Sunaina Luthra ON Jan 17, 2024, IN BOOK REVIEW, Killingly by Katharine Beutner– Fiction
Rating: 3/5
Bertha Lane Mellish , a bright and medical aspirant at Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass is missing since chilly night of 18th November 1897leaving no trace. Anybody who finds the girl alive will be handsomely paid a reward of $500 dollars by Rev. John H Mellish at Dayville Connecticut. Additional $50 will be offerred by the family on recovery of her body.
The poster flickers omniously across South Hadley as the search for this elusive young girl is still on. Walls of Holyoke College ,the pioneer of women’s education hold its breath in anticipation for some shred of news of its missing student, Bertha, the taciturn girl in college . She is often found engaged in lively conversations with her classmates. Her only confidante and companion in the college is Agnes Sullivan, an aspiring surgeon.
The same somber mood blankets her family, and the grieved loss is also shared unequivocally by Bertha’s sister Florence Mellish- a teacher. While investigation paces up and the case transmits into the capable hands of detective Higham ,a labyrinth of misleading clues about Bertha’s whereabouts further entangles the mystery; a girl seemingly assumed to be Bertha is found in Boston hospital and simultaneously an unidentified body of a girl is discovered. The plot thickens with some imperative questions swirling –Is Bertha’s disappearance intricately tied to the thefts recently happening in the campus or is it entwined to Jospeh Poirer, a mill worker, she was assumed to be associated with?
Furthermore, unsettling whispers about her life in the book cast shadows on her disappearance; a rumour about a hereditary psychological disorder. The continous investigation and rumours weaves of tapestry of uncertainity, and the true reason for Bertha’s disappearance becomes an enigmatic puzzle.
‘Killingly’ by Katherine Beutner not only revolves around unfathomable disapperance of Bertha but also essays a maelstorm of emotions dealt by the central characters; Agnes deep emotional bond with Bertha, Florence hiding a deep secret, if revealed could have catastropic consequences and cast doubt on her honour, and Dr Hammond’s desire to get married to Bertha which adds another layer to the narrative. Each character trudges and forges its own path while making efforts to find Bertha. The book also highlights some sensitives issues of sexual harassment ,abuse and rape.
TAKE AWAY
A poiganant story of pain, loss and atrocities committed against women, compelling them to be silenct spectators and to endure pain changing the trajectory of their lives forever.