Deep in the hollows of Appalachia, in the shadow of Big Black Mountain, there used to be a coal-mining town called Bent Creek. When the workers went on strike and the mine closed the town disappeared leaving behind the families whose lives depended on the mine for their meager living. They were the poorest of the poor. Rachael Riley was one of six children born to Ida Mae and Roy Riley living in a tumbled-down shack on the edge of Bent Creek. Roy was a coal miner all his life. When the mine closed his life came to a halt. Rachael didn’t know how or when she was going to leave Bent Creek, but she knew in her heart that someday she would escape her life of poverty. Forced to work for an unsavory character named Nevers Bains changes Rachael’s life forever. A twist of fate lands her in the midst of a scheme that will help her make enough money to leave Bent Creek and start a new life. Will be brave enough to step up to the challenge? Filled with page after page of the daily struggles of the Riley family where the moonshine jug is a household staple and two meals a day is a luxury, Bent Creek is a rousing and fast-paced read.
