After a raft of fairly literary novels, I was in the mood for something more action-oriented. With that in mind, I picked up Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. I was heartened by the fact that David Wroblewski (of the awesome Edgar Sawtelle-fame) had endorsed it highly.
The book is essentially something of a mystery novel, with the main character (Larry Ott) having been accused of a heinous crime 25 years earlier. However, he was never convicted as the police could never pull together the requisite evidence. Flash forward and another similar crime has occurred in this small Mississippi town. Larry is once again a suspect. The book goes back and forth in time to help readers understand what really happened 25 years ago, as well as in the present day. Interspersed with Larry's story is that of the local constable (Silas "32" Jones), a former friend of Larry's. The book describes Silas' criminal investigation during the present day, but also explores the relationship between these two men all those years ago.
I won't go into much more depth as I don't want to spoil the mystery, but I will say this is a well written book that provides some insight into the tensions between blacks and whites in Mississippi, while also providing readers with a compelling story.
Interesting side note: apparently, students in Mississippi learn to spell Mississippi like this: M-I-Crooked Letter-Crooked Letter-I-Humpack-Humpback-I. An interesting approach to literacy indeed.
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