The Distant Dead: A Novel

Heather Young

Jun 2020 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

Nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel * Nominated for the ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel

A BookPage Best Book of the Year * A People Magazine Best Book of Summer* A Parade Best Book of Summer * A Crime Reads Most Anticipated Book of Summer

"Powerful...a breathtaking read, with flawed and authentic characters who hit so close to home that at times it is impossible not to root for them." — San Francisco Chronicle

A body burns in the high desert hills. A boy walks into a fire station, pale with the shock of discovery. A middle school teacher worries when her colleague is late for work. By day’s end, when the body is identified as local math teacher Adam Merkel, a small Nevada town will be rocked to its core.  

Adam Merkel left a university professorship in Reno to teach middle school in Lovelock seven months before he died. A quiet, seemingly unremarkable man, he connected with just one of his students: Sal Prentiss, a lonely sixth grader who lives with his uncles on a desolate ranch in the hills. The two outcasts developed a tender, trusting friendship that brought each of them hope in the wake of tragedy. But it is Sal who finds Adam’s body, charred almost beyond recognition, half a mile from his uncles’ compound.

Nora Wheaton, the middle school’s social studies teacher, dreamed of a life far from Lovelock only to be dragged back on the eve of her college graduation to care for her disabled father, a man she loves but can’t forgive. She sensed in the new math teacher a kindred spirit--another soul bound to Lovelock by guilt and duty. After Adam’s death, she delves into his past for clues to who killed him and finds a dark history she understands all too well. But the truth about his murder may lie closer to home. For Sal Prentiss’s grief seems heavily shaded with fear, and Nora suspects he knows more than he’s telling about how his favorite teacher died. As she tries to earn the wary boy’s trust, she finds he holds not only the key to Adam’s murder, but an unexpected chance at the life she thought she’d lost.

Weaving together the last months of Adam’s life, Nora’s search for answers, and a young boy’s anguished moral reckoning, this unforgettable thriller brings a small American town to vivid life, filled with complex, flawed characters wrestling with the weight of the past, the promise of the future, and the bitter freedom that forgiveness can bring.

Ratings and reviews

4.5 stars. The Distant Dead by Heather Young is a captivating mystery that is achingly poignant. Sixth grader Sal Prentiss goes to live with his off the grid uncles Gideon and Ezra following his mother’s death. The lonely land has been in the family for several generations and the Prentiss family has quite the checkered history. Neither uncle is overly affectionate with the grieving boy so when school begins, Sal forms an unexpected friendship with his math teacher, Adam Merkel. Although Merkel is not exactly an animated instructor in the classroom, he completely captures Sal’s attention with his mathematic stories while one on one. One morning, on his way to school, Sal makes a grisly discovery when he stumbles across a burned body. Meanwhile at school, everyone is wondering where Adam is. He has never been late nor has he called in sick. Fellow teacher and friend Nora Wheaton knows something has to be wrong. Unfortunately once word of the burned corpse gets out, she is shocked to discover it is Adam. Her ex-husband Chief Deputy Mason Greer is working the case and he readily answers her questions throughout the investigation. Nora beings asking questions on her own and she uncovers stunning information that might just lead to his killer. Sal is a bright young man with a creative mind and impressive skill as an artist. His life before his mother’s death was lonely yet happy and he greatly mourns her loss. Life with his uncles is sparse and he is often left to his own devices. So when his Uncle Ezra begins paying attention to him, he likes being noticed and included in the family. But Ezra has an ulterior motive for his interest in Sal who reluctantly agrees to his uncle’s plan. Nora is resentful that she had to put her life’s plans on hold to care for her father. At the time, she was about to begin her career as an anthropologist. But after returning to Love Lock, she reluctantly accepts a position as a Social Studies teacher. Before Adam’s murder, she only pays cursory attention to her students. However, while trying to find out more information about her friend’s death, Nora becomes invested in the lonely boy. Despite progress in the case, she becomes certain that Sal is the key to solving the murder. The Distant Dead is a spellbinding mystery with a slight otherworldly element. Sal is a heart achingly appealing young boy who is intuitive and sympathetic. Nora’s bitterness toward her father is understandable and her anger at him is quickly reaching a boiling point. The storyline is multi-faceted and the desolate setting is atmospheric and adds to the overall feeling of hopelessness. Heather Young brings this riveting mystery full circle with an absolutely shocking denouement. I was thoroughly immersed in this incredibly engrossing mystery from beginning to end. I highly recommend it to readers of the genre. I received a complimentary copy for review.

About the author

Heather Young earned her law degree from the University of Virginia and practiced law in San Francisco before beginning her writing career. She received an MFA from the Bennington College Writing Seminars, and has studied at the Tin House Writers’ Workshop and the Squaw Valley Writers Workshop. She lives in Mill Valley, California, with her husband and two children. The Lost Girls is her first novel.