5. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

Category: 50 Books

A great book. It’s about a black guy named Silas and a white guy named Larry. They grew up in a small Mississippi town in the late seventies/early eighties, each of them with their share of problems. Larry is accused of murder and Silas moves on to a different town/school to concentrate on his baseball career and college. Twenty-five years later Silas is the constable of the town and there’s another murder and Larry is once again suspect.

The book has a great flow to it, weaving in and out of the present to flashbacks. The exposition was never rambly or redundant, and the book seemed to have the perfect length. The author does a great job of describing a small sounthern town, and the people in it. You can tell he is writing about what he knows.

The mystery story was fine, you’re not sure at first of Larry’s guilt. The way it plays out is great and it keeps you turning the pages.  I wouldn’t really call this book a murder-mystery though. It’s more like a slice of small-town, southern life kind of thing, for both guys, and the mystery is what gels the two slices together.

So good. Read this.

Four Roxy heads up!

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