The setting for this novel begins during the mid-1960’s in riot torn Detroit and then moves to rural Rooks County, Kansas. Arthur Scott left a small Kansas town 20 years ago but is forced to return with his family to the farm life to escape the violence and racial strife in Detroit.

The family’s return to Kansas reopens several family and community secrets which includes the mysterious death of Arthur’s sister Eve, two missing little girls and the fact that Arthur’s sister Ruth is being beaten bloody by her husband.

The story is told mainly through the eyes of Arthur’s younger daughter, Eve-ee and son Daniel. Eve-ee becomes obsessed with her dead namesake and begins to ask uncomfortable questions. Daniel, the city boy, is trying to fit in with the rough and tumble farm boys and hopes that Kansas will make a man of him.

The author creates a haunting picture of the isolation and harshness of life on a Kansas farm. It is also an insightful look at the passion and violence that simmer just below the surface of a small town. There are elements of mystery, romance and coming of age with dark implications. One review called this story “Midwestern noir with gothic undertones.”

Susan