THE LAST LIST OF MISS JUDITH KRATT
Judith inherited all the Kratt family had to offer—the pie safe, the copper clock, the murder no one talks about. For decades, she's been the keeper of the family house in South Carolina, safeguarding its valuables and its secrets. But Rosemarie, her wayward younger sister, suddenly returns home, sparking Judith to write an inventory of all that belongs to them. As Judith writes, she finds that cataloging the family heirlooms can’t suppress their histories, not when Rosemarie is determined to expose what Judith had planned to take to her grave.
Interweaving the present with chilling flashbacks from one fateful evening in 1929, Judith pieces together a list of what matters, an undertaking that reveals the very inheritance she'd hoped to forget—one of bigotry and survival in the segregated South. As Judith faces this troubled history, she must also confront its legacy in her own household, which she shares with Olva, who occupies the disquieting space between companion and housekeeper.
Set in the fictional town of Bound, South Carolina, once ruled by the Kratts and now struggling to contain its worst instincts, The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt explores the power of objects, the weight of memory, and the ties between who we are and what we own.
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“This is a masterful spin on a Golden Age cozy plot line updated and with excellent characters and a beautifully crafted Southern setting. Bobotis is definitely a writer to watch.” —The Globe and Mail
“I believe this is a breakthrough debut novel for American author Andrea Bobotis—a book that stands side by side with titles by Fannie Flagg of Fried Green Tomatoes fame and even Eudora Welty with her stories of relationships between community and families.” —Missourian
“A little gem of Southern fiction.” —The Free Lance-Star
“South Carolina native Bobotis's debut is sure to place her alongside established authors such as Fannie Flagg.” — Library Journal
“Thoughtful and quintessentially Southern … The well-told tale unfolds like a magnolia, slowly revealing a languid beauty. Mystery fans will also be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly
“The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt adeptly catalogs loss, hope, and redemption.” —Booklist
”A family history in the form of an inventory, The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt is a must-read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, with an emphasis on the creation of history.” —Deep South Magazine
“Andrea Bobotis has written an amazing novel, one which interrogates, with such controlled and beautiful writing, what it means to be Southern. Utilizing a unique form and a carefully-crafted mystery, Bobotis is a writer capable of deep truths, and this novel announces her as a major voice.” —Kevin Wilson, author of Now is Not the Time to Panic and The Family Fang
“The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt is a universal and timely story that exposes the dangers of nostalgia and the value of assessing both things and people in a clear-eyed, honest way. It’s a thoroughly captivating story and it’s beautifully told.” —Tiffany Quay Tyson, author of Three Rivers and The Past is Never
“The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt is a multilayered story about family, race, loss, and loyalty, featuring a complex cast of characters led by a woman who learns it’s never too late for growth and change.” —Cynthia Swanson, New York Times bestselling author of The Bookseller and The Glass Forest
“Andrea Bobotis is a new, original voice as Southern as they come! Using masterful writing and a perfectly calculated reveal of damaged history, she ends up weaving a tapestry that is so much more.” —Leah Weiss, author of If the Creek Don’t Rise
“Capturing the unique, singular voice of a once-genteel South that hid its deadly secrets and brutal crimes behind facade of grand houses, Andrea Bobotis gently leads you down a garden path of one family's shameful story only to leave you gasping at its devastating, inevitable destination. If William Faulkner were still alive, I'm pretty sure he'd wish he had written this book.” —Emily Carpenter, author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and Every Single Secret
ISBN: 9781492678861