Well written take on a real-life tragedy. Had not heard of the Bath School Massacre before starting this book. The material was very dark and sad, so I ended up not finishing, the book was not a good fit for me.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A shocking and horrifying book, particularly if the reader does not read the blurb. The writing is good and the plot kind of winds around in circles, not really getting to the point until the main event. The characters are OK but described as being different from the rest without proper elaboration of why.
An OK read.

The less known about the real life event this novel is based on, the better. In fact, I think it’s a pity the blurb, and many of the reviews give it all away, and I’m glad I didn’t read them first so that I came to the book knowing nothing. Thus I got the full force of the shock and horror of what happens, as the tension inexorably builds, after a slow start and when the climax of the book comes it’s all the more powerful. So I’m not going to say anything here about what happens – but I thought it was a superb retelling of a tragedy, well-crafted, extremely well-paced, insightful and empathetic. A truly great read.

I am still reading this book. It is not a page turner. It is a slowly evolving story in the first chapters. It is well written.
I liked John Smolens writing style in Cold so I will keep trying to finish it. It is a book that needs your time and attention while reading. It might also be because of the fact I am reading an e-book and it;s not easy to sit down and cozy up with an ipad. I prefer a hardcover or a paperback. The story is set in the 1920s in a town in Michigan. The beginning is told from the perspective of a young girl who is working for the wife of perpetrator of the crime. The author is setting up the story with characterizations of the man, his wife and several other townspeople.

The Day of Days was May 18, 1927. The place was the small farm town of Bath, Michigan.
Andrew Kehoe blew up the Bath Consolidated School, killing 44 people, including 38 schoolchildren--one of the worst terrorist acts in American history. He murdered his wife and horses and blew his farm and himself up while he was at it.

John Smolens has wrapped this horrific event in a novel of great beauty and wisdom through the experience of surviving school children.

After WWI the chemical companies were left with stockpiles of explosives which they sold to farmers to help them clear fields.

Andrew Kehoe was smart and inventive. He studied electrical engineering. After an accident left him in a coma his personality changed. His wife inherited a Bath farm but Kehoe found himself in financial straits. He blamed the tax burden for the new school.

In Smolens' novel, Kehoe hires the boy Jed. He takes Jed with him as he removes tree stump with explosives. Jed was impressed by this farmer who wore a suit.

Jed's sister Bea, the narrator of the novel, works for Mrs. Kehoe. She tells her story from her death bed, of life before the incident, the horror of that day, and the broken lives it left behind. There is survivor's guilt, broken people carrying on, and eventual healing.

I first heard of the Bath school bombing when living in Lansing. Smolens fills the novel with Michigan places and references. Kehoe travels to Lansing and eat at Emil's Italian restaurant, a place we knew well. The children are given Vernors ginger ale. The historical setting is given, the innovative changes happening in science. Electricity. Biplanes. Lindbergh's famous Atlantic crossing concluded while citizens were frantically looking for survivors.

I loved Smolens writing and how he handled this story. Accurate in historical details, Smolens demonstrates the benefit of fiction's ability to delve into the depth of human experience to bring the past to life.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

In the spring of 1927, Andrew Kehoe, the treasurer for the school board in Bath, Michigan, spent weeks surreptitiously wiring the public school, Bath Consolidated School, as well as his farm with hundreds of pounds of dynamite – One of the worst terrorist act in American history.

One survivor, Beatrice Marie Turcott, the narrator, recalls the spring of 1927, decades later, telling the story from her death bed, of the life before the incident leading up towards the traumatic event, the broken lives left behind and years after the horrifying event.

Andrew Kehoe studied electrical engineering, he was an inventive and a smart man. Years before the bombing, he was in an accident which left him in a coma for a few weeks, where his personality changed.

“Criminals are made, not born.”

Kehoe hires a young boy named Jed. He leads Jed into the woods to remove tree stumps with explosives. And talks about the wonderful electricity future with Jed. Jed who was only twelve, was impressed by the farmer who wore suits daily.

After diving into this novel, I had any few shares on google. I had no idea it was based on a true event.

This is my first time reading John Smolens’ work. I love his writing and how he handled such a horrific event and how he wrapped the event into a novel of great wisdom and beauty.

I am definitely looking forward to reading Smolens’ previous work. Had a wonderful blast reading this outstanding gem!!