Sometimes a line in a story or book resonates deep inside the reader. This one did.
“’Davis, I’ll tell you something. They ain’t nothin’ worse
than missing a woman.’” (Page 146)
Former Charleston Police Officer Davis Reed is missing a woman and much of his life due to pills, alcohol, anger and anxiety issues. He has fled home for a change of scenery and an attempt to focus himself. For the next six months, he is living in a cabin in Cruso, North Carolina, with the intention of writing a book. The book is to be on the true story of the B-25 plane crash at nearby Cold Mountain. There were no survivors in the crash just after WWII. The fact that he has no experience writing, beyond police reports and whatever he did for his private detective gigs, does not deter him from the book writing plan.
The ongoing and routine day and night drinking as he makes
various beers in the basement and his significant pill addiction deter the
wring process. As does his bad leg and the pain in it and general goofing off.
Davis Reed is not a writer. He is drifting through the days haunted by his past
and one fateful night when his world changed.
He is also somebody who cannot stop obsessing when he sees
something odd. Finding a ring full of keys is the trigger for an all new and
escalating obsession. Finding the keys where he did was odd enough. What keeps
happening with the keys is even odder. Those keys are the first in a long line
of dominoes that eventually lead to a violent confrontation in the mountains of
western North Carolina.
A highly atmospheric and massively complicated read, Graveyard
Fields by Steven Tingle unfolds at a steady and escalating pace. Filled
with occasional wisecrack, more references to the heavy metal music of the
eighties than you can shake a stick at, and a cast of eccentric characters, the
book is a complicated and fun mystery read. It is also one of those novels
where characters are cussing constantly and that will annoy some readers. So
too will be all the constant discussion and thoughts regarding home brewing of
beer. Neither was an issue for this reader.
I put this on my library list to read because of Lesa
Holstine’s review
months ago. The wait for this debut mystery was well worth it. I enjoyed it a
lot and you might too.
Graveyard Fields: A Novel
Steven Tingle
Crooked Lane Books
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671580/graveyard-fields-by-steven-tingle/
August 2021
ISBN# 1643856863
Hardback (also currently available in audio and eBook
formats)
288 Pages
My reading copy came from the Lakewood Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2021
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3 comments:
I thought you'd like all the wisecracks, Kevin. I really liked Graveyard Fields. It had more to it than I expected when I first met the character.
It appealed to my inner bitter sarcastic nature. ;)
Sounds like a good read. I like a character who is flawed for different reasons than a lot of ex-cops.
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