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As Jennifer Garrett tends to her poor, run-over poodle, the assailant gets the drop on her. She never stands a chance as she is violently throttled, her attacker subjecting her to further degradation before discarding her in a nearby field. Jennifer's parents are quick to reach out to law enforcement upon noticing Jennifer's absence from home. Within hours, the town of Roundaway learns of the brutal assault and murder of eighteen-year-old Jennifer. When investigator Paul Lane receives the news of Jennifer's murder, he is more than concerned, as her murder bears a resemblance to the unsolved murders of two women in the previous year in Bolivar County. The possibility of the same culprit committing all three murders is too great to discount.
Randy Butler is a teenager living under the thumb of his abusive father, an existence that is fraught with tension and unease. While his mother recently filed for divorce and is far removed from her husband's mood swings, Randy's only escape is school or when his father is at work. One day, Randy and his friend Weasel go to buy a thirst-quenching drink and decide to go to the Baptist church, where a soda machine offers refreshment. However, the pair doesn't have enough money, which leads Randy to commit petty larceny by grabbing money from the pastor's office. However, he finds something more valuable instead and makes off with two rings. Weasel wants no part in Randy's theft, but Randy believes he will get a decent price when he pawns them.
When a tip comes in about recently sold rings, Lane believes the cold case murders from the previous year may have begun to heat up. The identity of the pawnor is more than a little surprising, but Lane decides to haul Randy in for questioning. Randy compounds his initial theft with a lie about the rings' origin, which he later repeats to the police. Randy feels caged in with his small crimes, and soon his father, Raymond, is arrested for the murder of two women. The social stigma of being the son of an alleged murderer leads to Randy becoming a pariah in his town. Meanwhile, the real killer lurks nearby.
The story of a murder in a small town, with a young man caught in the middle of the investigation after a white lie, forms the basis of a compelling mystery narrative. Randy is a relatable, if pitiable, character, as his predicament is clear from the beginning—the knocked-about oldest child of a lout, the product of a broken home. There is enough drama inherent in Randy's story even before he makes his fateful admission to the police, setting off a chain of events he never would have conceived.
The pall cast over law enforcement by the unsolved murders is conveyed through the frustrations of Lane as he attempts to investigate viable suspects in these heinous crimes. The members of law enforcement are written as fallible but well-meaning in the story. They are simply seen as men seeking justice for the victims and their families. The plot is viewed through multiple perspectives, but the most poignant viewpoints are Randy's and, later, his friend Weasel's. This is an immensely readable small-town whodunit with plenty of pathos.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review