Tidewater Blood

by William Hoffman

The secret was buried deep within the high mountains of West Virginia. It spiraled down to a devastating legacy of betrayal, revenge, and rage that was destined to destroy a dynasty.

Charley LeBlanc is the black sheep, a disgrace to the family name -- a name steeped in tradition, wealth, privilege, and prestige. But when Charley is hauled out of his shanty hideaway in a Chesapeake inlet by the sheriff, he's up against more than he had ever faced in Vietnam, prison, or the rest of his miserable past.

Presumed guilty of setting a charge that blew his family to kingdom come, Charley becomes a fugitive, running deep into the mountains -- and into the past. Unless he can find out who did it and why, he's going to pay with his life, and that suddenly seems too precious to lose.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 4, 1998

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. Well-written mystery set in rural Virginia and West Virginia. The characters and the setting felt very real and are the strong points of the story. The plot was a little slow moving, and the way a certain character figured out the answer to the mystery seemed a bit implausable. (He became an expert in something very technical overnight, it seemed.) Even so, it still was an enjoyable read.

[Hannah Chaussee · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - thought the story itself was interesting, but I couldn’t get past the dialogue and the main character’s backstory.

[John Tipper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoffman has written a Southern Gothic that is also an action-adventure novel. Charley LeBlanc has been living off the grid in a shack on a swamp, fishing and hunting for food. He has no job and he has an alias. He served time in the Vietnam War. And he did hard time in a federal prison, Leavenworth, in Kansas. One day a sheriff comes and arrests him, takes him back to his hometown, throws him in jail. Charley is charged for the murder of his older brother, his wife, and a child. He's wrongfully accused and must clear his name. Hoffman created a strong sense of place in Tidewater, VA, and later in the hills of remote West Virginia. The sparse prose gives tension and suspense to the plot. There's strong character development, with backstories. The themes are family, honor, and justice. It's an engaging read.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the survival aspect of this adventure, and that aspect kept me turning pages. However, I did find it a bit difficult to believe that a man who had been living as a wild hermit could have discovered and made sense of all the clues to prove himself innocent, as well as the concept that redneck law enforcement would be willing to follow up on what Charley claimed was proof someone else had committed a crime.

[Juanita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the way this author weaves the story of this families secrets. Found myself running with Charley trying to stay ahead of the police, and meeting people from his past.
it took me a few days to finish it, since I like to read at bedtime.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. Awarded the Dashiell Hammett Award and I can see why.
Fugitive meets Where the Crawdads Sing. Good Southern color, literary writing.
Channeling Ross McDonald for the missing piece
.

[Beth Arrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery!

[Pete Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery set in rural Virginia and West Virginia. Good story of fugitive on the run.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: in Virginia in the 1980s, it's the annual LeBlanc picnic. The mansion blows up with many deaths. Did ex-con Charles LeBlanc do it?

[Mike Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Hoffman's work before, and this book was a most pleasant surprise. It is well-crafted, full of rich detail and interesting characters.
This first person narrative is related by Charles LeBlanc, third son and official black sheep of the LeBlanc clan, a very prosperous Tidewater family that dug its riches from the West Virginia coal mines. Charles ekes out an existence on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay. Homeless, unemployed and penniless, his life is as basic as they come, until an explosion rocks the family home from which he was expelled years before by his father. The explosion kills his brother and several others, and Charles is tagged as the number one suspect. Indeed, he's the ideal candidate. He flunked out of school, was kicked out of the army, and has not a friend in the world. No one will lift a finger in his defense.
The novel centers around his flight from the law, and his attempts to prove his innocence. Although the issue is never really in doubt, the author spins this into a very compelling tale, complete with great detail on his flight and the cast of characters he meets along the way.
There are riches in these pages. The author either has first hand knowledge of the coal mining operation, or has done his homework in learning about it. All the detail he provides adds greatly to the verisimilitude of the tale. The characters Charles meets along the way are colorful and well-developed. Each has his/her own story to tell, and none are slighted.
A most enjoyable read!

