It’s refreshing to read a tale in which the heroine is likable even as her decisions will make readers shake their heads in frustration; her exit from deprivation is by no means guaranteed, and the ending to the treacherous dilemma she’s dragged into is deftly handled by Massey. Often-piercing language is a bonus, as are the nail-biting poker games whose play-by-plays are drawn out to satisfying effect. Readers who enjoy Wiley Cash and Willy Vlautin should try this notable debut.
[A] gritty debut thriller ... Although many of the other characters, from a crooked judge to the sly good ol’ boys who crowd around the game table, feel overly familiar, there are a few twists and reveals that keep Blind River from falling into stereotypes ... Gale Massey peppers the text with authentic, chilling details: the texture of a marked card, the exhaustion of digging a hidden grave ... From corpses to counting cards, Blind River plays it close and smooth.
[A] compulsively readable debut novel ... Massey creates a character who is hardly heroic, but always believable ... Crisply paced and stacked with surprises, Massey’s The Girl From Blind River is an impressive debut.
[Girl From Blind River] is a narrative in which place, upbringing, lack of education, the perennial pressure presented by the impossibility of upward social mobility, and the constant need for money push people to do things they see as their only option ... Massey puts her own voice on everything and channels it through a main character that is as likable as she is smart ... Massey’s understanding of psychogeography is what pushes this novel into must-read territory ... Contemporary crime fiction is shifting, and clichés about criminals are slowly fading away as new storytelling puts an emphasis on the motivations and socioeconomic realities that push people into crime. Massey is doing a lot in that regard with this book, and she doesn’t stop there ... Perhaps the more impressive feature of this novel is that it’s a debut. The author’s authoritative, powerful prose and knack for dialogue—especially when dealing with emotions and violence—are more indicative of a seasoned veteran rather than a debut author. This is great news because it means there is much more to come from Massey, and if The Girl from Blind River is any indication, it will be great.
Massey’s debut novel manages to be both poetic and propulsive, unfolding a familiar story of the long odds against redemption posed by family dysfunction with power and grace.
Crime fiction has come a long way in portraying women in central roles. Although...writers like Val McDermid...have been publishing these characters for years, even a decade ago, having strong and complex woman character at the center of a crime novel made it harder to publish...Now, that seems far from the case ... Gale Massey’s The Girl from Blind River, set in a small town in upstate New York, tells the story of nineteen-year-old Jamie Elders, a poker savant, who hopes to escape Blind River and flee her family, an oppressive criminal patriarchy, lead by her vicious uncle ... In a family as toxic as the Elders, Jamie’s intelligence, grit, and compassion for her gay brother suggest what a family should be, not a hostile patriarchy, but a place of acceptance and freedom.
