Children of the Valley

A pair of runaways take refuge in Sheriff Wing's slice of the Vermont countryside.

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A fast-paced, sharply observed novel of rural suspense.



Sheriff Lucian Wing goes to the aid of a pair of young runaways, Duncan and Pamela, who have fled to his backwoods county jurisdiction in Vermont. The girl's powerful stepfather New York has set a smoothly menacing lawyer and well-armed thugs on their trail.



At the same time Wing must deal with his wayward wife's chronic infidelity; the snobbery of Pamela's cosmopolitan mother; the dubious assistance of a demented World War Two enthusiast - and even the climactic, chaotic onset of a prodigious specimen of the local wildlife.



Amidst it all, can Wing bring Duncan and Pamela to safety?



Praise for Castle Freeman's novels:
'A small miracle - sharp, sly, moving and full of heart.' Nick Cave



'Part comic romp and part nail-biting thriller ... Castle Freeman writes with both wit and a deep understanding of the human psyche, and he does not cheat us out of a dramatic climax.' Guardian



'Shares many small-town, big-crime themes with Cormac McCarthy... it is impossible not to appreciate this.' The Times



'Wonderful... every paragraph a gem. Freeman - like Cormac McCarthy, like Annie Proulx - shows us the awkward realness of lives, and does it with humour, with wry perception, with great style.' R. J. Ellory



'Extremely funny... streamlined storytelling, dead-on dialogue and lyrical descriptions of the bleak, woodsy landscape. This is a meticulous New England miniature, with not a word wasted.' Oprah Magazine



'A fast, memorable read gooey with atmosphere ... a gem that sparkles with sly insight and cuts like a knife.' Boston Globe



'Freeman has a flawless ear for dialogue and a sharp eye for quirky detail ... Superb.' People Magazine



'A brilliant book - laconic, spare, stylish and exciting.' Al Alvarez



'A small masterpiece of black comedy and suspense ... If all novels were this good, Americans would read more.' Kirkus Reviews