''Keziah Dane'' is a

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

novel by American writer

Sue Grafton Sue Taylor Grafton (April 24, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" (''"A" Is for Alibi'', etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fic ...

. A work of mainstream fiction, this novel was published by Grafton when she was 27 years old. This is one of two Sue Grafton novels published before her "Alphabet" series of mystery novels. This is the fourth novel Grafton wrote but the first one published. Originally written under the title ''The Seventh Day of Keziah Dane'', Grafton entered the unpublished novel in an Anglo-American Book Award contest. The novel did not win, but it drew a publication offer from a British publisher which Grafton used to get an agent who got the book an American publisher,

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

Plot summary

Keziah Dane is a widow who lives "on the brink of poverty" with her children in a small Kentucky town. She lost her husband in a flood that also devastated their town. A vagrant named Web gains Keziah's trust then attempts to rape her eldest daughter. The daughter fends off the attack but kills Web in the process. The body is dumped in the flooded town and unexpected complications ensue for the Dane family.

Critical reaction

Contemporary reaction was positive with featured reviews in ''The New York Times'' and ''Los Angeles Times'', among others. Reviewer Marjorie Driscoll noted that Grafton presented her "widely varied array of characters" in a "sympathetic and understanding story" while displaying her "versatility" by "making them all very real."

References

{{Sue Grafton Novels by Sue Grafton 1967 American novels Novels set in Kentucky 1967 debut novels Macmillan Publishers books