Nightwoods by Charles Frazier

Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain, has put out his third novel titled Nightwoods.  Nightwoods is set in the Appalachian  mountains of North Carolina in the 1960's.  Luce is a woman with a dark past who has taken a job as caretaker of an old abandoned lodge.  Her solitude is interrupted when her murdered sister's two children come to live with her.  The children have witnessed their mother's murder and it is evident that trauma lies at the root of their dysfunction.  The children do not speak, blankly stare and are fascinated with lighting fires.  Bud, the kid's alcoholic and violent step-dad has been acquitted of Lily's murder.  Things get messy when he appears back into their lives.  Suspense mounts in a dramatic manner as Bud's path begins to converge with Luce and the children.