This is the third Earl Marcus mystery from Hank Early. The action starts up right after Marcus has lost a close race for Sheriff to a lackey of the most corrupt politician in his North Georgia community and picks up when Marcus finds a body and a letter in his front lawn. The plot thickens when he discovers a connection with a nearby private school surrounded by barbed wire and locked gates. "Clever...The past hangs heavily...adding depth to a story heavy on psychological introspection...In the end, it's the characters that the reader will remember. Early does a fine job blending crime and the Southern gothic." —Publishers Weekly. "A flawed, likable protagonist uses violent methods to solve a complex, compulsively readable case."
—Kirkus Reviews. The author grew up in North Georgia and now lives in Central Alabama where he teaches in a middle school.
New York: Crooked Lane, 2019. 345 pages. Hardback in dust jacket.