โ Scribed by Charles Williams
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Stranded in a small town, a stranger falls for a suspected murderess
Bored, divorced, and unemployed, Chatham is on his way to the Gulf of Mexico when he passes through a small town by the river. Itโs a miserable little burgโfour stoplights and not much elseโand heโs almost escaped it when a drunkโs car darts out in front of him, causing a nasty fender-bender. The thought of three days waiting for his clunker to get fixed is a grim one, but though he doesnโt know it, there wonโt be a dull minute.
Chatham finds hospitality in the lovely form of Mrs. Langton, motel owner and local pariah. Seven months ago her husband was murdered, and though the police could find no evidence to support the theory, everyone in town is convinced she killed him. Now a string of anonymous threats have left her close to a nervous breakdown, and the violence is about to become real. In a town this small thereโs no room for secrets, but plenty of places to bury a corpse.
โ[Williams] is just about as good as they come.โ โ The New York Times
โOne of the neglected hardboiled geniuses . . . his novels were perfect little gems.โ โJoe R. Lansdale, author of Savage Season
โRelying on wit, humor and ingenious plotting, Williamsโs characters constantly attempt to outwit the system.โ โWoody Haut, author of Pulp Culture
Charles Williams (1909โ1975) was one of the preeminent authors of American crime fiction. Born in Texas, he dropped out of high school to enlist in the US Merchant Marine, serving for ten years before leaving to work in the electronics industry. At the end of World War II, Williams began writing fiction while living in San Francisco. The success of his backwoods noir Hill Girl (1951) allowed him to quit his job and write fulltime.
Williamsโs clean and somewhat casual narrative style distinguishes his novelsโwhich range from hard-boiled, small-town noir to suspense thrillers set at sea and in the Deep South. Although originally published by pulp fiction houses, his work won great critical acclaim, with Hell Hath No Fury (1953) becoming the first paperback original to be reviewed by legendary New York Times critic Anthony Boucher. Many of his novels were adapted for the screen, such as Dead Calm(published in 1963) and Donโt Just Stand There! (published in 1966), for which Williams wrote the screenplay. Williams died in California in 1975.
๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES
*Shady Grove--where everyone knows your secrets* Once, Neil Pettit was the only thing Maddie Montesano wanted. She tried every trick in the book to keep him, but no luck. It took some time--and a lot of holding her head up while the town gossiped--but she's made a good life for herself and her
Fans of *New York Times* bestselling authors Carly Phillips, Jennifer Probst and Julie James will fall in love with Sherrill Bodine! GOSSIP QUEEN DETHRONED! Darlings, what a to-do at the Daily Mail today! After fifteen years as Chicago's gossip guru, Rebecca Covington has been demoted from
### Review "Fun and highly entertaining!" -- _New York Times_ bestselling author Rachel Gibson ### Product Description _New York Times_ and _USA Today_ bestselling author Karen Hawkins pens a delightfully sexy tale of modern love in a small Southern town. _Do Blondes Have More Fun?_ Newly di
It's not garbage to Rosemary Wickum, it's art. And it's not a dump to Gary Albright, it's a refuse and recycling center. Rosemary Wickum always finds wonderful treasures at the dump; pieces perfect for her metal sculptures. But one thing she's never gone looking for is a man! Her ordinary life as a
A charming tale of small-town Texas with a twist of romance as the producer of a reality show attempts to keep secrets from the locals.