from all over to pray to her because she supposedly grants miracles. Mitch has never come back to town and Abby is dating a real jerk. One day in the middle of a storm, Abby sees Mitch's mother walking around the snow in her nightgown. She tries to save her but she freezes, and this opens up an unsolved mystery for all involved. It turns out 'The Virgin' is not so anonymous after all.
The Virgin of Small Plains is fast-paced and exciting. I really enjoyed the many references to Kansas, including references to the Universities and the Kansas City Royals. I was familiar with the weather Pickard described, as there was even a tornado in the book!
There were several twists and turns that kept me reading the entire book which was over 320 pages long. I did figure out a few things along the way, but the end was entirely shocking. The sub plot (love story) between Abby and Mitch was interesting, and the characters were very specific and memorable. I wouldn't necessarily say that this is one of the best books I've ever read, but for a mystery (a genre which I don't usually prefer), this was fairly entertaining.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read, especially those who like mysteries and thrillers. You don't necessarily have to be from Kansas to enjoy this book, but I will said, it doesn't hurt!
Small Plains, Kansas, January 23, 1987: In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteen-year-old Rex Shellenberger scours his father's pasture, looking fo...More at HotBookSale
Small Plains, Kansas, January 23, 1987: In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteen-year-old Rex Shellenberger scours his father's pasture, looking fo...More at HotBookSale
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