When Ghosts Come Home - by Wiley Cash (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Winner of the SIBA Southern Book Prize for Fiction

"I loved it and devoured it with fury, straight to its blazing end." --Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home, a tender and haunting story of a father and daughter, crime and forgiveness, race and memory.

When the roar of a low-flying plane awakens him in the middle of the night, Sheriff Winston Barnes knows something strange is happening at the nearby airfield on the coast of North Carolina. But nothing can prepare him for what he finds: a large airplane has crash-landed and is now sitting sideways on the runway, and there are no signs of a pilot or cargo. When the body of a local man is discovered--shot dead and lying on the grass near the crash site--Winston begins a murder investigation that will change the course of his life and the fate of the community that he has sworn to protect.

Everyone is a suspect, including the dead man. As rumors and accusations fly, long-simmering racial tensions explode overnight, and Winston, whose own tragic past has followed him like a ghost, must do his duty while facing the painful repercussions of old decisions. Winston also knows that his days as sheriff may be numbered. He's up for re-election against a corrupt and well-connected challenger, and his deputies are choosing sides. As if these events weren't troubling enough, he must finally confront his daughter Colleen, who has come home grieving a shattering loss she cannot fully articulate.

As the suspense builds and this compelling mystery unfolds, Wiley Cash delves deep into the hearts of these richly drawn, achingly sympathetic characters to reveal the nobility of an ordinary man struggling amidst terrifying, extraordinary circumstances.

Review Quotes

"[A] gripping, multi-layered [novel]... Some readers may be taken aback by the abrupt gut-punch ending... But as I mulled it over for several days--and that says a lot about the power of the book--I understood it was not capricious... It was as inevitable as nightfall in late autumn." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Style is not the only reason [Cash's] latest novel is so consuming. This is a timely novel that, while certainly dark, also asks us to believe in hope -- in redemption... Cash delivers the kind of book so many of us crave." - Chapter16.org

"Cash is a good storyteller, capturing the cadence of Southern speech and the complexity of modest lives with thoughtful intelligence." - New York Times Book Review

"Cash excels at conveying realistic family and community dynamics and creating complex characters." - Library Journal

"[When Ghosts Come Home] is great work, a novel that will not disappoint... Readers will care, and care deeply, about the sheriff, his wife, and his daughter, each of whom is dealing with pain and regret." - Gaston Gazette, (Gastonia, NC)

"An intelligent mystery that features realistic and layered characters from a storyteller who becomes more masterful with every novel." - Augusta Chronicle

Wiley Cash delivers a spellbinding novel that is part family drama, part police procedural, and part race-reckoning in a small Southern town." - Business Insider

"When Ghosts Come Home haunts the heart and stresses the soul." - Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

"A searing emotional story . . . . [Cash's] four novels have proven him to be an author to watch. When Ghosts Come Home continues his high standards."

"A must read, the lasting effects of When Ghosts Come Home refuse to let go, and will remain with me for quite some time." - WRAL.com (Raleigh, NC)

"Don't miss When Ghosts Come Home... [It's a] page-turner.... [and] the whodunit is mighty compelling." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A searing, thunderous, heartbreaking thriller. Wiley Cash has talent to burn." - Chris Whitaker, author of We Begin at the End

"Cash may be North Carolina's most promising and popular young fiction writer....His story is a compelling one, well worth waiting for its September release." - Wilkes Journal-Patriot (N. Wilkesboro, NC)

"Although the plot alone is compelling enough to keep readers turning the pages, this is also a quietly moving look at how realistically flawed characters deal with the tragedies life throws at them. A gripping mystery with characters that will linger in readers' minds long after they turn the last page." - Kirkus Reviews

"Writing with clarity and grace, bestselling Cash is a gem of a storyteller, combining the solitary journey of a young mother's grief and a community's relentless battle against racial injustice. The result is a tightly crafted whodunit with true depth that readers will simultaneously want to speed through and savor." - Booklist (starred review)

"When Ghosts Come Home is a gripping mystery as complex and layered as the characters who inhabit it. Set in 1984, Wiley Cash's exploration of race, justice, and grief - of the fault lines that rip apart families and communities - could not be more timely." - Lou Berney, author of November Road

"A fascinating, nuanced meditation on life - both the living of it and the taking of it - in the crucible of small town America. Wiley Cash is our guide through this maze of old secrets and fresh hurts. Take his hand, follow his lead and face the truth." - S.A. Cosby, author of Blacktop Wasteland

"A treatise on race in America wrapped in a family drama wrapped in a mystery, it brings us a thoughtful examination of a good man's struggle to do right under trying circumstances. Cash puts his whole heart on the page with these flawed, true characters, and the reward is ours." - Therese Anne Fowler, author of Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

"In When Ghosts Come Home Wiley Cash reveals how family and history and the threads that connect us can contain such mystery. This is a masterful example of storytelling, told by one of the most open-hearted and clear-eyed writers I know." - Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here

"Taut, tense, and tender--this novel hits every note. I loved it and devoured it with fury, straight to its blazing end." - Lily King, author of Writers and Lovers

"Cash writes a taut narrative, and he's adept at dealing with the darker side of human nature... "When Ghosts Come Home" grapples with significant moral issues...[and] is compulsively readable." - Wilmington Star News

"Wiley Cash's latest is an unputdownable knock-out: written in deft, thrilling prose, this book is both a gripping murder mystery and a thoughtful exploration of systemic racism in America. The perfect novel for our present moment." - Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy

"Wiley Cash has written a suspenseful, yet heart-tugging novel about community, duty, loss, racial divides, family and love. When Ghosts Come Home is a compassionate and timely gem." - De'Shawn Charles Winslow, author of In West Mills

"A brilliant portrait of how we arrived at the present, exploring race, class, greed, and how close we've always been to both the dangers that never hid themselves and the dangers we didn't see coming. This breathtaking story offers insight, heartbreak, and grace in equal measure." - Danielle Evans, author of The Office of Historical Corrections