Burn What Will Burn
A Novel
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3.0 • 9 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"Burn What Will Burn is a gritty, gripping mystery and an enthralling character study of its poet-protagonist, who is self-exiled and bedeviled by the locals, the summer Arkansas heat, and his own past. I was hooked by sentence one and burned right through the pages."—Michael Kardos, author of Before He Finds Her
Bob Reynolds doesn't recognize the body in the creek, but he does recognize the danger of it. He's a newcomer to town, not entirely welcome, and not entirely on good footing with the sheriff. So far he's kept his head down, mostly over the bar at the Crow's Nest. But he has interests other than drinking and spending his inheritance, including one that goes by the name Tammy Fay Smith and who may have caught the sheriff's eye as well.
Reynolds would rather pretend he never saw the body, but when it disappears, he begins to doubt what little he knew about this secretive town, a town that seems to become more unwelcoming by the day. Try as he might, he just can't forget the body, despite the advice he's been given to do so, and despite the evidence to suggest that he might be disappearing himself soon enough.
Following his acclaimed, award-winning debut, Burn What Will Burn confirms CB McKenzie as a one-of-a-kind crime novelist with an unforgettably original voice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Despite having plenty of family money, Bob Reynolds, the narrator of this gritty, atmospheric crime novel from Edgar-finalist McKenzie (Bad Country), seeks refuge in an old rundown home in Rushing, Ark., to avoid the Houston police, who suspect he might have been responsible for the recent fatal drowning of his wife in their bathtub. Bob, happily a loner in this isolated small town, has his serenity disturbed when he discovers a man's body in Little Piney Creek near his property. Bob reports the matter to Sheriff Baxter, only to find that the sheriff is familiar with his past and distrustful of his character and sanity. Suddenly, Bob is embroiled in the murder investigation, fearing he may be charged with committing the crime. Among the several entertaining and offbeat characters are a disreputable woman to whom Bob is wildly attracted, a former university professor who leveraged sex from students, and a cafe owner with family issues. The well-executed plot builds to a clever, somewhat farcical ending.
