In June, 1980, 2 women were shot to death on a West Virginia back road,. They were hitchhiking their way to a Rainbow Gathering, a festival of free thinkers and "hippies". Their bodies were found later that night and the mystery started. Who killed the "Rainbow Girls"? And what happened to their friend, the third Rainbow Girl?

After just a few days, it was discovered the third girl had split up with those two and had gone back home, because she found out her father was getting married. But the mystery of the murders stained the small communities that surrounded the area. One man was convicted but later found not guilty.

What makes this true crime book even more interesting is that the author has pretty close ties to the area. She was a member of VISTA for about a year in 2009 and worked with local teenage girls to help them empower their lives. She later heard about the murders and decided to write about them.

I enjoyed this book, as it intertwined stories of the girls, the case and her own growing understanding of herself. She tries to explain the culture of the area and how to understand what happened and how the cases went down. Her confusion about her own life (barely out of her teens when she first showed up from Long Island) and the area shine through with an almost painful honesty.

I have to admit to losing track of all the names early on. It took a bit for me to get into the rhythm of the book, but I was richly rewarded and literally had a hard time putting it down. Warning though - no real answers here, just strong suspicions. It gives a real insight into the psyche of West Virginia and goes through 2016,. so it describes its swing from a Democrat state to a Republican one. Recommended.

Addendum - reading some of the 1 or 2 star reviews kinda makes me mad, I have to admit. I am not going to argue that everyone needs to love this book, but most of them seem to be complaining the book isn't what they want it to be - a dry retelling of a horrible crime. What raises it above the usual true crime book IS its very difference - bringing personal memories and knowledge of the area and the time. It gives the book so much more depth. It is far better than a low3 star rating, trust me, as long as you don't go into it thinking it is "merely" a true crime retelling.