The Maid's Version: A Novel

"Daniel Woodrell is best-known for dark tales of the Ozarks (think Winter’s Bone). This book, also set in the Ozarks, is a fictional account of an explosion and fire at a dance hall in 1929 in the town where Woodrell’s family is from. Many of the characters are based on real people, including the maid who was inspired by Woodrell’s own grandmother. In her version of the events that led to the fire, the rules of class that govern the town and the passion of illicit love prove to be a dangerous and deadly combination. This is a short book, but Woodrell’s writing makes you want to slow down and savor a story told by a master."