Riding a Blue Horse: A Novel of Crime (Otto Penzler Books) - Hardcover

Elliott, Carter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786711817 ISBN 13: 9780786711819

Publisher: Carroll & Graf, 2003

Synopsis

In this powerful and frequently stunning debut novel set in a remote mountain county of West Virginia, just as the criminals, who prove not to be brilliant tacticians, and the police, who are not corrupt clods, defy their stereotypes, so does Molly Small. Over the hill, at fourteen, in the kiddie-porn industry, and dumped by the operators who continue to torment her, Molly refuses to lie down and play victim. Her spirit feisty, her tongue salty, she calls upon all her resources—cunning, fantasy, fabrication, common sense, humor, sheer will—not only to survive but to begin life anew. But it ain’t no way easy. Molly’s unexpected appearance in Shawnee, where she hopes to connect with a man known by locals only as Turk, turns out to be only the first in a series of ominous events to challenge the investigative skills of the quiet, God-fearing state trooper Roscoe Bragg and young postal inspector Rens Vandermeer. A private plane crashes and leaves an illegally adopted six-year-old boy abandoned on a snowy mountainside; the body of a lost little girl is found in a leaf bag; witnesses disappear, and so does Molly.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

The plot of this promising debut from Elliott, a former Marine and CIA agent with a degree in clinical psychology, doesn't bear close inspection, but intriguing characters, many of them unsavory, and a vivid, wintry mountain setting more than compensate. In the Appalachian town of Shawnee, W.Va., the local "convenience store" sells groceries, liquor and gas-and provides entertainment in the lounge and motel out back. Shug Basty seizes the opportunity to expand his nasty little operation into a much nastier and larger operation featuring young children and high-paying customers supplied by kiddie-porn big shots. At 14, spunky Molly Small is already too old and experienced for the new type of customer Basty is seeking to please, but hardened as she already is, Molly rebels against what is planned for a young boy. And "Stupe," Shug's "slow" 18-year-old son, also rebels when he makes a grisly discovery. Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies become involved, with state trooper Roscoe Bragg emerging as an engaging leader. A tired plot device and some not terribly credible developments detract a bit, but Molly's grit and Stupe's burgeoning independence play out quite nicely as Molly manages to recapture a bit of her childhood innocence and Stupe begins to mature into adulthood.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The God-fearing folks of Shawnee, West Virginia, aren't prepared for 14-year-old Molly Small, trash-talking child prostitute. Rejected by her latest "client," whose tastes run to younger, less-developed girls, Molly hopes to graduate to the big leagues, but her pimp sees her only as damaged goods. Thus begins a Twin Peaks-like odyssey in which Molly dodges her tormentors while befriending simpleminded Stupe, an 18 year old as innocent as Molly is experienced. The contrast between Shawnee's two worlds is what drives this oddly sentimental country noir: juxtaposed against the incredibly sordid child-porn ring is a gang of homespun locals, including state trooper Roscoe Bragg, right out of Mayberry. First-novelist Elliott makes the most of this clash of worlds in the early going, and the novel soars whenever foulmouthed Molly takes center stage. Eventually, though, the noir sensibility vanishes like a bad dream. What's left is an overcooked melodrama rather than a double-edged crime novel akin to Daniel Woodrell's Tomato Red. Still, Elliott has talent, if only he can lose the Mayberry morality. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Carroll & Graf
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0786711817
• ISBN 13: 9780786711819
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224