Earlier this week, I saw author Larry D. Sweazy post this message on Facebook. “Stumbled across this radio interview for my first mystery novel, The Devil's Bones, in 2012. The Art of the Matter with Travis DiNicola and Sharon Gamble was an amazing radio show for local artists on WFYI, the Indianapolis PBS/NPR station. The Art of the Matter no longer exists and it and its fantastic hosts are sorely missed. .
https://www.wfyi.org/show/the-art-of-the-matter/2026-03-30/the-art-of-the-matter-march-2-2012
I think the interview and the book hold up, and the subject matter is still relevant, if not more so... I hope you'll give this interview with Travis a listen.”
While I have not had a chance to listen
to the interview yet, I was reminded how much I very much enjoyed this book.
So, I thought I would remind you today of that fact with my October 2013 review.
From the archive…
Late August of 2004 finds Deputy Jordan
McManus in the bed of a former girlfriend early one morning while drought grips
Dukaine, Indiana. Like the drought that grips the area, McManus is gripped by
the past. A past that includes the love of his life, Ginny, who has been
married for quite some time and has changed. Whatever they had once, years ago,
has been tarnished by time and the fact she has a child and is married to Ed
Kirsch. Not known for being mentally stable at the best of times, were he to
discover what McManus and Ginny have done the results could be disastrous.
Instead of spending time with Ginny,
McManus is supposed to be out patrolling the area. If he had been out doing his
job, he might have been out at Longer’s Pond with his boss, Marshal Holister
Coggins a little quicker. He might have had more time to secure the scene. He
might have been able to examine the small skeleton in the mud a little bit.
Maybe if he had been more focused on doing his job, he might have been able to
prevent the shooting that took down Holister and wounded him by somebody who
laughed like a maniac while doing it.
Moving back and forth from 1985 to late
August of 2004, author Larry D. Sweazy weaves a complicated tale of pain, loss,
racism, regret, and redemption in The Devil’s Bones. The read
shifts in point of view throughout the book as the pieces slowly come together
in various mysteries. Each secret has had a damaging ripple effect over the
years and has caused numerous events --many of which Deputy Jordan McManus has
little knowledge of despite being on the edge of many of them. Relying on his
brother nicknamed “Spider,” a tenuous decision at the best of times, McManus
works to clear his name and end the current carnage. The shooting of Holister
and himself is just the start of a wave of violence that will also uncover the
past and answer questions that have haunted the small town for years.
Reminiscent in style and tone of his
many westerns, The Devil’s Bones is a very complicated mystery
that pulls the reader in quickly and never lets go. Rich in details,
characters, and setting, nothing is simple in this read where drought finally
exposes all the secrets of the past.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3QgOFyy
ARC provided by the author way back in October 2011 for my use in an objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013, 2026
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