Another week has passed and we have another
Friday before us. Not only does that mean the weekend is almost here, it is
also time for Friday’s Forgotten Books hosted by Patti Abbott. This week, as I
am currently working through my latest Larry
D. Sweazy western offering, I thought I should mention again a very good
mystery of his titled The
Devil’s Bones. It took me three years before I got that book read and reviewed.
I am not proud of that fact one bit, but it should give all of you who have books
hanging out in my TBR pile some hope. I do
get there…eventually. After you read the review, poke around the blog and/or
head over to Patti’s blog to check
out other books that might strike your fancy.
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 quite a lot. 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.
The Devil’s Bones
Larry D. Sweazy
Five Star
March 2012
ISBN# 978-1-328-2571-3
Hardback (also available in e-book
form)
334 Pages
$25.95
ARC provided by the author way back in October 2011 for my use in an objective review.
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