4.5 Stars

Set in a small town in North Carolina, this story begins early in an October morning of 1984, as Winston Barnes, the local Sheriff, is awakened by the vibrations by a plane passing over their house, and into the trees across the channel of water where the small airport was located. Already sitting up beside him was his wife Maria, who is battling cancer. They both know that planes don’t land in the middle of the night, and the clock shows 3:18 AM, and Winston soon gets up to go investigate. He can’t afford not to go, his chances of being re-elected are questionable, and the election is not that far away.

When he arrives he finds the plane sitting sideways at the end of the runway, the cargo doors open. Looking around, he sees in the illumination of a flashlight making its way to him, he sees a body. With the election looming, he knows he needs to find out what had been on the plane, where it went, and who is responsible for the death of the Black man lying on the ground as soon as possible, or the wrong man will be their next sheriff.
Confederate flags, threats, breaking windows and various other despicable forms of destruction have grown in the ‘selected’ neighborhoods which are mostly populated by Black families, riding through late at night gleefully terrorizing these neighborhoods.

And now, the Sheriff’s daughter, Colleen, has returned home, leaving her husband while he slept, trying to escape the hopes and dreams she’s confronted with daily - the loss of her child. Her mother is struggling with her own health issues, and now the person sent to assist Barnes in solving this case will be staying in their home, as well.
Through various points of views, Sheriff Barnes, Colleen, and the brother-in-law, Jay, as well as the wife of the now deceased man, we get to know their stories, and the struggles and sorrows each is dealing with. Bonds form, and for some, a sense of healing, if only the beginning. A glimpse of hope for the future.

Wiley Cash always surprises me in the best way in his stories. The obstacles these characters face and the choices they make are realistic, sharing both sides of their natures, the good and the bad. While this has darker moments, it is the quiet grace with which these characters face these moments, and grow from them, that makes this story really shine, offering a beacon of light in the darkness.

Pub Date: 21 Sep 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by William Morrow and Custom House
#WhenGhostsComeHome #NetGalley

When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash is a page-turner of a novel. One night in October of 1984, Sheriff Winston Barnes and his wife are startled from their sleep by what sounds like a low-flying plane at a nearby airfield. When he goes to investigate, he finds a large airplane sitting sideways on the runway with no crew or cargo as well as a local man lying dead in the grass near the plane.

On this coastal island of North Carolina, rumors begin to fly as the sheriff investigates the mystery of the plane and the murder. Because the dead man is the son of a local civil rights leader, unresolved race relations heat up in the town. The widow’s home is attacked by a mob with the Confederate flag flying that throws something through a window and threatens the life of her brother. The civil rights leader demands more from the sheriff than he can deliver legally.

On the home front, the sheriff’s wife is battling cancer, and their grown daughter has returned home after the death of her child. The sheriff is up for re-election within a week, and the support for the office seems to be behind his opposing candidate, Brad Frye, a known bigot, with even Barnes’ deputies showing divided loyalty. The sheriff really needs to bring this investigation to a satisfying resolution if he has any hope of retaining the office.

Complicating the investigation is the arrival of the FBI, ready to take over the case. With all resources stretched to the limit, Sheriff Barnes must balance work and home and keep the racial tensions from erupting while figuring out the right thing to do as all the pieces come together in this tension-filled narrative.

Wiley Cash teaches fiction writing and literature at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, where he serves as Alumni Author-in-Residence. The best-selling author of The Last Ballad, A Land More Kind than Home, and This Dark Road to Mercy, he lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughters.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting July 26, 2021.

I would like to thank William Morrow and Custom House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

This story begins in 1984 in the middle of the night when the 63-year-old sheriff of Oak Island in North Carolina are awoken by the sound of a plane flying low right overhead. Sheriff Winston Barnes heads to the airport, and not only finds the crashed plane, but the body of a 26-year-old Black man, Rodney Bellamy, who has been shot.

Oak Island residents as well as the FBI operatives that soon arrive believe that the aircraft must have been bringing in drugs, and that Rodney was of course involved, because, after all, he was Black. Sheriff Barnes isn't so quick to believe that theory, at last about Rodney. Rodney’s wife said her husband went out to the Food Lion to buy diapers for their baby. The wreck was visible from the Food Lion parking lot, and the sheriff figures Rodney went over there to help.

