It's January 1969, and northeast Texas was experiencing record cold temperatures and snowfall. However, the new Starlite Bar, located just south of where the Red River had lately changed its course, was the hottest destination in the area for those looking for fun and excitement. It stood on land that had been in Oklahoma before the river shifted, and now neither state wanted to deal with the problems this type of place inherently brings with it. With it being adjacent to Lamar County and all, Constable Ned Parker is already willing and able to shut the joint down. This is especially true when one of his many kinfolks, nephew R.B. Parker, is killed in a suspicious car accident while on his way home from the place after winning a great deal of money at the illegal dice table in the back.
The Parker clan's younger members are also involved, as unbeknownst to their grandfather and uncle, Top, Pepper, and Mark were snooping around the Starlite the night that R.B. was killed. But, not realizing the significance of their observations that night and being worried about getting in trouble for going out to the Starlite in the first place, the three hold back from telling Ned or Cody about who and what they saw that night.
Adding to the teen drama is the appearance of two new faces in town. Twins Jett and Blu McClellan are the strikingly attractive son and daughter of the new Baptist minister in Center Springs, and they are a pair of wild ones. Their presence and machinations not only disrupt the relationships among Pepper, Mark, and Top, but they also seem to have their hands in some of the goings-on at the Starlite as well.
While Judge O.C. Raines works with connections in Austin and Oklahoma to settle the jurisdictional issues, Ned and his nephew, Lamar County Sheriff Cody Parker, start looking into the circumstances surrounding R.B's death. As things begin to point to murder, more mysterious deaths occur, and each of the deceased was a participant in that same dice game. With temperatures dropping, snow falling, and bodies piling up, Ned, Cody, John Washington, Tom Bell, and Deputy Sheriff Anna Sloan work in the background to figure out who's responsible for the murders and desperately try to prevent any more from happening.
"Laying Bones" is another great story in the continuing "Texas Red River Mysteries" series by Reavis Z. Wortham. It's been a couple of years since the previous books were published, so reading this one was like a homecoming of sorts with all the usual characters showing up for the reunion. As in the past, the plot is multilayered, involving more than one mystery and three generations of the Parker clan, their extended family, and friends.
I enjoyed the greater emphasis on Top's "poisoned gift" (as Ms. Becky calls it). His second sight (and that of Ned and Cody) has always been an intriguing element of this series, and this story presented Top's visions or dreams with quite a bit more clarity than before.
I liked that the three teens are really good kids but each different from the others. The two boys are growing into capable young men. The aptly-named Pepper continues to be a complicated personality while still making me laugh almost every time she opens her mouth.
Eight books deep into this series, both the characters and the setting have become familiar and comfortable and real, and I hope that there are many more to come. Being from a nearby county and only a few years younger than Top and Pepper, I particularly enjoyed the references to actual events, places, and personalities such as our nearly legendary Channel 5 weatherman, Harold Taft. While the setting, time period, and local culture are a warm and nostalgic trip down memory lane, the mysteries are well crafted and kept me guessing. When the truth is eventually revealed, it made sense, and I didn't feel misled.
LAYING BONES is a totally satisfying return home and a long-overdue reunion with the Parker clan of Lamar County. I recommend this book and this entire series to readers who enjoy a good historical mystery series set in a small town or rural location, those that enjoy a mix of age groups in their mystery stories, and those who would enjoy a mystery set in the late 1960s.
It's January 1969 in the small rural community of Center Springs, Texas. Constable Ned Parker is looking into the seemingly accidental death of his nephew R .B., who was found in his overturned pickup near Sanders Creek bridge. At first it appears that R. B. drowned in the shallow water, but something doesn't add up for Ned, who begins turning over stones in search of what really happened the night R. B. died.
Eventually, the investigation leads Ned back to the Starlite Club, a dangerous honky-tonk recently constructed in a no-man's land on the Lone Star side of the Red River. Although his investigation uncovers suspicious characters, drugs, and gambling, it's the series of murders that eliminated any potential witnesses to what happened to R. B. on that cold January night, that's the most troubling.
As he works his way through the cover-up, which leads all the way to the coroner's office, Ned finds himself involved in a high-stakes game of consequences with no good end in sight. Are the good citizens of Center Springs conspiring against Constable Parker in his search for the truth?
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