Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Ain’t Nobody Nobody by Heather Harper Ellett (Review)

Ain’t Nobody Nobody by Heather Harper Ellett is a unique, twisted murder mystery that takes the reader down a long and winding trail of deception, betrayal, subterfuge, criminal activities, revenge, and sounders of feral hogs. Randy Mayhill has been a hermit since he was ousted as sheriff of a small East Texas town after valiantly trying to subvert his friend’s crimes. Randy and Van have been best friends for years, but after Van allegedly commits suicide rather than face jail time, Randy hides away and wallows in self-pity and confusion and loneliness, with only his dogs and cases of Dr. Pepper for comfort.

Everything changes when a dead body appears on his late friend’s property, causing Randy to emerge from his exile to protect Van’s mother, Onie, and daughter, Birdie, and to discover the identity of the dead man and who shot him in the back. As the mystery deepens and shocking details begin to materialize, Randy slowly starts to uncover the truth about what really happened to his friend and about the criminal activity still being perpetuated on Van’s property. One man rises up as a greedy antagonist and so-called friend of both Randy and Van, but is greed his only crime, or is he also capable of murder?

Ain’t Nobody Nobody is a literary showpiece that unravels the web of lies in a small Texas town and highlights just how far a person will go to remain under avarice’s tenacious heavy hand. Ellett’s debut novel is well written and superbly crafted. This character-driven fiction will have you peering over your own shoulder and looking twice at both friends and family to see if betrayal and murder lurk behind their eyes. The ending is enigmatic and might come across as unsatisfying to some readers and absolutely brilliant to others. Ellett’s ability to leave readers forming their own ideas and opinions long after the book is finished is a skillful way of leaving a lasting, thought-provoking impression.

The pacing and tone of this story are moderate and somber, respectively, peppered with some humor, humility, tender moments, and kindness. The ubiquitous feral hogs offer an interesting motif that is most definitely open to interpretation and is reminiscent of the downward spiral of humanity into primeval acts of survival found in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The characters in Ain’t Nobody Nobody are all swirling and shifting and looking for that secure foothold of sanity, truth, and redemption.

I personally look forward to seeing more such fiction from Heather Harper Ellett.

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.