The sheriff does what he can to help solve the mystery in spite of the FBI involvement, because he doesn’t want to look feckless before the upcoming election. His wife has cancer and they can’t afford to lose income if he doesn’t win. In addition, his daughter Colleen has just left her husband and come back home after losing her baby.

Barnes’ opponent for the election, Brad Frye, is also trying to nose into the investigation. Brad, a much younger man, is a real estate developer and a white supremacist who seeks to capitalize on the alleged involvement of a Black man in a huge drug deal. He and his KKK buddies use the incident as an excuse to terrorize the small Black community in the Grove, an area that backs onto Brad’s new development, and that Brad would dearly like to take over.

The tension builds as the reader knows a tragedy is surely going to ensue, but the author keeps you guessing until the very end just who will be involved and how it will come down, and you will race through the pages to find out.

Evaluation: There is some brutality in this book, and a lot of darkness. It is horrifying - but sadly, not unrealistic. Wiley Cash is an excellent writer, and this is a memorable story.

Why is this the first book I have read by Wiley Cash? All of his books are based in NC which is where I live and this book especially is based EXACTLY where I live, he talks about Charlotte, Gastonia, Oak Island, Bald Head Island - everywhere I am completely familiar with. This book was AMAZING!! In the middle of the night, an airplane crashes and it wakes up Sheriff Winston and his wife. He, of course, goes to check it out and finds not only did it crash but a man near the crash appeared to have been shot. This is based back in the 80’s with a lot of racial issues going on and that is very relevant in this book throughout. This book grabbed me from the very first page and I had to devour it quickly to see how it ended. The ending had a huge twist and who doesn’t love a big twist, especially at the end? I closed the book and said “What the heck?” WOW, just wow. So beautifully written and I just loved all the characters. I must read all of his other books. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

This is a really nice and timely mystery that captures reader's attention from the very start. After leading his community in the office of sheriff for many years, Winston Barnes, is now being challenged by a young, entitled local-boy/property developer. When a plane crashes at their local airstrip, and a local man is found murdered nearby, the high profile case unearths many town and family secrets.

Meanwhile, Barnes's wife is fighting cancer, and his daughter unexpectedly returns home after losing her baby. The trauma and compassion of main characters coincide with the building suspense and tension making this a book you will not be able to put down.

Note: Be prepared with a box of tissues.

Put this in the hands of readers of C.J. Box.

Being an elected sheriff in North Carolina in 1984 was a challenge for Winston, but he was determined to solve his latest case fairly, even if he lost next week's election. A plane crash in the middle of the night, a missing pilot, and a murdered young black man on the tarmac led Winston to discover a side of his community and the people he worked with that was poisoned by prejudice and greed. Complicating his life was his wife's cancer and his daughter's grief over the death of her long-awaited baby. Although a couple of the characters seem to be caricatures, especially Winston's opponent in the sheriff race, the writing and the mystery carried this novel for me. The dilemmas Winston faced, the blurred line between justice and the law, the depth of the emotions described, and the unsettling ending make this story thought-provoking and memorable.

Sheriff Winston Barnes knows he will be voted out of office in a week. He can hear the clock ticking in his mind. His wife is battling cancer. And his daughter has unexpectedly arrived at their door, in pain over the loss of her baby. Meantime, he still has to do his job, with a slashed budget and short staff.

Bradley Frye is his challenger. Heir to wealth, Frye is “hell-bend on clear-cutting” the wetlands to expand his development. He also has a history of racist acts going back to high school when he beat up Black students for fun. He intends to be rich and powerful, and he intends to drive out the Black community. Perhaps, he also wants the job so he can cash in on drug smuggling.

Wiley Cash’s new novel When Ghosts Come Home takes readers to 1984 Gastonia, North Carolina.

A DC-10 cargo plane is found crashed at the local airport, likely having carried drugs, with no traces of fingerprints. The body of an African American man is found nearby. Winston and Frye face off over how to respond, and who to blame. Frye accuses the deceased man, Rodney Bellamy, of being involved. “I got a bunch of boys on my crew who’d be happy to lend a hand,” Frye offers. Bellamy’s father is a teacher and Vietnam vet who fought for school integration. And that evening, the ‘crew’ visits Rodney’s home, armed and intimating.

The FBI sends an agent, Tom Groom, to fix the plane and fly it out, and Winston opens his home to him. But there is something dodgy about him.

