It is the depression in East Texas. The Klu Klux Klan is active and many Texas men feel that if they smack their wives around, they won't have to answer for it.
Constable Pete Jones comes home drunk and beats his wife, Sunset. Then, while in the process of raping her, she reaches for his revolver and kills him.
Since the sawmill town of Camp Rapture is now without a law enforcement officer, at a camp meeting, with the help of her mother-in-law, Sunset is appointed as the new constable. She will be assisted by Clyde Fox and a new man in town who goes by the nickname, Hillbilly.
Soon after her appointment, a baby's body is found in the land of the only black farmer in town. Not long after that, a woman's body is found. She had been shot and was covered with oil.
To the surprise of many, Sunset takes her job seriously. She tries to learn the various parts of her job and to identify the woman. When she does, it adds complications to her own life. To add to her difficulties, she also has to resolve issues with her precocious fourteen-year-old daughter and to resolve issues with her mother-in-law.
The story was so realistic that I felt I could see the action unfolding before me. The author makes the reader care about the characters and I enjoyed the courageousness of Sunset and felt drawn to the difficulty of life at that time.
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2 comments:
This book sounds interesting... what year is it set in?
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