What Happened in Beulah

by

Christy Scott Cashman

A riveting coming-of-age tale set in a small town hiding an awful secret.

What Happened in Beulah by Christy Scott Cashman is a riveting coming-of-age story set in a close-knit small Southern town with a terrible secret. Barrett Childress Owens is fifteen, a sophomore at Beulah High School in 1985, when the Gunderson family from New York City moves to town. Their cool daughter, Lacy, so very different from the local kids, is in Barrett’s class and would be a figure of awe in Barrett’s opinion if she wasn’t coming between Barrett and her best friend, Cassie. But then one day, in a town where nothing bad ever happens, Lacy goes missing. 

Barrett, the young narrator of the story, is doing the best she can with the hand she’s been dealt. With her parents divorced, her father, a lay preacher, and her mother, the last of one of the town’s founding families, a former Miss Kudzu, and the town drunk, she’s shy, introverted, damaged from her parents’ breakup and their separate pains, and the target of every school bully since day one. Her only friend is the popular, stalwart, and protective Cassie Warren, and no one messes with Cassie. But when Cassie develops an interest in and friendship with the cool newcomer, Lacy, Barrett suffers doubt, insecurity, and the fear of losing the one steadfast relationship in her life. 

The author’s writing is engaging and immersive, as she perfectly depicts the teenagers, small-town life, and the intrigue stemming from decades-old secrets and local myths. The characters, their dialogue, and thoughts felt authentic, and their daily interactions and reactions were absolutely genuine. I felt like I personally knew these people, making the revelations all the more suspenseful and shocking. I read this book from cover to cover in one satisfying session; I was so absorbed and invested in their story. 

I recommend WHAT HAPPENED IN BEULAH to readers of Southern and women’s fiction, especially those who enjoy coming-of-age stories and small towns with long hidden secrets. 

***I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.