Kya, the “marsh girl”, grows up alone in the swamps of North Carolina in the 1950s/60s. Intertwined with her coming-of-age story is the mysterious death of the popular Chase Andrews in 1969. The jumping back between the two storylines really kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to hear more (I listened to this one as an audiobook).
At times Kya was a bit "woe is me", "nobody loves me" even though she had multiple people around her caring for her by that point - Tate, her brother Jodie, Jumpin' and Mable. A little bit frustrating, but I guess understandable considering her circumstances.
I liked the twists - Tate being taken away by the sheriffs, and then the final twist right at the end.
In terms of the murder itself, I'm not sure that if it turned out that Kya was smart enough to kill someone, not leave fingerprints or any sort of evidence, and wear convincing disguises as she got on and off the bus in the middle of the night, would have just left that hat in her closet?