Liar's Bench

By: Kim Michele Richardson

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

In the best-selling tradition of The Secret Life of Bees, Liar's Bench is an atmospheric, compulsively listenable tale full of heart and history, set in 1970s Kentucky and exploring civil rights and family secrets.

In 1972 on Mudas Summers's 17th birthday, her beloved mama Ella is found hanging from the rafters of their home. Most people in Peckinpaw, Kentucky, assume that Ella's no-good husband did the deed. Others think Ella grew tired of his abuse and did it herself. Muddy is determined to find out for sure either way, especially once she finds strange papers hidden among her mama's possessions.

But Peckinpaw keeps its secrets buried deep. Muddy's almost-more-than-friend Bobby Marshall knows that better than most. Though he passes for white, one of his ancestors was Frannie Crow, a slave hanged a century ago on nearby Hark Hill Plantation. Adorning the town square is a seat built from Frannie's gallows; a tribute, a relic - and a caution - it's known as Liar's Bench. The answers Muddy seeks soon lead back to Hark Hill, to hatred and corruption that have echoed through the years, and to lies she must be brave enough to confront at last.

Kim Michele Richardson's lush, beautifully written debut is set against a southern backdrop passing uneasily from bigotry and brutality to hope. With its compelling mystery and complex yet relatable heroine, Liar's Bench is a story of first love, raw courage, and truths that won't be denied.

©2015 Kim Michele Richardson (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Very listenable!

I like to listen to audible books while I am gardening and doing projects around the house. I kept trying to find new projects so that I could keep on listening - very entertaining. The love story thread is a little sappy, Bobby is who we all wish our 17 year old perfect love could be, but the back story is engaging. Thoroughly enjoyable listen, and also powerfully reflects the gross and entrenched racism and misogyny with which so many have to contend, still, in so many communities.

Good book but not her best

Slow beginning, exciting second half. She has a wonderful way of making history interesting.. I must admit I have been known to pause and research as I hear interesting things in her books. Love me some historical fiction

Great story

I enjoyed the story fully however was often distracted by the narrator. At times she had quite a pinched nose sound that seemed to get worse for a chapter or two in the middle of the story. Maybe she caught a cold half way thru the reading.

Thought provoking

The environment was vividly worded, one could see, feel and smell the places described. The personalities of all the characters were well portrayed. Good story.

Kentucky true

Great story, oh-so-real about KY, and a great reader, too. Only wish she hadn't been so congested when she recorded it. I tried to ignore that, but couldn't.