Crooked Letter x2 is set in Mississippi in the 1970's. I know that sounds historic, but hey, which year were you born in?
Chronologically, the story starts when Larry Ott and Silas Jones were 12 year old boys who met on Larry's father's ranch. Larry is a white kid in a predominantly black school, misfit for reasons beyond his race. An unlikely friendship springs between him and Silas, with both of them hiding the friendship to not be frowned upon by their peer.
Cindy is Larry's secret crush and Larry watches her while hiding in the bushes outside her home. When he finally gets a date with her, Larry is determined to use this chance to gain admiration from his friends. The night of their date, Larry picks Cindy up and she is never heard from again. Larry is the main suspect in her disappearance, but he is never arrested because no proof of her death or his hand in it gets unearthed.
Fastforward to present day. Larry is middle aged and has spent his lifetime being ostracized by the people of his town. He was never cleared of suspicion in Cindy's disappearance, earning himself the moniker Scary Larry. When another girl from his town disappears, Larry is the prime suspect in her case.
Larry's property is subject to numerous searches by the police, with nothing interesting coming up, until one day the police walk in to find Larry lying in a pool of his blood.
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter isn't so much a whodunit as it is a book about secrets, forgiveness, and friendship. Of the various themes it carries, the one that I found most compelling was how the life of a suspected criminal can change irrevocably even if they are never convicted for their crime.
4/5 stars from me.
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