Her interest is piqued and research finds something from 1984 loosely termed the ‘Lake Castor sniper.’ During that July, four random residents were killed and a fifth was wounded. The local newspapers said nothing . . . because the killings were in the Back Back side of Lake Castor (the proverbial ‘other side of the tracks’). A local young man in his early 20s was arrested, bullied into signing a confession and sentenced to life with only the confession as proof; no trial. His mom was convinced he was possessed. But those killings stopped with his arrest.
Shortly afterward, a poker game run by the local bootlegger was crashed leaving three others killed and mutilated. One player, a local reporter, left the game early to go home and sleep it off. A stolen car was seen leaving the apartment with three passengers. The reporter was awakened the next morning by the cops, dragged to the crime scene to become a ‘person of interest.’
The reporter, Hal Broadstreet, is pissed that he has been targeted and starts in on the cops as well as the crime; he and most of the cops are at odds with each other. The next week or so, the leader of the local motorcycle gang, the Vandals, is found executed. Then another gang member is found beaten to death. A third member, assumed to have been in the car, has disappeared.
Then Hal is found shot in his home.
Jess has culled what she can find and manages to find a couple cops from that area now retired and living on the NC-VA border. She wants to know about the sniper killings while her benefactors want her attention elsewhere. But she can’t let the sniper story die on the vine.
There’s a lot going on here: 40-year old killings, racist cops infiltrated with a few decent honest police, motorcycle gangs competing to control the routes of the East Coast drug traffic, a developing gang war (per the cops, ‘who cares if they kill each other?’), the slaughter at the poker game of a few local bootleggers who were generally decent citizens, a crusading if obsessive reporter, and a modern day podcaster tracking a story that may or may not be a sell-able product.
This is a whale of a story from Pruitt (who was favorably reviewed by yours truly a few years ago). Full disclosure: I met Pruitt at a Noir At The Bar event in Durham, NC some time back. He is a genuinely interesting and engaging fellow with his fingers in multiple pies: novelist, filmmaker, screenwriter, film festival awardee, and bar owner in nearby Hillsborough, NC. Around these parts, he is a passionate promoter of what might be considered under the radar mystery authors. He lists 5 novels; I know I’ve read another but failed to post a review. Shame on me.
I went back and read my previous (very favorable) review. I find this book to be a matured advancement over what was already a capable and keen eye for country noir. He seamlessly jumps between present day Jess and1984 Hal.
Trust me here boys and girls. This story will capture your interest with the opening chapter. His book prior to this one is the aforementioned, Something Bad Wrong, his first Jess Keeler book. I wasn’t halfway through this book before requesting it from the library – don’t normally do that. I expect to have it next week. So watch for another Eryk Pruitt review shortly.
This 2024 copyright has recently been released so it should be easily found. He is doing
a reading along with Rob Hart (Assassin’s Anonymous) and the great SA Cosby (All
The Sinners Bleed) at McIntyre’s
Book Store in Fearington, NC Saturday. All the books highlighted are the subject of the reading event and have been reviewed on MRB.
Yeah, I’ll be there. Count on it.
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