The Distant Dead A Novel
The Distant Dead A Novel by Heather Young is a first edition published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2020, featuring 352 pages in English. This novel unfolds in a small Nevada town, where the shocking discovery of a charred body ignites a series of events that deeply affect the community. The narrative centers around Adam Merkel, a middle school math teacher whose life and tragic death intertwine with the lives of his students, particularly Sal Prentiss, a lonely sixth grader, and Nora Wheaton, a social studies teacher grappling with her own past.
Readers will find a complex exploration of grief, guilt, and the search for truth as Nora investigates Adam’s mysterious death, suspecting that Sal may hold crucial information. The story intricately weaves together the last months of Adam’s life, Nora’s quest for answers, and Sal’s emotional turmoil, creating a rich tapestry of flawed characters facing their own struggles. The novel touches on themes of friendship, loss, and the possibility of redemption, inviting readers to engage with the moral dilemmas presented in this literary mystery.
Official synopsis Publisher
Nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel * Nominated for the ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel
A BookPage Best Book of the Year * A People Magazine Best Book of Summer * A Parade Best Book of Summer * A Crime Reads Most Anticipated Book of Summer
Powerful…a breathtaking read, with flawed and authentic characters who hit so close to home that at times it is impossible not to root for them. — San Francisco Chronicle
A body burns in the high desert hills. A boy walks into a fire station, pale with the shock of discovery. A middle school teacher worries when her colleague is late for work. By day’s end, when the body is identified as local math teacher Adam Merkel, a small Nevada town will be rocked to its core.
Adam Merkel left a university professorship in Reno to teach middle school in Lovelock seven months before he died. A quiet, seemingly unremarkable man, he connected with just one of his students: Sal Prentiss, a lonely sixth grader who lives with his uncles on a desolate ranch in the hills. The two outcasts developed a tender, trusting friendship that brought each of them hope in the wake of tragedy. But it is Sal who finds Adam’s body, charred almost beyond recognition, half a mile from his uncles’ compound.
Nora Wheaton, the middle school’s social studies teacher, dreamed of a life far from Lovelock only to be dragged back on the eve of her college graduation to care for her disabled father, a man she loves but can’t forgive. She sensed in the new math teacher a kindred spirit–another soul bound to Lovelock by guilt and duty. After Adam’s death, she delves into his past for clues to who killed him and finds a dark history she understands all too well. But the truth about his murder may lie closer to home. For Sal Prentiss’s grief seems heavily shaded with fear, and Nora suspects he knows more than he’s telling about how his favorite teacher died. As she tries to earn the wary boy’s trust, she finds he holds not only the key to Adam’s murder, but an unexpected chance at the life she thought she’d lost.
Weaving together the last months of Adam’s life, Nora’s search for answers, and a young boy’s anguished moral reckoning, this unforgettable thriller brings a small American town to vivid life, filled with complex, flawed characters wrestling with the weight of the past, the promise of the future, and the bitter freedom that forgiveness can bring.
Author
Publisher
Topics
FAQ
What is “The Distant Dead A Novel” about?
Who is the author of “The Distant Dead A Novel”?
When was “The Distant Dead A Novel” published?
What is the ISBN for “The Distant Dead A Novel”?
What are the book details (language, pages, edition)?
