Twilight

By William Gay

RECOMMENDED

In a word: Gothic

Plot:  Kenneth Tyler and his sister Corrie suspect the local undertaker, Fenton Breece, of underhanded buisness dealings.   When they do a bit of digging (literally), in the graveyard - they find that the situation is much more gruesome.  Breece is doing some very unsettling things with the bodies he supposed to be burying.  Kenneth, hoping to gather evidence, steals a briefcase from Breece's car, and finds a stack of incriminating photos inside.  Rather than go to the authoriities,  the Tylers decide to blackmail Breece.  This plan backfires when Breece hires local thug Greyson Sutter to get the photos back and take care of the siblings.  Sutter is more than happy to take on a job that requires bloodshed.  A violent encounter with Sutter leaves Corrie dead and Kenneth on the run through the backwood of Tennesse - with Sutter in hot pursuit. 

Thoughts:  This is true storytelling in a Southern Gothic style.  Filled with eccentric characters and vivid imagery.  It's also a riveting, if somewhat macabre, tale of justice served.  Tyler is a bit of a dunderhead - there are times you want to reach through the book and shake him.  His character, though, is secondary to the villains and the people he meets.  Greyson Sutter is almost a force of nature - unstoppable and unrelenting.  Breece is morbidly facinating - getting his wish to set up house with Corrie (even though she is dead).  The backwoods characters are sometimes a bit cliche, but believable.  William Gay has a wonderful way with words - I plan on reading more of his work.

My only complaint - Gay refuses to use quotation marks when writing conversations.  I minor thing, but somewhat annoying.

If you like this, try reading: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy;  The Terror by Dan Simmons