There are some wonderful scenes, beautifully written. Scenes of bonding and understanding, and scenes of recognizing the way hate divides. Winston’s daughter and the widow. Winston confronting his secretary when she withholds information from him because of personal political interests, resulting in a breach. These scenes feel honest, truthful, and written perfectly.

More than the mystery/suspense aspect, I responded to the portrayal of a community in conflict, the power struggle for control. And we realize that some things have not changed in America, in human nature. Prejudice, hate, race, fear still divide us. And some believe it the world is theirs for the taking, and others are the doormats they wipe their feet on.

The mystery is unexpectedly solved with a few paragraphs at the end. For myself, I would have rather had the action played out in the book; it seems a missed opportunity.

I received a free egalley from Custom House through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

"The eagerly awaited novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home, a tender and haunting story of a father and daughter, crime and forgiveness, race and memory."

Being a woman of the south, I seek out good southern lit. Too often the books I find lean heavily on southern stereotypes rather than the hard truth of today's south.

Wiley Cash hits every note just right. I rarely give a book 5 stars. This one deserves 10.

When Ghosts Come Home may be Cash's best yet. Plane crash, drug bust, and bigoted rednecks. Set in 1984 in a small coastal town of NC, sheriff Barnes is awakened in the middle of the night to discover a plane crash at the county airport and a dead body on the runway. With his re-election looming a week away he has to not only solve the case but ease some racial tensions brewing in his hometown as well as navigate the complexities of dealing with his adult daughter who shows up back home and his wife battling cancer.

Cash has turned into a great storyteller. His writing style with this latest novel was reminiscent of Ron Rash or Brian Panowich. Full of suspense and mystery Cash expertly takes you on a journey with the help of Sheriff Barnes. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

North Carolina author Wiley Cash has created a lead character in "When Ghosts Come Home" in the tradition of Atticus Finch.

Winston Barnes, sheriff of Brunswick County, is a loving father and an honest man who has to combat racism during the 1980s. The story begins when a big plane crashes onto a tiny runway in the middle of the night. The only evidence on the scene is the body of a young black man dead of a shotgun blast.

The dead man's father is a high school teacher and a civil rights activist. His wife is an Emory graduate and mother of his infant son. Living in the household is his teenaged brother-in-law, sent from Atlanta to get him away from his questionable peer group.

Who would kill such a fine young man? The townsfolk suspect drugs are involved. Those townsfolk are threatening to turn the sheriff out of office in favor of the son of a local developer who spends late nights driving through black neighborhoods flying a rebel flag and making threats.

Wiley is such a good storyteller you feel like the book has illustrations. Those readers who lived through the '80s in North Carolina know the songs, can taste the beer, see the Chapel Hill landmarks and feel the sand.

The book's title references the memories our lost loved ones leave us. This book will stay with readers for a long time.

Review posted on blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

Simple Brilliance.

The night Sheriff Winston Barnes and his wife Marie are awoken by the sound of a plane flying low overhead, both he and his wife get an eerie feeling. Upon investigating the incident, and discovering that the plane crashed down in an airfield nearby, he realizes why.

Sheriff Barnes notices that several things have gone awry, most notably, that there is a body of a local citizen dead next to the plane, and that he’s been murdered.

As if tensions weren’t high enough, the mayhem that ensues thereafter makes things go from bad to worse, for the residents, the Sheriff, his wife, and his daughter Colleen, visiting from Texas.

When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash is a simple, lyrical, multilayered, character-driven novel with heart. It's Southern fiction that grabbed my attention from the get-go and held it throughout. This being my first novel by Wiley Cash, I had no idea what to expect. That said, I admit to going into this novel with very high expectations, all of which were met. Mr. Cash’s novels are now on my backlist and I can’t wait to get started.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Custom House, and Wiley Cash for the arc.

Published on Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

Several narrative voices attempted to move the story forward, to some success, but too slowly for me. The old sheriff, encroaching cancer, suffering marriage, and parental grief were one story. But they all intruded into the mystery of the plane crash, unsolved murder, and shifty government agent.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for a complimentary copy of this book.
I did not think this was Wiley Cash's best work. I did not care for the ending at all and still wonder where the daughter fit in in the story.

