Book description
In 1964, farmer and part-time Constable Ned Parker combine forces with
John Washington, the almost mythical black deputy sheriff from nearby
Paris, to track down a disturbed individual who is rapidly becoming a
threat to the entire small Texas community of Center Springs. When Ned
is summoned to a hot cornfield one morning to examine the remains of a
tortured bird dog, he finds a dark presence in their quiet community. A
farmer by trade, Ned is usually confident when it comes to handling
moonshiners, drunks and domestic disputes. But the animal atrocities
turn to murder, and the investigation spins beyond his abilities. After
a dizzying series of twists, eccentric characters and dead-ends, Ned's
friend, cranky Judge O. C. Rains, is forced to contact the FBI. Worse,
sinister warnings that his family has been targeted by the killer lead
Ned to the startling discovery that he knows the murderer very well.
After the failed abduction of his precocious grandchildren Top and
Pepper, the old lawman becomes judge and jury to end the murder spree in
the Red River bottomlands. With a heart-pounding pace, country humor and
a stunning climax speaks to the darkness in us all. In bald-headed
pot-bellied Ned Parker, Wortham has created an authentic American hero
who will put you in mind of the best heroes and antiheroes you've ever
experienced. The year 1964 was the end of an era in Center Springs, and
the climax may well shock your civilized sensibilities. As a boy,
award-winning writer, Reavis Z. Wortham hunted and fished the river
bottoms near Chicota, Texas, the inspiration for Center Springs. He is
the author of Doreen's 24 HR Eat Gas Now Café. Humor editor and
frequent contributor for Texas Fish and Game Magazine, he writes on
everything from fishing to deer hunting. In addition to several other
magazines, his work has appeared in American Cowboy and Texas Sporting
Journal. A retired educator of 35 years, he and wife Shana live in
Frisco, Texas.
