The Language of Bodies

Overview

Maddie Wells’ life spirals out of control after the murder of her wife Char, a transgender woman of color. Hunger for revenge drives Maddie to take a job at a wax museum near the murderer#&39;s hometown, where she studies revenge and plots how to strike back. Befriending the murderer’s wife is the first stage in Maddie’s plan to make him pay. The Language of Bodies probes the seduction of vengeance using vivid, sensual imagery to explore how love transcends the particulars of body parts, and how revenge blurs the line between victim and perpetrator, hero and villain. It’s a gorgeous, dark tale about the enduring power of love, and the human spirit’s unwillingness to give up.

Reviews

“Dark and glowing as a ruby, DeWitt Hall’s debut is a page-turning exploration about what any of us might do for love, including succumbing to the dangerous allure of revenge.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You

“Lyrically written, deeply human, and deeply humane, this beautiful novel seethes with characters who love, bleed, and grieve just like the rest of us: in surprising and unpredictable ways. This compelling book deserves attention.” —C.B. Bernard, author of Chasing Alaska, and Small Animals Caught in Traps

“Suzanne DeWitt Hall’s THE LANGUAGE OF BODIES immediately grabbed my attention and refused to surrender it. Her writing is crisp and vivid, her characters compelling, and she has a great eye for detail. She writes fabulous dialogue too. Highly recommended.” —Steve Yarbrough, author of Stay Gone Days

"With grace, with a sense of humble grandeur, and with deft writing, DeWitt Hall manages to give us what very few writers offer: a satisfying yet provocative conclusion. I recommend this debut novel with enthusiasm for its tenderness and courage." —Gina Barreca, Distinguished Professor of English Literature, University of Connecticut

"DeWitt Hall deftly weaves a tale equal parts tenderness and torture, rapture and revenge. A master of metaphor, she skillfully uses the natural world—from Monarch pupa to resurrection lilies—to beautifully reflect her characters#&39; arcs and transformations." —Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, author of Crash and Through Thick and Thin

"With an adept hand, DeWitt Hall seamlessly blends small-town lore, old European mysticism, plot twists, and an awareness of the dangers faced every day by the trans community." —Cynthia A. Graham, via Twitter

“In Suzanne DeWitt Hall#&39;s The Language of Bodies, a grisly murder sets in motion a grieving wife#&39;s plan for retribution. What follows is a struggle for dominance between vengeance and virtue. The novel is a film noir between covers—dark, tense, and sexy. And hats off to DeWitt Hall for shining a light on the potential dangers faced daily by transgender individuals.”  
—Wally Lamb, author of four New York Times bestsellers and two Oprah Book Club selections, including I Know This Much is True

Author Biography

Suzanne Dewitt Hall is the author of the Where True Love Is LGBQI+ devotional series, and the Rumplepimple adventures. She#&39;s been a contributor for the Huffington Post, Impact Magazine, and Cognoscenti. Honors include being awarded the 2019 LGBTQ+ Writer Scholarship for Grub Street’s Muse and the Marketplace conference, and named Author of the Month for February 2019 by LGBTQ Reader (@books_gay) on Twitter. Suzanne lives in the Midwest with her spouse, two naughty terriers, a cat named Chicken, and a large collection of vintage cookbooks.