Hard Twisted

July 30, 2012
Greaves follows his debut, Hush Money (as Chuck Greaves), with this impressive fictional recounting of Depression-era drifter Clint Palmer’s real-life killing spree, told largely from the limited perspective of his 13-year-old girlfriend, Lottie Lucile Garret. Soon after the homeless Lottie meets him on the road in Oklahoma, her father disappears, and Lottie finds herself traveling alone with Clint through the American Southwest, gradually realizing that the ex-con is not just a charismatic, amoral hustler but a murderous psychopath. Their aimless, often harrowing odyssey sketches out a picture of 1934–1935 America struggling to cling to bedrock Christian values in the face of a precarious daily existence. Named the Best Historical Novel of 2010 in the SouthWest Writers International Writing Contest, this crime tale at times too closely recalls antecedents, from Horace McCoy to Cormac McCarthy, but otherwise shows Greaves as a strong literary voice who can render period with authority and violence without sensationalism. Agent: Antonella Iannarino, the David Black Agency.

Starred review from September 15, 2012

Barely a teenager, Lottie Garrett has already known hard times. It's 1934, and the Depression is in full sway in Oklahoma. Lottie and her father scrape by, roaming the countryside in search of food and shelter. Eventually they meet Clint Palmer, cocksure and scrappy, who draws them into his world of anger and death. Clint drags Lottie across the Southwest, leaving a trail of bodies behind them. Rescued finally by his arrest, Lottie is also put on trial. Told in a chilling, matter-of-fact tone, this compelling novel, which is based on an actual 1935 case, was deservedly named Best Historical Novel of 2010 in the SouthWest Writers International writing contest. VERDICT Readers can't help but open their hearts to Lottie. She's caught in a world not of her own making but remains true to herself. Her story with all its gritty details and twists deserves wide readership. [The author also writes mysteries as Chuck Greaves (Hush Money).--Ed.]--Jan Blodgett, Davidson Coll. Lib., NC

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