Book Review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

Tom Franklin's narrative power and flair for characterization have been compared to the likes of Harper Lee, Flannery O'Connor, Elmore Leonard, and Cormac McCarthy.
Now the Edgar Award-winning author returns with his most accomplished and resonant novel so far; an atmospheric drama set in rural Mississippi. In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county— and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.
More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.

This has been on my TBR for ages. I was having a crappy day and wanted a book that would transport me to another time and place. Plus I had heard good things about it.

This book did take my mind off my troubles that day. I was born and raised in the South, and I grew up in the 80’s. Things had improved SOME  from when this story takes place but not a lot. I was drawn into the story, and it was beliviable. It takes place in the 70’s in rural Mississippi and is about two friends and crime that was committed. It alternates between flashbacks from when they were kids to when they were adults. A woman vanished, and  Scary Larry is blamed. We are not given all the details at the beginning so the mystery unfolds. It talks of past sins and how it is passed on from generation to generation.

I could relate to Larry. He is a bookworm and is viewed as an oddity in his community.  He seems to have been undone by the crime that is the main event of this book. Slowly we learn the back story, and the characters come to life. I felt that this was an accurate portrayal of the south. There are many people who try and cover up the sins of the south and it always seems fake and contrived.

Not all hope is lost, though. In the end, there is also redemption.  Maybe not in the way we would like to think of it but given the period, and the people involved it felt right. I have to admit I was hoping for a stronger ending but when I reflected upon the whole book, I realized that it was an almost perfect ending. It also gave me hope that even in the darkest times when it seems that all hope is lost that somewhere there is some salvation in every situation. Which is what I needed to hear on that day.

This was an excellent book for my day of book therapy.