Stars Go Blue: A Novel
*Starred Review* Readers will remember Renny and Ben Cross from Pritchett’s stellar first collection of linked stories, Hell’s Bottom, Colorado (2001).  Life in the meantime has not been kind to the salt-of-the-earth, hard-working couple.  Their daughter, Rachel, was murdered before their very eyes a few years back by her meth-head husband, Ray.  Now Ben has rapidly progressing dementia, and Renny is left to tend to the ranch and her husband single-handedly.  When the Crosses learn that Ray has been released from prison in nearby Greeley, Ben leaves in the midst of a snowstorm to confront the man who ruined his family, armed with enough weapons to ensure his misery will end.  When Renny discovers Ben is gone, she takes off in what is now a full-blown blizzard, uncertain that she will find Ben in time.  There is more than just the bleak and unforgiving setting of the Rocky Mountain foothills to recommend Pritchett to fans of Kent Haruf’s similarly placed novels.  Strength of character and simplicity of language comparably complement a rich underpinning of savagery and sadness as Pritchett sensitively navigates the end of a life and sublimely realizes  its enduring legacy. --Carol Haggas