The Walls reminded me of the classic "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky in which an anguished protaganist wrestles with the moral dilemma of an evil deed. Overton also explores the theme of domestic abuse as a justification for that dilemma, challenging readers to consider how they might react if snared in a similar situation--even one not so serious as her heroine.
A heart-stopping psychological suspense novel about a Texas prison official driven to commit the perfect crime, by the author of the international bestselling thriller Baby Doll.
YOU WOULD DIE FOR YOUR FAMILY. WOULD YOU KILL FOR THEM?
Working on death row and raising her son as a single mom is tough. When Kristy Tucker meets and falls in love with handsome Lance Dobson, at last she can imagine a better future.
But after their wedding, her life becomes one of constant terror. And as Lance's violence escalates, Kristy must decide how far she will go to save herself -- and…
Although I had read this Faulkner classic many years ago, I decided to read it again after discussing it in a chat on Facebook with a Faulkner critic. I quickly realized that I hadn't fully appreciated this unusual Faulkner effort--a crime potboiler that explores a theme of universal justice. But the immersion into the world of Mississippi bootleggers during the 1920s proved a journey well worth the effort. And I emerged with a new level of respect for Faulkner's style and writing skills.
A powerful novel examining the nature of evil, informed by the works of T. S. Eliot and Freud, mythology, local lore, and hardboiled detective fiction. Sanctuary is the dark, at times brutal, story of the kidnapping of Mississippi debutante Temple Drake, who introduces her own form of venality into the Memphis underworld where she is being held.
I enjoyed learning how a knowlegable and accomplished nonfiction outdoor writer could craft a dramatic work of fiction while teaching readers a great deal bout deep woods exploration, forest fires and human conflict in the face of natural challenges erupting all around. In short, I was lost in the deep woods with some interesting and dangerous folks. Thanks for the trip.
ONE OF THE OBSERVER THRILLERS OF THE YEAR: 'GLORIOUS PROSE AND RAZOR-SHARP TENSION'
'LYRICAL AND ACTION-PACKED' Guardian 'I COULDN'T TURN THE PAGES FAST ENOUGH' Clare Mackintosh 'IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT DOWN, OR FORGET' Sunday Mirror 'GLORIOUS DRAMA AND LYRICAL FLAIR Denise Mina, New York Times
Two friends Wynn and Jack have been best friends since their first day of college, brought together by their shared love the great outdoors.
The adventure of a lifetime When they decide to canoe down the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate the ultimate wilderness experience: no phones, no fellow travellers, no way of going…
“The Chicken Ranch was the one, great festering, frustrating sore on the face of law enforcement in Texas.”
The year was 1973. The State of Texas had just elected a new reform-minded governor and attorney general. And Houston’s ABC-TV affiliate station at Channel 13 had just launched a new consumer-oriented investigative feature by hiring flamboyant former lawman Marvin Zindler to seize the spotlight. The roads from those disparate events crossed quickly in dramatic fashion to national acclaim in the Texas Hill Country village of LaGrange which had harbored the country’s longest continually operating bordello—a little place known as the Chicken Ranch and beloved to generations of Texas school boys.
When Zindler’s sensational TV expose forced the Chicken Ranch to close, it triggered a national controversy that raged for years, highlighted by the creation of a successful Broadway musical called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The movie version starred Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton in the fictionalized account that boiled the story down to a basic theme still used in its marketing pitch: “Texas madam Miss Mona and her sheriff boyfriend try to save her chicken ranch from a TV muckraker.”
But lost amid the romanticized singing and the dancing and the nostalgic pining of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas lies an authentic true crime history yarn just as entertaining and as much a part of the Lone Star State’s many fabled legends. In I, the People, veteran Houston journalist and author Gary Taylor recreates the real story behind the closing of the Chicken Ranch and explains the forces that unleashed TV icon Marvin Zindler upon the national scene.
