The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt

May 20, 2019
Bobotis’s thoughtful and quintessentially Southern debut opens with the 1929 obituary for 14-year-old Quincy Kratt, who was shot to death. The chief suspect is Charlie Watson, an employee of the Kratt Mercantile Company, whose whereabouts are unknown. In 1989, Quincy’s older sister, Judith, is living in the crumbling Kratt family manse in Bound, S.C. Judith has recently received a postcard from her youngest sibling, Rosemarie, who disappeared at 13, shortly after Quincy’s murder, saying that she’s coming home at last. Rosemarie originally left because she believed Judith killed Quincy and let Charlie take the fall. Judith decides that this is the perfect time for her to take a complete inventory of everything the house has accumulated over the decades. As the list of heirlooms grows, so does Judith’s understanding of her family’s tragic past and her own role in it. Sometimes even the most well-intentioned actions have unexpected consequences, and long-held secrets fester. The complicated truth behind Quincy’s murder will catch readers by surprise. The well-told tale unfolds like a magnolia, slowly revealing a languid beauty. Mystery fans will also be satisfied. Agent: Kerry D’Agostino, Curtis Brown.

June 1, 2019

DEBUT It's May 1989, and in Bound, SC, Judith Kratt is making a list. As a girl, she inventoried her father's store. Now, she takes stock of the objects in her family home, where she and Olva have resided their whole lives. Olva may be a housekeeper and caretaker, but Judith thinks of her as a friend. Their home's objects tell stories, as do people, and when Judith's long-lost, sister Rosemarie, returns after 60 years, Judith begins to speak. Her story connects the present with one horrific day in 1929 when Judith and Rosemarie's brother, Quincy, was murdered. All three women were present that day, but all have different versions of the events that led up to that fateful moment and what happened after. South Carolina native Bobotis's debut is sure to place her alongside established authors such as Fannie Flagg. Rich in detail, it will carry readers between past and present, presenting historical issues of race, class, and belonging. VERDICT A mystery entangled in family secrets and racial tension, this tale will be enjoyed by fans of Southern fiction.--Shannon Marie Robinson, Drexel Univ. Libs., Philadelphia

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
The town of Bound, South Carolina, has a long memory. As does Judith Kratt, an elderly woman who lives in the house where she grew up. There, she's surrounded by the legacy of her once-feared and -revered father, who built and lost a business empire. But as this contemplative novel illuminates, legacy can take a number of forms. Judith's brother, Quincy, skilled at ferreting out people's secrets, was shot and killed when they were both teenagers, and the narrative bounces from the young to the old Judith, as long-held truths about Quincy's murder are revealed to be fiction. And when Judith's sister returns after a decades-long absence from the town she fled after their brother's death, more family secrets begin to come to light. Through this process, Judith remains obsessed with listing and categorizing the family's heirlooms, which, when pieced together, form a larger story. Judith's straitlaced yet forthright nature can be irksome, but her frankness also results in moments of surprising courage and compassion. The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt adeptly catalogs loss, hope, and redemption.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)