Particular Madness, A

*FINALIST, 2022 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America*

Growing up in the rural impoverishment of post-Depression Oklahoma, and surrounded by feuding family factions, free-spirited Jacob Roland hungers for knowledge and a world beyond his reach.

But dark forces are growing in Jacob, twisting with the same ruthless, relentless power of a tornado across the Oklahoma prairies. Jacob battles against these aberrant forces, but, trapped by poverty and a growing mental illness, he is thwarted at every turn. For every light— a chance at college, the love of a poised, sophisticated woman— there is a greater darkness within him.

Failed by circumstance, community, and his own mental health, is there an escape for Jacob’ s bright, wounded spirit, or will he forever be a prisoner of a particular madness?

Dr. Sheldon Russell, Professor Emeritus, is the author of fifteen books, including his award-winning historical fiction and his popular Hook Runyon mystery series. His books have garnered three Oklahoma Book Awards for Fiction, the Langum Prize for Historical Literature, and the Spur Award for Best Historical Western from the Western Writers of America. His books have earned starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly. Russell is a graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma State University. He currently lives on the family ranch in the beautiful Gloss Mountains of northwestern Oklahoma.