The Rock Hole

Starred review from May 15, 2011

An accomplished first novel about life and murder in a small Texas town.

Back in the summer of 1964, life is simpler, though probably no less fraught with evil. In Lamar County, Texas, Ned Parker's the law. He's a bit long in the tooth but still has that don't-tread-on-me look that county reprobates have learned to take seriously. And then there's Top, the constable's adoring and well-loved 10-year-old grandson. Through them, in alternating chapters, Wortham tells a story of grace under pressure, of what happens when a deranged and vicious predator decides that they're his promised prey. Local news sources tab him "The Skinner," and the label is chillingly apt. He starts with small animals, then proceeds to small human beings—mutilated, murdered, their corpses gruesomely displayed as trophies, an idiosyncratic array doubly intimidating in its lack of pattern. Lamar County cowers. Constable Ned is convinced that a vendetta is involved, and though the why of it remains murky, he can no longer doubt its intent. Something noxious is heading for the Parkers. It arrives with breathtaking suddenness, leading to a fast and furious climax, written to the hilt, harrowing in its unpredictability.

Not just scary but funny too, as Wortham nails time and place in a sure-handed, captivating way. There's a lot of good stuff in this unpretentious gem. Don't miss it.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011

Texan farmer Ned Parker takes his part-time role as a constable seriously, so when mutilated animals with symbolic messages attached to their bodies start showing up in his neck of the woods, he pays attention. He makes sure his friend, black deputy sheriff John Washington, knows about the crimes as well. His ten-year-old grandson, Top, has just come to live with the Parkers, and much of this tale is told from Top's viewpoint. If anyone was hoping for an Andy of Mayberry story, this isn't it, because the rural area is harboring a serial killer. And the killer has plans for Parker's family. VERDICT Wortham does a great job of creating a foreboding atmosphere from the get-go. His assured debut is multilayered and shows his love of storytelling. The juxtaposition of the old ways with the new era--the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War--provides just the kindling needed for a crackling good mystery in a Western setting.

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