Compound Fracture follows our main character, Miles Abernathy, as he dives deep into the rotten history of his West Virginia mining town, and how it ties with his family. When a ghost shows up, Miles takes on the task of trying to break free from the wicked blood cycle of the town– but at what cost? This is truly a different work from Andrew Joseph White, wholly unique in premise (as always), but fundamentally different from his other books. While Hell Followed With Us and The Spirit Bares Its Teeth were always in a close, but different world than ours, this book is about as real as it gets. It's raw, it's visceral- and while those are words often used to describe Andrew Joseph White's writing, it is especially true in Compound Fracture. It is a scathing, if not healing, look at small town Appalachia and the daily injustices the inhabitants have suffered for generations. This book takes all expectations, mashes them down, and remolds them into something that can only be described as eye-opening. Compound Fracture is also a look at generational violence, specifically through blood feuds. You can feel the suffering that each member of the family has gone through, feel Saint Abernathy watch you as he watched Miles. The violence here is haunting, gory, bloody, and not one bit unnecessary.