Close to the Broken Hearted

In this riveting new novel from Michael Hiebert, a killer's release is the catalyst for shocking revelations in a small Southern town. . .At twenty-two, Sylvie Carson has known a lifetime's worth of trouble. When she was a child, her baby brother was shot to death by a man named Preacher Eli. Orphaned by her teens, Sylvie is now raising her own baby with no partner in sight. For all these reasons, Leah Teal, Alvin, Alabama's only detective, tries to stay patient when Sylvie calls the station day and night, always with some new false alarm. But now Preacher Eli is out of prison and moving back to town.As far as the law is concerned, the old man has paid his dues—though Leah's twelve-year-old son, Abe, vehemently disagrees. Between that and his relentless curiosity about the daddy he hardly knew, Abe's imagination is running in all directions lately. While Leah struggles with how much of the past to reveal to Abe, she's also concerned about Sylvie's mounting panic....