Over the Plain Houses

This riveting debut novel is both a portrait of a dysfunctional marriage and the tale of one woman's journey to freedom and redemption. Set in the mountains of North Carolina in 1939, it introduces Irenie Lambey, who is trapped in a destructive relationship with husband Brodis. While a well-respected preacher in his community, Brodis is quickly revealed to be a controlling, violently abusive tyrant in private. Irenie's misery is abated somewhat by the arrival of independent-minded Virginia Furman, an agent for the Department of Agriculture who is sent into the mountains to help families modernize their homes and farms. Through nightly wanderings in the woods and in her friendship with Virginia, Irenie finds happiness and for the first time envisions what her life would be like free of her husband. Eventually, Brodis discovers her trips and convinces himself that she is a witch. Afraid for himself and believing that he is ultimately saving his marriage, Brodis commits an unimaginable act that leaves the entire community reeling.