Cash left the gate grandly last year with A Land More Kind Than Home, which was a New York Times and an Indie Next best seller, a Discover Great New Writers pick, winner of the John Creasey Dagger for Best New Author, and an LJ Best Book. In Cash's second novel, 12-year-old Easter and her little sister, Ruby, end up in North Carolina's foster care system when their mother dies. Their long-vanished father, Wade, suddenly reappears and promptly makes off with them, pursued by both the girls' legal guardian and a shady figure out for vengeance. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Cash's second novel, after his successful debut, A Land More Kind Than Home, does not disappoint. Twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are caught in the foster care system in Gastonia, NC. Having signed away his legal custodial rights, their erstwhile father, Wade, an ex-minor league baseball player, has always said he would take care of them. One night he spirits them away from the one stable home the girls have known. Add to this mix a thug looking for Wade, owing to some missing money. Luckily the girls have someone on their side: Brady Weller, a court-appointed guardian who begins to look for them. VERDICT Narrated in alternating voices, this book captures the reader's attention from the start and never lets go. Readers who enjoyed Cash's first book or who are fans of well-written Southern fiction will enjoy this novel. [See Prepub Alert, 8/5/13; library marketing.]—Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH