A Fine Dark Line - Softcover

Lansdale, Joe R

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0986259411 ISBN 13: 9780986259418

Publisher: Pandi Press, 2015

Synopsis

13-year-old Stanley Mitchel Jr. spends most of his time helping his family run the town’s drive-in movie theater, reading ten-cent comics, and playing with his dog Nub. Life in East Texas circa 1958 is not very exciting until Stanley discovers a stash of old, crumbling love letters in a pile of burnt rubble behind the drive-in. As Stanley reads through the letters, he finds himself in the middle of a town mystery and discovering the secrets of his sleepy town. Stanley, with the help of the old projectionist and his older sister, uncovers the identities of the people who penned the letters and sheds light on a shocking 20 year-old murder plot. As Stanley unearths more and more truths, he realizes the injustices of life in East Texas in the 1950’s including class, race, gender, and the cruelty of unrequited love. Stanley feels betrayed by his family and his town as he takes a closer look at the dark truth and refuses to allow himself to succumb to the darkness.

About this title

About the Author:

Joe R. Lansdale has written more than a dozen novels in the suspense, horror, and Western genres. He has also edited several anthologies. He has received the British Fantasy Award, the American Mystery Award, seven Bram Stoker Awards, and an Edgar Award. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas, with his family.

From AudioFile:

If Mark Twain had written To Kill a Mockingbird or Summer of '42, it might sound something like Dick Hill's reading of A Fine Dark Line. Hill has the ear, the pitch, and the understanding to tell the story of 13-year-old Stanley Mitchell's all too fast coming-of-age in precisely the way author Joe Lansdale intended. In fact, Hill is the perfect match for Lansdale, who is no slouch when it comes to the oral storytelling tradition. Living in Dewmont, Texas, in 1958, where his parents own a drive-in theater, Stanley is completely ignorant of issues of sex, race, poverty, and violence. When he discovers a box of old love letters and journal entries near the ruins of a long-ago house fire, he unwittingly uncovers a forgotten scandal and several murders. S.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Pandi Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0986259411
• ISBN 13: 9780986259418
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 296
• Illustrator: Serra Daniele