What Dies in Summer by Tom Wright

Jim Beaudry, nicknamed Biscuit is a teenage boy growing up in the 1970’s in a small town in Texas.  He lives with his grandmother because his stepfather uses him as a punching bag.  Biscuit has a gift his Gram calls ‘the sight’ which occasionally allows him to dream something before it actually happens, like a clairvoyant.  Otherwise, thanks to Gram, Biscuit is a normal teenager who avoids many of life’s temptations brought on by his peers.  Then, L.A., his female cousin comes to live with him and Gram.  She too is having stepfather issues but is much more broody and within herself than Biscuit.  He admires her superior intellect and feisty independence and they become good friends.

The plot darkens when Biscuit begins dreaming of a girl dressed in white sitting at the end of his bed.  A few days later, he and L.A. find the girl’s body, the very one from his dreams, in a secluded field along a road.  She has been brutally raped and murdered.  They call the police and an investigation ensues.  As more bodies turn up, Jim and L.A. find their own lives in danger and the innocence of childhood is soon left behind.

What Dies in Summer is a good effort for this first time author.  The characters are interesting and well developed.  The plot while appealing seems to bounce around at times without clear direction.  Is this a coming of age plot or a murder mystery?  I know it could be both but I think the author could have structured it better for the reader.  Further, the clairvoyance angle doesn’t add anything to the plot but confusion.  I think Wright is a promising author but I wish for a bit more clarity in his future works.