by JoeRLansdale (Author)
It is the summer of 1958 in Dewmont, Texas, a town the great American postwar boom passed by. The kids listen to rockabilly on the radio and waste their weekends at the Dairy Queen. And an undetected menace simmers under the heat that clings to the skin like molasses...For thirteen-year-old Stanley Mitchel, the end of innocence comes with his discovery of the mysterious long-ago demise of two very different young women. In his quest to unravel the truth about their tragic fates, Stanley finds a protector in Buster Lighthorse Smith, a black, retired Indian-reservation cop and a sage on the finer points of Sherlock Holmes, the blues, and life's faded dreams. But not every buried thing stays dead. And on one terrifying night of rushing creek water and thundering rain, an arcane, murderous force will rise from the past to threaten the Stanley and everything he holds dear. Vintage Lansdale, A FINE DARK LINE brims with exquisite suspense, powerful characterizations, and the vibrant evocation of a lost time.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Published: 11 May 2006
ISBN 10: 0297845594
ISBN 13: 9780297845591
Book Overview: Cleverely plotted murder mystery full of larger-than-life characters Hauntingly evocative recreation of small town 1950s America 'The best ever from talented Lansdale: a genre-crossing tour de force to spark the most jaded appetites.' Kirkus Reviews (starred review)