"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Drinking beer is what high school jocks do, and for Neil, it also drives away the anger he feels at his father, at his life, and at the fact that his mother left them when Neil was a baby. Neil blames his distant and abusive father for driving her away. A charming man to those who don't know him, Neil's father spends his leisure time drinking Midori and listening to Neil Diamond, after whom he has named his son. (The scene where Neil's father takes him to Las Vegas for a Neil Diamond concert is a memorable one in a book filled with great scenes.)
Driving home from Fred's house in his father's car, Neil hits and kills a boy who is walking home from the party. Drunk and disoriented, Neil stuffs the body in the trunk, drives home, and passes out. When the body disappears from the trunk, Neil knows his father has found the body and hidden it, although not a word about this passes between them. Since Neil's father is the sheriff of the town, he is called in by the dead boy's family to find their missing son.
The investigation is seen through Neil's eyes as he squirms through his father's seeming inability to find any clues about the missing boy and his own growing closeness to the boy's family, especially his sister, who see Neil and his father as friends and allies. He also watches as his father battles with the FBI (the dead boy's uncle is an agent) over jurisdiction of the case.
While it is difficult to feel sorry for Neil as the net slowly closes around him, and his fear of being caught turns to self-loathing, the reader knows exactly what happened and feels like a participant. It is an uncomfortable feeling for the reader and a difficult mood for the author to maintain, but Alan Watt manages to pull it off without a hitch. --Otto Penzler
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. 0316925810 First edition, First printing. Not inscribed clipped or otherwise marked. Shipped in a box. Number line starting with a (1). Fine/Fine. Seller Inventory # ABE-3894949429
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. First Printing of the First Edition. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 2000. SIGNED and DATED "9-23-00" by the AUTHOR directly on the title page (his signature only; NOT personalized to anyone). BRAND NEW in a BRAND NEW dust jacket. The jacket is protected by a removable clear-plastic sleeve, with a "SIGNED" sticker. NO rubbing. NO fading. NO chips. NO tears. NO creases. NOT price clipped ($23.95). Sharp corners. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. 2000. First printing with "First Edition" so stated and complete number row (10 987654321) on the copyright page. Author's first novel. Bound in the original two tone boards, stamped in shiny silver on the spine. From the pristine dust jacket: "Seventeen-year-old Neil Garvin lives in a small town outside Las Vegas. Abandoned by his mother when he was three, he blames his abusive father -- the local sheriff -- for driving her away. Neil is good-looking, popular, the quarterback of the high school football team -- and as cruel to his peers as his father is to him Neil plans to get out of town on his 'million dollar arm,' until the night he accidentally commits a terrible crime, which his father, unasked, covers up for him.". Signed by the Author (signature only). First Printing of the First Edition. Hardcover. New/New. (viii), 245pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping. Seller Inventory # 021739
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. RARE Advance Reading Copy-Uncorrected Proof-Not For Sale. 1st Edition-Stated. 1st Printing-Full # Line. New copy. Never read. Trade paperback format. BEAUTIFUL copy of Book & Cover. COLLECTOR'S COPY. Seller Inventory # 002027