I really enjoyed this compelling novel from Lansdale. I've read several of his other books including some of the Hap and Leonard series but this one is a cut above. The novel is told from the point of view of 16-year-old Sue Ellen. Lansdale paints a vivid picture through her eyes of life in the redneck South of Eastern Texas during the depression including the poverty, racism, and fear of living with an abusive step-father. One day while fishing, Sue Ellen and her father drag a body out of the Sabine river that turns out to be a friend of Sue Ellen's, May Lynn, who had dreams of becoming a Hollywood star. May Lynn had been wired to an old sewing machine and thrown into the river. But who could have killed her? Her abusive father or some passing transient? Another of Sue Ellen's friends, Terry, decides he wants to cremate May Lynn's remains and take them to scatter in Hollywood. So after discovering some stolen loot left by May Lynn's bank robbing brother, Sue Ellen, Terry, and another friend Jinx decide to dig up the body, burn it to ash, and take those ashes to Hollywood. But May Lynn's father finds out that they had found the stolen money and pays others to find them and recover the money. This included a legend on the river named Skunk who is part black and part Indian and who takes pleasure in killing and cutting off hands! So the group heads down the river on a raft along with Sue Ellen's mother who wants to escape from her abusive husband. Can they elude the pursuers and make it to California?

The story was an excellent read and Lansdale did a great job in keeping the story moving and the suspense high. This reminded me a lot of The Night of the Hunter which is a great book and movie with Robert Mitchum pursuing some young kids down a river in search of some hidden money. I would rate this one as one of Lansdale best on a par with The Bottoms which I also highly recommend.

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