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Praise for LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS

2016 Recipient of the Edgar Award for Best Novel

Named 2015 Outstanding Crime Fiction by the New York Times

Named a Top 15 Best Mystery Novel of 2015 by Oline Cogdill 

Included among best fiction for 2015 by Books-A-Million

Los Angeles Times - Summer Book Selection

2015 Spring & Summer Publishers Lunch Buzz Book

Coastal Living - 2015 Summer Beach Reads

Deep South Magazine - 2015 Summer Reads

Named a 2015 Best Summer Books by Publishers Weekly

"This Depression-era story is a sad one, written in every shade of Gothic black. But its true colors emerge in the rich textures of the narrative, and in the music of that voice, as hypnotic as the scent coming off a field of lavender." - Marilyn Stasio - New York Times Book Review

"...Roy excels in depicting the menace lurking in the natural world."

- The Washington Post

"...as the mystery deepens, so, too, does the suspense and affection for each Kentuckian who pulls up a chair at the kitchen table." - Associated Press

"Roy does wonderful work weaving her complementary narratives into a naturally cohesive novel, and the central mystery...unravels in a way that is simultaneously elegant and unexpected....Though this mystery provides its engine, the novel demonstrates an undeniable literary bent. " - Los Angeles Times

"... richly detailed, highly suspenseful Gothic novel filled with indelible imagery."-- Huffington Post 

"[LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS] has elements of crime fiction but moves into a new genre for Roy: Southern Gothic. It teems with family feuds, forbidden love, second sight and wronged innocents, all held together by Roy's taut style and gift for suspense." - Colette Bancroft - Tampa Bay Times

"LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS gracefully moves toward a stunning finale as Roy unfurls insightful character studies. ...."[It] is a story about what links families, and drives them apart."

- Oline Cogdill - South Florida Sun Sentinel

"Reading Lori Roy is a sinuous, near-physical experience, her stories so rich and well-told they twine into the reader in a manner both gentle and profoundly deep. I consider her writing a love-sonnet to American letters. Simply lovely." - John Hart - New York Times bestselling author of The Last Child

"Something to tide you over until Harper Lee's book release: This is an addictive Southern Gothic thriller..." 

- Elle Canada-10 Books You Have To Read This Spring

"This is a beautifully observed story whose details of time, place, and character are stunning little jewels sure to dazzle the eye on every page. Quite simply put, I loved this book."

- William Kent Krueger - New York Times bestselling author of ORDINARY GRACE

“There are echoes of Flannery O’Connor here: poverty, violence, malevolence, and grace. Roy’s writing is spell-like, using a simplicity of language, deft characterization, an understanding of the dark side of human nature, and relentless plotting in order to pull together every aspect of the conjuring necessary to create a masterpiece of Southern Noir.” – Historical Novel Society

"The scents of Lavender and regret are heavy in this suspenseful coming-of-age novel...This powerful story...should transfix readers right up to its stunning final twist." - Publishers Weekly - Starred Review

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"Edgar winner Roy’s third novel is an atmospheric, vividly drawn tale that twists her trademark theme of family secrets with the crackling spark of the “know-how” for a suspenseful, ghost-story feel." - Booklist - Starred Review

“Young love, Southern folklore, family feuds, and crimes of passion . . . Roy describes life on a lavender farm in rural Kentucky in vivid detail, and the mystery of what happened years ago will keep readers engaged until the end.”

– Library Journal 

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"Roy (Bent Road, 2011, etc.) draws a Faulkner-ian tale of sex and violence from the Kentucky hills...[Her] characters live whole on the page, especially Annie, all gawky girl stumbling her way to womanhood through prejudice and inhibition." – Kirkus Reviews

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