TOM FRANKLIN

Smonk odia a las cabras y a los irlandeses. Luce varias cicatrices de bala, perdigonazos en la espalda y una cuchillada en la tripa. Tiene gota, bocio, gonorrea, sífilis, azúcar en la sangre, neuralgia y fiebres intermitentes. Tambien malaria, tuberculosis, un ojo de cristal y una infinita sed de venganza.Evavangeline odia a los caballos. Es una puta, huerfana y fugitiva, de quince años aficionada al gatillo y al aguardiente. Disfrazada de hombre, huye de una patrulla de fanaticos religiosos a traves de un pais devastado por la rabia, la sequia y la guerra.Sus destinos coincidiran en Old Texas, un pueblucho perdido y dejado de la mano de Dios en el sudoeste de Alabama, poblado de viudas y niños muertos, que oculta un horrible secreto.

Finales de los años setenta. Chabot, una pequeña localidad rural del sur de Mississippi. Larry es un adolescente solitario y triste que se pasa todo el día encerrado en su cuarto leyendo libros de Stephen King. Su padre, dueño del taller en la carretera 11, dice que es un negado para la mecanica. Una mañana, camino del colegio, recogen en la carretera a una mujer negra y a su hijo, Silas, que, desde hace unos dias, viven como refugiados en una cabaña de caza en mitad del bosque. Los dos adolescentes, pese a tenerlo todo en contra, clase, raza y modo de vida, forjan un fuerte vinculo de amistad. Sus vidas cambian la noche en que Cindy Walker desaparece y nunca vuelve a saberse de ella.Mas de veinte años despues, Larry, condenado al ostracismo, lleva una existencia solitaria a cargo del viejo taller de su padre. Silas ha regresado despues de una prolongada ausencia y se ha convertido en el alguacil del pueblo. Cada uno lleva su vida como buenamente puede. Silas ve a Larry de vez en cuando al pasar con el coche por delante del taller de camino a cualquier otra parte. Procura que sus miradas no se crucen.Pero los dos viejos amigos se veran obligados a retomar el contacto y a confrontar un doloroso pasado. Los buitres han hallado en el rio el cadaver descompuesto de un conocido camello de poca monta y acaba de desaparecer otra chica.

«Mi Sur es la zona baja de Alabama, frondosa, verde y llena de muerte, los condados boscosos que se extienden entre los ríos Alabama y Tombigbee», donde las emociones corren con la misma crudeza que

Amos, Mississippi, is a quiet town. Silas Jones is its sole law enforcement officer. The last excitement here was nearly twenty years ago, when a teenage girl disappeared on a date with Larry Ott, Silas one-time boyhood friend. The law couldn''t prove Larry guilty, but the whole town has shunned him ever since. Then the town''s peace is shattered when someone tries to kill the reclusive Ott, another young woman goes missing, and the town''s drug dealer is murdered. Woven through the tautly written murder story is the unspoken secret that hangs over the lives of two men one black, one white. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a masterful crime novel, sizzling with deep Southern menace, and distinguished by brilliant plotting and unforgettable characters.

En 1911, le sud-ouest de l’Alabama est peuplé de juges corrompus, de tueurs, de putains, de fanatiques religieux, de sorcières, de veuves et de zombies... Mais le plus redoutable de tous, c’est E.O.

Smonk odia a las cabras y a los irlandeses. Tiene un Winchester y gasta un bastón de empuñadura de marfil con una espada oculta. Lleva cuatro o cinco revólveres repartidos por la ropa, munición de sobra, cartuchos de dinamita y un cuchillo en una bota. Luce varias cicatrices de bala en el hombro derecho, una en cada antebrazo y otra en el pie izquierdo, perdigonazos por toda la espalda y una cuchillada en la tripa. Tiene gota, bocio, gonorrea, sifilis, azucar en la sangre, neuralgia y fiebres intermitentes. Tambien malaria, tuberculosis, un ojo de cristal y una infinita sed de venganza.Evavangeline odia a los caballos. Es una puta, huerfana y fugitiva, de quince años aficionada al gatillo y al aguardiente. Disfrazada de hombre, huye de una patrulla de fanaticos religiosos a traves de un pais devastado por la rabia, la sequia y la guerra.Sus destinos coincidiran en Old Texas, un pueblucho perdido y dejado de la mano de Dios en el sudoeste de Alabama, poblado de viudas y niños muertos, que oculta un horrible secreto.

En 1911, la ville isolée de Old Texas, située dans le sud-ouest de l’Alabama, est victime d’un personnage scabreux et malveillant nommé E.O. Smonk. Syphilitique, phtisique, goutteux et goitreux, Smon

Rarement un recueil de nouvelles aura été salué par tant d’éloges, évoquant les plus grands noms de la littérature : Faulkner, Hemingway, Carver. Tom Franklin appartient à cette lignée décrivains don

In 1897, an aspiring politician is mysteriously murdered in the rural area of Alabama known as Mitcham Beat. His outraged friends -- mostly poor cotton farmers -- form a secret society, Hell-at-the-Breech, to punish the townspeople they believe responsible. The hooded members wage a bloody year-long campaign of terror that culminates in a massacre where the innocent suffer alongside the guilty. Caught in the maelstrom of the Mitcham war are four people: the aging sheriff sympathetic to both sides; the widowed midwife who delivered nearly every member of Hell-at-the-Breech; a ruthless detective who wages his own war against the gang; and a young store clerk who harbors a terrible secret.Based on incidents that occurred a few miles from the authors childhood home, Hell at the Breech chronicles the events of dark days that led the people involved to discover their capacity for good, evil, or for both.

