The More They Disappear
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"The More They Disappear delivers everything a reader could want. On one hand a compelling literary thriller, on the other a deep and generous meditation on life in a small town torn by addiction, poverty, and corruption." --Philipp Meyer, author of The Son
When long-serving Kentucky sheriff Lew Mattock is murdered by a confused, drug-addicted teenager, chief deputy Harlan Dupee is tasked with solving the crime. But as Harlan soon discovers, his former boss wasn't exactly innocent.
The investigation throws Harlan headlong into the burgeoning OxyContin trade, from the slanted steps of trailer parks to the manicured porches of prominent citizens, from ATV trails and tobacco farms to riverboat casinos and country clubs.
As the evidence draws him closer to an unlikely suspect, Harlan comes to question whether the law can even right a wrong during the corrupt and violent years that followed the release of OxyContin.
The More They Disappear takes us to the front lines of the battle against small-town drug abuse in an unnerving tale of addiction, loss, and the battle to overcome the darkest parts of ourselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Near the start of Donaldson's well-written, grim first novel set in 1998, troubled teenager Mary Jane Finley kills Sheriff Lew Mattock with a rifle shot at a fund-raising barbecue in Marathon, Ky. That action roils the lives of many Marathoners, including deputy Harlan Dupee, who suddenly finds himself sheriff, and the members of Mattock's family: his widow, Mabel; his son, Lewis; and Lewis's wife, Sophie. Mary Jane's boyfriend, Mark Gaines, who's Sophie's brother, and their father, Dr. Trip Gaines, are also affected. While Dupee, a reluctant and unprepared sheriff, begins to uncover Mattock's secrets (bribes, affairs, gambling debts), drug user Mary Jane and drug dealer Mark make ineffectual attempts to flee the area. Others, including the manipulative Trip, convince reluctant Lewis to run for sheriff. Donaldson relentlessly tracks the devastating fallout from Mattock's death as it sweeps through Marathon.
