This
book follows the story of a town
in the 1950’s in sleepy
Bourbonville, Tennessee. Its
main character Charles Alexander
is working late one night in his
office when he runs straight
into a double murder that no-one
was supposed to witness other
than the murderer, Hope Kirby,
who is seeking revenge by
killing his wife Abby and her
lover Kelly Parmalee after
discovering their liasions.
When
Charles discovers what has happened he has a shotgun to his forehead. He
is on his knees begging for mercy promising not to ever tell. Hope lets
him go, he is a man of integrity and this is an affair of honor, Hope does
not want to kill the innocent.
But
unfortunately Charles is forced to tell, and an intricate and tangible
story follows. The effects of the murders are felt half a century later
and only then is the whole story unravelled.
Marius
is exceptional at capturing the
frailties of the human
condition. Hate, jealously,
love, revenge, shame, sex and
religion, come together in this
richly woven story set in a
heavily religious small town. He
is also a master of suspense and
tension that will leave you
holding your breath till the
very last page. This story is
set in a post war era where the
men who returned home are still
dealing with their inner demons
and Marius captures the feelings
of these men with compassion and
sensitivity.
This
is a story that will make you
think about how black and white
law is and how when applied to
human nature it doesn’t always
work as planned. How there can
always be an exception even in
murder.