Finales de los años setenta. Chabot, una pequeña localidad rural del sur de Mississippi. Larry es un adolescente solitario y triste que se pasa todo el día encerrado en su cuarto leyendo libros de Stephen King. Una mañana, camino del colegio, recogen en la carretera a una mujer negra y a su hijo, Silas. Los dos adolescentes, pese a tenerlo todo en contra, clase, raza y modo de vida, se hacen amigos. Sus vidas cambian la noche en que Cindy Walker desaparece.Mas de veinte años despues, Larry lleva una existencia solitaria a cargo del viejo taller de su padre. Silas se ha convertido en el alguacil del pueblo. Cada uno lleva su vida como buenamente puede. Pero se veran obligados a retomar el contacto y a confrontar su doloroso pasado. Acaba de desaparecer otra chica.

Esta novela es la elegante disección de una catástrofe. La Recámara del Infierno son los Peaky Blinders de Alabama. Esta banda se forma entre los aparceros que se rebelan contra los terratenientes que los oprimen con los precios de los arrendamientos de s

«Y el misterio supone poder. Lo que más aterra a la gente es lo que no conoce. Si mantienes a la gente en la oscuridad, controlas la oscuridad.» TOOCH BEDSOLE, fundador de La Recámara del InfiernoAla

WINNER OF THE CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD FOR BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR.Amos, Mississippi, is a quiet town. Silas Jones is its sole law enforcement officer. The last excitement here was nearly twenty years ago, when a teenage girl disappeared on a date with Larry Ott, Silass one-time boyhood friend. The law couldnt prove Larry guilty, but Amos residents have shunned him ever since.Then the towns peace is shattered when someone tries to kill the reclusive Ott, another young woman goes missing, and the towns drug dealer is murdered. Woven through the tautly written mystery is the unspoken secret that hangs over the lives of two men - one black, one white.Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year, is a masterful novel, sizzling with deep Southern menace.

From the author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter - winner of the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the YearApril 1927. After months of rain, the Mississippi River has reached dangerous levels and the little town of Hobnob is at threat. Residents fear the levee will either explode under the pressure of the water or be blown by saboteurs from New Orleans, who wish to save their own city. But when an orphaned baby is found the lives of Ingersoll, a blues-playing prohibition agent, and Dixie Clay, a bootlegger who is guarding a terrible secret, collide. They can little imagine how events are about to change them - and the great South - forever. For in the dead of night, after thick, illusory fog, the levee will break . . .

The classic trifecta of talent, heart, and a bone-deep sense of storytelling.A masterful performance, deftly rendered and deeply satisfying. For days on end, I woke with this story on my mind. David WroblewskiA powerful and resonant novel from the critically acclaimed author of Smonk and Hell at the Breech, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter tells the riveting story of two boyhood friends, torn apart by circumstance, who are brought together again by a terrible crime in a small Mississippi town. An extraordinary novel that seamlessly blends elements of crime and Southern literary fiction, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a must for readers of Larry Brown, Pete Dexter, Ron Rash, and Dennis Lehane.In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the countyand perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past theyve buried and ignored for decades.

Set against the backdrop of the historic flooding of the Mississippi River, The Tilted World is an extraordinary tale of murder and moonshine, sandbagging and saboteurs, and a man and a woman who find unexpected love, from Tom Franklin, the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, and award-winning poet Beth Ann FennellyThe year is 1927. As rains swell the Mississippi, the mighty river threatens to burst its banks and engulf everything in its path, including federal revenue agent Ted Ingersoll and his partner, Ham Johnson. Arriving in the tiny hamlet of Hobnob, Mississippi, to investigate the disappearance of two fellow agents whod been on the trail of a local bootlegger, they are astonished to find a baby boy abandoned in the middle of a crime scene. Ingersoll, an orphan raised by nuns, is determined to find the infant a home, and his search leads him to Dixie Clay Holliver. A strong woman married too young to a philandering charmer, Dixie Clay has lost a child to illness and is powerless to resist this second chance at motherhood. From the moment they meet, Ingersoll and Dixie Clay are drawn to each other. He has no idea that shes the best bootlegger in the county and may be connected to the agents disappearance. And while he seems kind and gentle, Dixie Clay knows full well that he is an enemy who can never be trusted.When Ingersoll learns that a saboteur might be among them, planning a catastrophe along the river that would wreak havoc in Hobnob, he knows that he and Dixie Clay will face challenges and choices that they will be fortunate to survive. Written with extraordinary insight and tenderness, The Tilted World is that rarest of creations, a story of seemingly ordinary people who find hope and deliverance where they least expect itin each other.