by Tom Franklin
First published 2010
Larry Ott fixes cars and lives alone in rural Mississippi, carrying the weight of an unsolved disappearance from the late 1970s. Back then, he took a girl to a drive-in movie and she never came home. No body was found and Larry never admitted guilt, but the county decided he was responsible. His friendship with Silas Jones, a poor black boy who had briefly crossed the racial divide to become his companion, shattered in the aftermath. Silas left town while Larry remained trapped by suspicion and whispers. More than twenty years later, Silas returns as a constable just as another girl goes missing. The community again points fingers at Larry. The two men must now confront each other and the secrets they have avoided for decades. Their reckoning will force them to examine what really happened that night and what their broken friendship cost them both.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Mississippi, Rural
Period: 1970s, 2000s
274 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow