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Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia
Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia | Emma Copley Eisenberg
16 posts | 17 read | 39 to read
A deeply researched and stunningly written investigation of the murder of two young women-and how a violent crime casts a shadow over an entire community.In the early evening of June 25, 1980, Vicki Durian, 26, and Nancy Santomero, 19, were killed in an isolated clearing in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. They were hitchhiking to a festival known as the Rainbow Gathering but never arrived. For thirteen years no one was prosecuted for the "Rainbow Murders," though suspicion was cast on a succession of local men. In 1993, a local farmer was convicted, only to be released when a known serial killer and diagnosed schizophrenic named Joseph Paul Franklin claimed responsibility. With the passage of time, as the truth seemed to slip away, the toll became more inescapable--the unsolved murders were a trauma, experienced on a community scale. Emma Copley Eisenberg spent five years re-investigating these brutal acts, which once captured the national media's imagination, only to fall into obscurity. A one-time New Yorker who took a job in Pocahontas County, Eisenberg shows how a mysterious act of violence against a pair of middle-class outsiders, has loomed over all those involved for generations, shaping their identities, fates, and the stories they tell about themselves. In The Third Rainbow Girl, Eisenberg follows the threads of this crime through the complex history of Appalachia, forming a searing portrait of America and its divisions of gender and class, and of its violence.
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review
Jolynne
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Mehso-so

This was okay.

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Mitch
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Pickpick

The title is a bit misleading- whilst this is a true crime story of a 1980 double homicide, never solved - but it's so much more than that. And that's what I loved. It's about love, desire, the need to wander, finding your place in the world, misogny, music and community. It's about the draw of the land and the hold place can have on your spirit. It's about living as an 'outsider', courage, cowardice and judgement.

Itchyfeetreader Awesome review you have me intrigued 5y
AmyG Wow. Great review. 5y
Soubhiville Oh wow, sounds good! 5y
See All 24 Comments
Crazeedi Love your review, must stack this one for sure. Never heard of it, thanks Mitch! 5y
Crazeedi I love books about Appalachia btw 5y
Mitch @AmyG @Itchyfeetreader Thank you ladies! I enjoyed this one - went into thinking it was true crime but the author weaves her own life, struggles and ideas around the story as well as thoughts, reflections and research. 👍🏼 5y
Mitch @Soubhiville it was! Also gave me some much needed mountain vibes - whilst tucked away at home! 5y
Mitch @Crazeedi I think this maybe the first I‘ve read - any classics I should explore 5y
Crazeedi @Mitch let me think on this, but the most recent one was this one that was pretty good, I know there are others I've loved 5y
Crazeedi Check out Patricia Harmon, Sharon McCrumb, those are 2 off the top of my head, for fiction, but there are more 5y
Mitch @Crazeedi thank you - this looks good 👍🏼 5y
Crazeedi @Mitch there are many I've read, I will keep you in mind if I remember. Have you read this one? 5y
Crazeedi And of course this one that has mixed reviews, I liked it 5y
Mitch @Crazeedi stacked! 5y
Mitch @Crazeedi yeah - I kinda steered away from this one..... 5y
Blaire Also check out Denise Giardina - Unquiet Earth, Storming Heaven. Hillbilly Elegy made me angry. 5y
Blaire I also loved but it is not for everyone. 5y
Mitch @Blaire stacked! 5y
Mitch @Blaire yeah - I think I‘d have the same reaction 5y
Blaire Oh and I also recently read this Ann pancake and thought it was wonderful! Moving and captured the Appalachia in a way that was recognizable to me. 5y
Blaire @Mitch yeah, he put his politics in it instead of straight memoir and that turned me off. 5y
Crazeedi @Blaire I'll check out your recs! 5y
Hoopiefoot A little late to the party because I just finished this book and I agree with your review—a really interesting read!! If you do read Hillbilly Elegy I recommend following it with What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia and/or Appalachian Reckoning. (edited) 5y
87 likes10 stack adds24 comments
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Mitch
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Starting a new one today ..... what are you reading today?

Soubhiville Hi! Looks like a nice day there! I‘m hoping to finish this today, as well as completing the glass projects I‘ve been working on. 5y
Mitch @Soubhiville looks good. It‘s a lovely day - a bit windy but the sun is out and it‘s warm enough to sit outside - so no complaints! Have a lovely lovely day - enjoy your creative space 5y
See All 9 Comments
Mitch @Crazeedi who can resist a book about a library and librarians! Enjoy! 😘 5y
Crazeedi @Mitch 👍💖 5y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Eleanor Oliphant, and loving it so far. 5y
Hooked_on_books I‘m about to start American Sherlock on audio. 5y
Mitch @Hooked_on_books ohhh - hope it‘s good. I‘ve got it sitting on my shelf to be read very very soon! 🤞🏼 5y
77 likes9 comments
review
rachelm
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Pickpick

This is a really nontraditional mix of memoir and true crime. The interweaving of a murder in the 80s with a contemplation on misogyny and the misperceptions of rural life. If you liked the podcast s-town, you‘ll probably like this (like I did)

60 likes2 stack adds
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rachelm
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I‘m really enjoying this so far! True crime but more than that. Lots of thoughts for the review

65 likes3 stack adds
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

After living for a time in rural West Virginia, the author learns of a double murder from several decades before with a dispute about who‘s guilty. She blends true crime with memoir, which seems to be a trend lately. Honestly, I don‘t think those two parts really go together here, but since I enjoyed both storylines, I‘m giving it a pick.

