A Fine Dark Line - Hardcover

Lansdale, Joe R

4.11

4,079 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0297845594 ISBN 13: 9780297845591

Publisher: W&N, 2006

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It is the summer of 1958 in Dewmont, Texas, a town the great American postwar boom passed by. The kids listen to rockabilly on the radio and waste their weekends at the Dairy Queen. And an undetected menace simmers under the heat that clings to the skin like molasses. . .
For thirteen-year-old Stanley Mitchel, the end of innocence comes with his discovery of the mysterious long-ago demise of two very different young women. In his quest to unravel the truth about their tragic fates, Stanley finds a protector in Buster Lighthorse Smith, a black, retired Indian-reservation cop and a sage on the finer points of Sherlock Holmes, the blues, and life's faded dreams.
But not every buried thing stays dead. And on one terrifying night of rushing creek water and thundering rain, an arcane, murderous force will rise from the past to threaten the Stanley and everything he holds dear.
Vintage Lansdale, A FINE DARK LINE brims with exquisite suspense, powerful characterizations, and the vibrant evocation of a lost time.

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Review:

Entertaining, fast-paced, and bristling with hidden menace. (KATE SAUNDERS THE TIMES)

a charming tale about growing up, and a vivid recreation of a world that no longer exists (SUSANNA YAGER SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

Part detective story, part horror chiller and part Huck Finn adventure yarn... vividly captures the atmosphere of an isolated, backwards little town. (NEW STATESMAN)

As always Joe Lansdale writes with a gentle reverence for the past and the present. I love his books and this is one of the very best. (MARK TIMLIN INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)

Book Description:

A classic coming-of-age murder mystery with corrupt cops, segregation, ice cream and missing lesbians

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