Mini book review: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, PenguinRandomhouse

I’m late to the party about Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, which has been out for more than a year and was on top of the New York Times bestseller list for 20 weeks. But, as the saying goes, better late than never. Speaking of late, this one kept me up all night. Even though it’s a cliché, I could not put this book down once I started it.
It’s the story of Kya, a young girl who is abandoned by her family, one-by-one, before she’s 10 years old. Her dysfunctional and abusive family lived in the marches of North Carolina, in a shack. Tragedy splits them apart, but Kya stays. She fends for herself, barefoot, penniless, alone.
Kya’s story is fascinating in itself, but it’s interwoven with a 1969 murder mystery that unfolds in alternating chapters. A local handsome and popular young man, with an penchant for sleeping around, who is rumoured to have been involved with Kya, is found dead, setting off a compelling whodunit.
Although she’s isolated personally, Kya is deeply connected to the natural world, something that is beautifully expressed in Where the Crawdads Sing. Author Delia Owens had already co-written three bestselling non-fiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa, so the connection to the natural world isn’t just a fluke.
This is a fully satisfying murder mystery, interwoven with an engrossing tale of a young girl who survives despite having to fend completely for herself. It’s irresistible.