Lake Charles
Ed Lynskey
Wildside, Jun 28 2011, $12.99
www.wildsidebooks.com
ISBN: 9781434430465
In 1979 in Tennessee, Brendan Fishback met Ashleigh Sizemore at a bar; they went off together, but the next morning she is lying dead next to him from angel dust; he is accused of killing her by supplying her with the drug. Brendan knows he has to deal with his upcoming homicide trial, but wants to do something nice by getting his twin sister Edna and his best friend Cobb Kuzawa to reconcile. The married couple has not talked to one another in months.
The three drive to Lake Charles in Brendan’s truck, but outside of her gum, his sister is silent. At Lake Charles, Edna vanishes. Her desperate male companions search for her only to become entangled in an illegal drug feud in which the Feds are involved. Additionally Ashleigh's wealthy father comes to town seeking revenge against the man who murdered his little girl. Cobb's Korean War veteran dad Jerry joins the hunt for Edna and has the need to squash the "big bug" for attacking them.
This is an entering historical rural Tennessee thriller, as the locals do whatever to eke out a living in difficult often deadly environs. Ironically readers will admire and resect the natives, but none are likable except Jerry who’s cynical kick butt nature steals the show as he will remind readers of Harrelson’s Tallahassee in Zombieland. The noir story line is fast-paced once Brendan and Cobb realize Edna is missing and never slows down as the pair feels like they fell down the rabbit hole.
Harriet Klausner
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