Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
by Jenners • 05/06/2012 • 4 Stars, Audiobook, C Titles, F Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Thriller • 60 Comments
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter written by Tom Franklin and read by Kevin KenerlyPublisher: Blackstone Audio, 2010
Length: 9 hours and 30 minutes
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Where I Got It: Audible
Why I Read It: Kept seeing so many good reviews for this so I felt like I had to check it out
My Rating: 4 stars
Book Description
Set in the small Mississippi town of Chabot, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter tells the story of two boys turned men—Larry Ott and Silas Jones. On the surface, there seems to be nothing linking the two … but a long history binds the two together in ways that even they don’t fully understand.
Larry—a white boy from a middle class family that owns 500 acres of land and runs the local auto repair shop—has always been a bit of a misfit. With his nose always stuck in a book (usually Stephen King), Larry has never fit in with his peers. His outsider status is solidified in high school when a girl he was on a date with disappeared and was never seen again. This event earned him the nickname “Scary Larry,” and he now lives a solitary existence—ostracized by everyone in the town of Chabot.
Silas—known locally as 32 (the number from his baseball playing days)—is a black boy being raised by a single mother in a shack located on the Ott’s land. After moving to Chabot from Chicago, Silas manages to do what Larry has never managed to do in his whole life—achieve a status and a place within the town, first as a star baseball player and now as the Chabot constable.
Years ago, Silas and Larry were secret friends, until a pivotal moment destroyed their friendship. Although Larry has reached out to Silas on occasion, he has always been rebuffed. When another young girl goes missing, Larry is the first and only suspect. Yet Silas knows that Larry couldn’t be involved … but he can’t quite explain why. As the case of the missing girl and Larry Ott’s fate become more entwined, Silas realizes that he must get involved … even it means dredging up long-buried secrets.
My Thoughts
There is a good reason everyone raves about this book. Full of small-town atmosphere and tightly drawn characters, the book manages to create a portrait of two men who, in many ways, are each other’s foil. I loved how Franklin managed to invert the truth of both men in a way that was utterly satisfying. The story moves back and forth between the present day and the past—slowly revealing the truth of each character’s past and present. It seemed like the book was always moving inevitably in the direction it ends up … but the journey was rich and fully developed. I don’t really want to say too much more as I already may have said too much in my description. Just know that you’re getting a richly atmospheric, multi-layered mystery that is as much about the masks we wear in public and who we really are deep down.
About the Narration: Kevin Kenerly did a fantastic job with the narration—creating two fully realized and distinct voices for both Larry and Silas. He made the story come alive, and I found his narration compelling and interesting. When he was reading, I was able to conjure up the images of Chabot, the characters and the events of the story. His narration was top-notch, and I could see that listening to this book on audio might actually enhance the experience.
Recommended for: Mystery fans who enjoy multi-layered and character-driven mysteries with plenty of Southern atmosphere
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This one has my name written all over it. I’ve got to read this one!
I didn’t know your name was Tom Franklin! HAHA!
I’m glad to see you liked this one so much. It’s been on my list of books I want to read for ages.
I can imagine it has been on your list .. it seems to be universally loved by book bloggers.
I just started this today! Love it so far!
I hope you continue to love it.
I loved this one too..great characters, great atmosphere.
Everything you need for a great read.
I’ve heard of this one before, but have somehow missed it. I definitely need to add this to my wanted list!
It seemed like almost every book blog was reviewing it last year, which is when I decided to give it a try.
sounds like a good book. I’ll have to look for it in book form.
Hope you can find it easily.
good to read your thoughts on this, it’s certainly proving a popular read amongst many bloggers, I don’t think I’ve read anything less than positive about it.
Those near universal positive reviews were what convinced me to try it.
I love what I’m hearing so far. I’m gonna DL this one!
I hope you’re happy with it!
I started this on my nook when it first came out and for no good reason I never finished it! I think I need to return to it!
That’s odd that you never went back to it. That is the great thing about e-readers though … you can hang on to them forever without worrying about taking up space or returning them to the library.
This sounds really, really good. I will add this to my TBR list.
I think it is a worthy addition. : )
Good audio, huh. Ok
You are looking for one, right? This would be great to listen to while doing outside work. You feel like you’re in Mississippi already when you listen.
Oh this sounds so good! Definitely adding this to my list– my ever growing and never shrinking list.
That is the nature of TBR lists — they never shrink and keep on growing. But I would be scared if I was running out of books I was interested in reading.
I had this at the top of my list when it came out. Nothing but good things have been said about it but it once again got pushed down to the bottom of my pile. I think if I read it, it will probably be the audio version that makes its way into my hands.
I hear you. I get all hyped about a book and then I get it but don’t read it right away and then it starts to languish at the bottom of the pile. Then, when I do read it, I’m all “Why didn’t I read this sooner?”