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S3V3N
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Bailedbailed

Four hours in and I couldn‘t bare anymore. The narrator‘s voice was meh and the story was all over the place. I had to stop.

bookaholic1 I felt the exact same way...couldn't handle the voice, and didn't understand what was going on 5y
S3V3N @bookaholic1 I‘m glad that I wasn‘t the only one. 5y
16 likes1 stack add2 comments
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UnabridgedPod
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Pickpick

"Telling a story is often about obligation and sympathy, identification and empathy" (302).⠀

I put the ebook of Emma Copley Eisenberg's The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia on hold at the library primarily because the positive review I read led with the fact that it was set in West Virginia. (I grew up in WV, and there just aren't as many books set there as I'd like!) ⬇️

UnabridgedPod This book blew me away. For me, it held three-pronged appeal. First, I love true crime books, and Eisenberg's investigation of the 1980 murder of two women in Pocahontas County is well investigated and thoroughly explained, with plenty of context and backstory to build up the horrors and aftershocks of the murders and the women who, as victims, are at the center of the story. ⬇️ 5y
UnabridgedPod Second, Einseberg REALLY "gets" West Virginia, the reasons that West Virginians take pride in their home state, the ways that it's set apart from Virginia (my current home) and, really, every other state in the U.S. And third, the book is in large part about Eisenberg herself, about the things that led her to WV and the forces that drove her away, ⬇️ 5y
UnabridgedPod about her own drive to understand herself and these crimes and what the twisted threads that weave it all together.

". . . the relationship between what is believable and what is true and, further, what makes a story believable to one listener but not to another turn out to be some of the murkiest parts of human cognition" (195). ⬇️
5y
See All 6 Comments
UnabridgedPod I thought The Third Rainbow Girl was beautifully written, thought provoking, insightful, and horrifyingly brilliant. It's about the nature of truth and about the stories we tell about ourselves and about others. I HIGHLY recommend this book . . . whether you were born and raised in WV or not. ⠀

When does the setting of a book draw you to read it? Do you like true crime? Has anyone else read this one?
5y
Lauram I started this one, but wasn‘t going to finish before it was zipped back to the library. It was my first DNF of the year and after reading your review, I wish that I‘d given it more time. 5y
UnabridgedPod @Lauram Library due dates can be so tough to work around!! 5y
19 likes6 comments
review
Lauram
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Bailedbailed

My first DNF of 2020. I may try this one again when the world is a little less scary.

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Lauram
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1️⃣ reading the tagged book and listening to My Lovely Wife
2️⃣ I baked buttermilk biscuits
3️⃣ Getting caught up work reports, coloring on my iPad, dot to dot puzzles, and cooking.
4️⃣ Nothing in life that‘s worth anything is easy- Barack Obama

#ThoughtfulThursday
@MoonWitch94 thanks for the tag!

MoonWitch94 You‘re welcome! Ohh biscuits sound good. Love that quote! 🌷🌸💜 5y
44 likes1 comment
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Floresj
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Mehso-so

Uhhh...I feel as though this was three separate stories- a memoir, a history of WV, and a crime story. I think the history of WV was done the best, but that‘s only because the other two had issues. I understand that the memoir ties into WV because she lived in the County that the murders occurred, but that‘s a loose connection. The crime story needed editing.

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Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

So in my wheelhouse: #truecrime and the setting is regional for me. (I'm in Ohio on the boarder of W. Virginia where this takes place)
This is essentially about a crime which takes place in 80 in Pocahontas Co. to a couple of "hippies" from out of town in visiting for a Rainbow Festival. But the author also writes about her own experiences in WV & about the state's history and population. She addressed the stereotypes of Appalachian communities.

JennyM 👋👋👋 Chelsea! Lovely to see you. 5y
98 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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TheNerdyProfessor
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Book Haul 😍

The tagged book is about a double murder in WV - as a new resident of the state this one piqued my interest!

I purchased American Dirt before the controversy. Personally, I think #ownvoices are necessary for capturing the lived experiences of underrepresented groups. But, I think a lot of privileged authors have shed light on important issues and topics even if they aren't part of that group. Aren't both sets of voices important?

EKonrad Agreed! I understand the criticisms of American Dirt but I actually loved it. 🤷🏽‍♀️ 5y
65 likes1 comment
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Jenken1998
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Up next..my hubby will be installing my new front door. I will sit in my favorite reading spot and cheer him on while reading a little nonfiction true crime. 🤗

Hoopiefoot I‘m really looking forward to reading this one! 5y
Redwritinghood This looks good. Waiting for my library hold to come in. Look forward to your review. 5y
54 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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GerardtheBookworm
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Pickpick

A true crime novel concerning the mysterious killings of two female hitchhikers in West Virginia during the 1980's. Only one young woman with a connection to the other two survived and became the "the third rainbow girl", a title describing a hippie music concert known as the Rainbow Festival. With her help, she helped catch two Hillbilly locals as the murderers. However, were they the real killers and did socioeconomic prejudices play a role?

BridgetteM I can‘t wait to read this! My husband grew up in Pocahontas County. It‘s the most rural place I‘ve ever been to, so I was really intrigued when I read the blurb for this book. 5y
10 likes1 comment
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imabusybee
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My first non fiction of 2020.

56 likes2 stack adds