Synopsis
Nothing ever happens in this one-horse Texas town, sixteen-year old Cory Purvis tells her platonic boyfriend, Ty-Ty . . . until the two of them find a body in the haunted old Whalen house a few miles outside of Bent Bell. Half-naked, tied up and very dead, the victim is Vickee Allen, a missing classmate of Cory's. Ty-Ty knew the dead girl all too well, and that plus his half Native-American ancestry makes him the top suspect until Cory starts nosing around. Sharp, observant, and unafraid of much, Cory is determined to clear Ty-Ty and find justice for Vickee. She forges ahead despite tough opposition from those with secrets to hide, including a deeply flawed sheriff with something to prove. Even when someone poisons her beloved horse, Miss Dumpsie, Cory won't give up. Through its scrappy, youthful heroine, this brooding, atmospheric coming-of-age mystery reminds us that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Jan Grape's Austin City Blue was nominated for an Anthony for Best First Novel, and she received a special Shamus Award from the Private-Eye Writers of America in 2002. Other awards include an Anthony for Best Short Story and a McCavity for Best Nonfiction. Jan has also published a short-story collection, Found Dead In Texas (2003) and Dark Blue Death, the second in the Austin policewoman series (2005). Along with Barri Flowers, Jan co-edited an anthology of original stories by members of the American Crime Writers League, for which she currently serves as president. Jan lives in the Texas Hill Country with her black cats, Nick and Nora, and travels whenever possible.
Reviews
The brutal stabbing of nursing student Vickee Allen drives this disturbing mystery from Grape (Dark Blue Death). A former classmate of the victim, 16-year-old Cory Purvis, and Cory's half–Native American best friend, TyTy, are shocked to discover Vickee's body in an old house on the outskirts of the dusty Texas town of Bent Bell. Cory is dismayed to later learn that TyTy had been seeing Vickee. Even more alarmingly, Sheriff Michael Sparrow thinks TyTy might've been the killer. When it appears that Vickee was also raped, further investigation reveals Vickee had serious intimacy issues and too many lovers. Cory, who believes TyTy is innocent, turns amateur detective, while her store-owner uncle, Giff Purvis, reluctantly pitches in his two cents. Slowed by too much talk and not enough action, this grim morality tale eventually tumbles to a nail-biting finale.
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