In the Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf

 "Papaw gave me his death-talking gift when I was only nine. He  told me what he could do, then he told me how to use the secret Bible verses to do it. The gift jumped out of him and into me."

"There are only a few rules for death-talking. If you tell someone the secret scriptures, your gift is gone. You can only pass it to someone of the opposite sex. If you die with your gift, it disappears forever. And you can't talk the death out of someone twice."

"What Papaw didn't tell me is how you shoulder a lifetime of guilt for all the souls you can't save. That I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it."

 

 My thoughts: I liked the combination of mystery and magical realism in this book. And I always love that small town Appalachia setting with its deep-rooted families (and all their secrets), their strange superstitions, and their herbal folk magic. And I really liked Weatherly Wilder with her eerie gift of saving lives with her death-talking, and her vulnerability, especially as she tries to prove who murdered her cousin, Adaire. There's also a mysterious Soul Walker named Rook, who is sometimes a boy, more often a crow; I loved his connection to Weatherly. There's great Southern atmosphere, a compelling voice, and several good twists. Poignant, gritty, and beautifully written, In the Hour of Crows is a captivating novel.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!