I really liked this one. Like you said, the atmosphere is fantastic! I also thought the author did an amazing job revealing the characters back stories bit by bit.
I know! He doled out just enough information about Silas and Larry to keep you guessing about “who” they really were and what kind of people they were deep down. It was neat how you flip around on your feelings about them. And I actually listened to it last summer and felt like I was there in Mississippi with them.
I have this one on my shelf because I won it in a contest. I have to be in just the right mood to read mysteries and that mood hasn’t struck me for a while so it still sits unread on my shelf. I’ve been happy to see that everyone likes it though.
It is as much a character study as a mystery. The relationship between Silas and Larry forms the heart of the book — and as much of the mystery is about their relationship as any of the killings.
Hi Jenners,
Another great author that I need to add to my ever-growing list.
I read a bio. about Tom and noted some similarities between his own upbringing and that of Larry (both fictional character and author have links with the garage trade), and his struggle to finish his education and become someone which has echoes of Silas in it.
I like it when an author writes about a geographical area with which they are familiar, as you can relate so much more strongly to the descriptive narrative.
Also, because one of the protagonists is white and the other black, it brings the whole race issue into perspective, in an area where this still seems to be so prevelant.
I don’t do audio books though, mainly because part of the fun for me is actually reading the written word and also because I only like to hear the author narrate their own work, as the whole tone and inflection of the speech has to be so much better coming from the person who knows the story so intimately.
Thanks for a nice review and for the recommendation of this book.
Yvonne
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. You’re an amazing commenter actually — I’m so impressed.
I’ve heard from a few people that the author is an all around great guy, and it sounds like there is a little bit of Larry and Silas in him.
It did feel like he knew the area in his story very very well. At points, I felt like I was there.
Another book to buy – but no time to read them all!
Just downloaded Domestic Violets!
Oooh….I hope you enjoy Domestic Violets. I feel somewhat responsible for your reading experience.
I liked this one and rated it the same as you. It was a quick read as well. Have a great week.
We’re ‘N Syn. (On the book. Not the boy band.)
I listened to this one, I really enjoyed it – and the narrator’s voice work was excellent. And by ‘excellent’, I mean that it didn’t cause me to take an unscheduled nap withing five or ten minutes.
I hear you!! There was one audio book that I just couldn’t listen to … the guy talked sooooo slow and was sooooo boring sounding that I couldn’t stand it and decided to skip the entire thing. A good narrator is key to a successful audio. (Duh.)
I’ve heard great things about this, but have not read it yet. Oh yet another to add to the pile.
The ever-growing, never shrinking pile, right?
would you believe i picked this one up at SIBA TWO years ago…gave away my copy on accident and then found another copy at a used bookstore almost a year later and I STILL HAVE NOT READ IT!!! That is just insane! I always wonder if other bloggers do the same thing – have a book that has absolutely amazing reviews and then put it off and put it off to read because of all the other reading obligations? I love Southern, atmospheric mysteries and this time I really am going to move Crooked Letter Squared to the top….thanks for the recommendation!
You must really want to read this. I know what you mean … I have books that I want to get to but must postpone due to other obligations. It is one of the reasons why I cut back drastically on the amount of review copies I accept. I hope you read it soon.
I liked this one too–read it on my Kindle. Here’s a link to my review of it if interested: http://ourstack.blogspot.com/2012/01/crooked-letter-crooked-letter-by-tom.html
I always like to see what others think of a book I read too. Thanks for the link.
I guess this one needs to go on my wishlist. Set in my part of the world, I always enjoy seeing how well authors handle the atmosphere.
I think you’d enjoy it for the atmosphere … and I’d be curious how well you think the author “got” it.
this sounds really great!
It was.
Oh yes the inversion thing! Loved that!!!
I loved how he turns things around with Larry and Silas. It was well done.
I still haven’t read this book! But I’d really like to.
It is well worth reading. Frankly, I only read it because so many other bloggers were raving about it. Turns out they were right! : )
I can still feel what it was like to read this book. Great read!
I know what you mean! It was very atmospheric.
I’m putting this on my audiobook list! It sounds fabulous.
It is a great one to listen to I think.
I read this one quite a while ago but remember really enjoying the characters especially. Have a great Sunday!
To be honest, I listened to this LAST SUMMER but just now got around to posting my review, which had been languishing in my drafts folder for months. I don’t think I could have dredged up a lot of these details now.
I am over the moon thrilled that you loved this audio. It made my best of list the year I read it. And just to top it all off, Franklin is THE NICEST, MOST CHARMING MAN you will ever meet. I got him to call into our book club and he had the whole lot of them eating out of his hand.
I remember you saying that about him. How neat that he was such a wonderful person and willing to talk to your book club. What a special experience.