Growing up in the South in the 1970s was a challenge at the
best of times, especially in small communities like Chabot,
Mississippi, where many folks still held tight to their
resentment of the turbulent civil rights movement. For two
young boys -- one black, one white -- becoming friends
during this time could be a dangerous thing to do.
In his new book, CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, author Tom
Franklin weaves the threads of friendship, tragedy and
redemption into a heart-wrenching story that readers will
not soon forget.
Kids called Larry Ott "Scary Larry" because he was a
strange boy, preferring to lose himself in his Stephen King
novels than interact with others. Silas "32" Jones was a
newcomer to Chabot and found it difficult to fit in to the
small town way of life until he became a high school
football star. But for a little while, the boys developed an
unusual acceptance of one another, a tentative friendship
during a time when they both needed it.
But tragedy strikes when a girl Larry took for a date turns
up missing and, although there is no hard evidence, Larry
is seen as the prime suspect in her disappearance. Larry's
life, and that of his family, is forever shattered. The
fall-out inadvertently affects Silas as well, leading to
his leaving town, vowing never to return. Twenty years
later, Silas has returned to Chabot as the town's constable.
His former friend Larry, now a mechanic,
is still considered strange by the town folks but tries to
lead a quiet life; but he's still the first person they
suspect anytime anything bad happens. When the daughter of
the mill owner disappears, Silas is forced to consider the
idea that the past may have come back to haunt his old
friend Larry once again, and it's up to Silas to put all
the pieces of the puzzle together to uncover the real
truth. But will the secrets that he dredges up help or hurt
everyone who is involved?
Drawing inspiration from his own Southern small-town
childhood, Tom Franklin expertly captures the gritty
desperation of poverty-stricken Mississippi in CROOKED
LETTER, CROOKED LETTER. You can almost smell the piney
essence of the woods that have been clear-cut for lumber
and the unique pungent odor of the mill wafting through
this suspenseful story. Using the childhood mnemonic slang
term "crooked letter" (M, I, crooked letter, crooked
letter, I, humpback, humpback, I) for Mississippi as the
title for this spellbinding tale, Franklin, in my opinion,
has delivered one of the best books of 2010.
Edgar Award-winning author Tom Franklin returns with his
most accomplished and resonant novel so far—an atmospheric
drama set in rural Mississippi. In the late 1970s, Larry Ott
and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as
different as night and day: Larry, the child of
lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a
poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys
stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special
bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date
to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She
was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes
rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the
county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with
Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.
More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives
a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers
of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and
Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl
disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men
who once called each other friend are forced to confront the
past they've buried and ignored for decades.
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