I really enjoyed this mystery set in 1984 amid the racial upheaval of a small community. Sheriff Barnes is awakened by the sound of a plane flying low. Imagining it is a plane in distress, he heads to the small regional airport a mile from his home to discover an abandoned plane and a dead body on the runway. Barnes’s life is complicated and stressful. He’s running an unsuccessful reelection campaign against a rich racist, his wife has cancer, and his grieving daughter has recently returned home after the stillbirth of her son. Carefully crafted and character- driven, Wiley Cash has written a really satisfying thriller and managed to surprise me with the ending.
Highly Recommended
#NetGalley
#WhenGhostsComeHome

Wiley Cash has a way of making Southern readers feel right at home – a skill he repeats in his latest novel, When Ghosts Come Home. Our characters are complex, not to mention our settings, and in his latest work, Cash dives right in to race, family, politics and “progress” in the form of urban development. And while these themes are obviously nothing new, Cash applies a modern perspective.

Sheriff Winston Barnes and his wife are awakened one night by what sounds like an airplane crash. What Barnes finds when he goes to investigate is a plane far too large for the airport that serves their small Carolina coastal town, turned askew, empty of both cargo and passengers, and nearby, the dead body of local Black man. Rumors and speculation take hold immediately of a drug deal gone bad, and Barnes – who is up for re-election in less than a week – finds himself among a minority who won’t believe this man could be involved in drugs.

Barnes begins trying to solve the mystery of the murder and the plane but his political opponent is working to establish himself as the new law in town, in particular by giving the dead-man’s young nephew a hard time. A Black teenager who is new to town (his parents sent him to live with his sister after he got into a bit of trouble at home in Atlanta) is the perfect suspect or scapegoat to hone in on.

And if this weren’t enough, Barnes daughter has returned home unexpectedly. Mourning a late-term miscarriage, she’s seeking her own asylum in the familiarly of home.

If this sounds like a lot is going on, it is. But for those who love a steady narrative driven by characters who keep you guessing, this will be an entertaining and worthwhile read. And the ending will be one that you won’t soon forget.

Review posted on: http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2021/06/book-review-when-ghosts-come-home/

The latest by Wiley Cash begins as a mystery but becomes an unpredictable story of human relations, of love, grief, hatred. Will make perfect book club read—the reader will want to discuss the book.

There are so many ways to view this story and a lot to digest and discuss. It focuses on family relationships, racism, southern history all within the structure of a who-done-it murder mystery that begins with a plane landing late at night and a body found at the scene. Cash doesn't shy away from difficult topics that are still timely today; I constantly forgot it wasn't set in present day.

I am a big fan of Wiley Cash's first two books and was extremely excited to get his new one as an ARC. The story is set in the 80's on a southern island and revolves around a sheriff up for reelection against a racist villain,, the sheriff's daughter returned home after a tragedy, a crashed airplane and a murdered local. I loved this book for the most part but I have to say the ending left me a bit frustrated. It seemed very rushed and unsatisfying. That being said I'd recommend this to anyone who liked Cash's first two novels or likes stories about small town life.

“Just because I’m dealing with this in a way that’s different from yours doesn’t mean that I’m not going through my own shit apart from yours.”
Wiley Cash, When Ghosts Come Home
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Wiley, Wiley, Wiley. I gotta say. This was a very enjoyable read. I have a love hate relationship with Wiley. Some books I love...some I hate. There seems to be no in between for me.
I want to love him every time as he is a North Carolina boy. When Ghosts Come Home, it is a love. Big love for me ♥️.
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We are brought to Oak Island, NC circa 1984 for this story. To say this was a fascinating time is an understatement. Race relations in a small town, a murder and coming home are the focused topics. I felt completely ingrained in Oak Island through this novel. It was a fascinating study of forty years ago when I was a nine-year-old girl 45 minutes away. I don’t remember enough about that time period (I was busy playing school and with my Barbies) but it really spoke to me through this title.
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The read itself was super quick. The perspective was on point. The readability, amazing. I really, really enjoyed it. The twist at the end...chef’s kiss. Very well done. I highly recommend you grab this title.

This is some of the best fiction I've read in a long while. The writing and pacing are excellent, the characters all feel very real, and the plot was so compelling I could hardly stop reading to go to work. (I did, though, and I promise I finished reading while I was on break!)

I will be recommending this to everyone I meet when it comes out this fall.