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I joined a book club group!  Finding a book club was one of my top to-do’s when I moved to Austin.  It was a fun, diverse group…very Austin-y.  :)  There was even a guy there!

It wasn’t the gossip & wine-filled book club that I’m used to, but maybe that’s a good thing.  We actually talked about the book!!

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter follows Silas “32″ Jones.  He’s returned to Mississippi to become constable in his small town.  Silas spends most of his days handling traffic duty during shift change at the mill and giving out speeding tickets.  But a girl in the town has now disappeared.

The disappearance brings up old memories of an unsolved missing girl from 20 years ago.  The suspect was always Larry Ott.  Larry still lives in the small town, but has been shunned by the community convinced of his guilt.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter shifts from the past to the present and intertwines the lives of Silas and Larry.  I enjoyed the plot lines of this novel, but it left me wanting more.  I found the “surprises” in the book to be predictable.  Franklin could have taken the story in a few different directions that I would have preferred.  Similar to a “choose your own adventure” book, I wish I’d read through another path of this story.

I did like Franklin’s portrayal of Silas and Larry.  Neither character is particularly likeable, but you got to know them well.  I found myself wanting to shake Silas for some things he did.  And I felt such sadness for Larry living his life of solitude.

3 out of 5 stars