Audiobook Thursday - CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER

First line: "The Rutherford girl had been missing for eight days when Larry Ott returned home and found a monster waiting in his house."

Larry Ott has learned to get through life one day at a time. He's been ostracized by the people of his rural Mississippi town ever since Cindy Walker went missing after their "date" back in high school. People don't talk to Larry, they don't patronize his service station and they certainly don't associate with him. However, when another young girl goes missing, the local law enforcement is more than happy to start looking right at Larry as the prime suspect.

CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER is a book that hits me in one of the softest places in my heart: people's callous mistreatment of each other. Franklin handles the theme with kid gloves, making it all the more effective. Larry is a young man who has wanted nothing more from life than a friend, and this desire opens him up to the selfishness of others.

The crimes in this novel, the two missing girls, play a secondary role in the plot. Instead Franklin focuses on the interrelationships of the characters and how their environment influences those relationships. The richness of the characters, the dialogue, the setting development all contribute to the intensity of emotion Franklin is able to elicit from the reader.

Franklin's use of language is exquisite. The tone of the novel mimics the loneliness of Larry and the internal struggles of Silas, the town constable who is carrying around heavy secrets. Every so often, Franklin sneaks in some situational humor to contrast the "old boys" off-color and tasteless jokes.

Through these beautiful characters, Franklin reminds us of the ugliness humans can inflict on one another. CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER is a highly emotional, eloquent study of the human spirit and one we can all stand to read regularly. Franklin is a true master and CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER should be considered required reading.

Kevin Kenerly narrated this audiobook from Blackstone Audio. I would imagine that authors like Tom Franklin are hard to do justice, but I believe Kenerly did a fine job. He brought out the tone of both the rural southern community and the lonely, aching outsider. Kenerly also did a commendable job with the various dialects and genders. He maintained a leisurely pace befitting Southern Mississippi while emphasizing elements of intense emotion or fear. The production of this audiobook pays a fine tribute to the beautiful story being read.

CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER is available in print from William Morrow (ISBN: 978-0-060-59466-4) and on audio from Blackstone Audio (ISBN: 978-1-4417-6344-0)