[Julie Canfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing up wealthy does not shield us from pain nor make living life easy. Some, such as Charley find it's easier to live simple but learn you can't escape from your past. Charley lives a hermit along the Chesapeake, in a makeshift shelter using other peoples discards for things needed and used in everyday life, such as dishes, furniture and even clothing.This is not his past. Living off the land, making his own way, Charley seeks to hide from the world and the pain it can cause. However the world finds him when tragedy takes his some of surviving family members and his childhood home away. Seeking truth Charley must face his past and handle the problems that arise in the present. One lesson that keeps returning to Charley is the world always has to find someone to blame and that person once picked to be the scapegoats can never escape from blame.

I found this book t be a pretty good read. It took a while to hook me but when it did, I looked forward to reading it nightly. The dialogue wasn't great. Some lines seemed forced, not a conversation I could picture happening. The settings, and descriptions were some of the best I have ever read. I could smell the sweat, hear the locust, see the home he returns to. Becoming involved with the book that way made up for not hearing the dialogue.

I recommend reading this book>

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books set in places I've lived!

Well, I said the above because I thought the book was set in the Tidewater area of Virginia, and, in part, it was. The rest was set in a fictionalized version of Thurmond, West Virginia, an old mining town about an hour from where I live now. And I especially love books set in TWO places I've lived!

That said, the book itself, the story of a n'er-do-well son of a prestigious Tidewater family seeking to clear himself of a murder was interesting in spots, but it really went downhill with an ending that made little sense to me (and I actually know something about mining). So other than the great locations, the book was just OK.

[Farhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A highly-touted thriller which is hardly average. An unimaginative plot, a wandering, aimless story like its narrator, and characters that fail to engage, it is a below-average thriller which is lent some respect by way of authentic Southern backdrop and language. The disowned son of a wealthy family is framed for blowing up his elder brother along with his family at a party. Expectedly, manages to absolve himself but without any real investigative or analytical work. Don't intend to read more by this author.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but there were just too many things that annoyed me about it to make it an enjoyable read. Charley LeBlanc, the story's narrator and protagonist, is almost entirely unlikable, and his woe-is-me attitude toward pretty much everything made me very unsympathetic to his plights. The story moves slowly, and most of the characters are more stereotype than developed. The ending is actually clever, and it does make you reconsider some of the previous story details in a different way.

[Ann Woodlief · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written by an excellent but underrated Virginia author who lived on a farm in Charlotte County and recently died. It's a mystery--a prominent family has been wiped out by an explosion, and the black sheep brother is suspect. It's rather heavy handed with the "lawmen's: characterizations, determined to pin him, and it's quite a saga of how he tracks down who committed the crime, full of injustice, secrets, and a Huguenot family that just can't get over its origins.

[Kory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently discovered Mr. Hoffman at the Richmond Public Library after having a hankering to find some fiction books about Virginia. What interested me about this book is that not only did it fulfill my thirst for learning more about Virginia history, it was also a very mysterious read full of suspense and intrigue. Mr. Hoffman passed on last year but I'm seeking out his other books which I hope to find as entertaining as "Tidewater Blood." This one is definitely very hard to put down!

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know it's a mystery, but it reads like a literary novel. The book had an easy pace that kept me moving forward without feeling breathless. Hoffman's descriptions of the land are poetic. The dialogue is tight, but I came away knowing who each person was and where s/he was coming from. Highly recommend it.

[Chuck · Rating 1 out of 5]

A contemporary Virginia aristocrat is assassinated on his own portico. We are then introduced to his black sheep brother who is a suspect. Hoffman is much too proud of his descriptive prose for my taste and is a monumental bore. I couldn't stay awake long enough to finish this one. I am adding Hoffman to my "Not In Search Of" list.

[Don Paske · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read anything by William Hoffman before and can't recall why I chose this book, but am glad I did. If you don't like well-written books with well-written descriptions that bring things alive, you won't like this book. Well written with a surprise ending: what more do you want? I wish I could add a half of a star to make the rating 4 1/2...

[Ima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Virginia with lovely writing and a good mystery

[L.P. Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writing, strong prose, and very literary.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't expecting this to be so well-written . So many unusual and interesting characters. Very good read.

[Lee]

A whodunit, too wordy but nice ending.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summer read.

[Gloria Hargrave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting people

Good wins in the end. I didn't know how he was going to do it,but he did. Law officers were unbelievable.

[Sara Herring]

good