Search - White Crosses

This book was one of those that kept me guessing until the very last pages as to how the situation set up in the opening chapters would be resolved. The main character, Sheriff Jack Nevelsen, is someone I liked and disliked at the same time. The plot of the book underscored how the characters weren't necessarily the people others think they are and that events can take on lives of their own for better or for worse.

White Crosses by Larry Watson is set in the 1950’s, the setting a small town on the raw, endless prairie of Montana. Jack Nevelson, the county sheriff, is compelled to conjure a series of lies to cover up the grisly deaths in an auto accident of a teenaged girl and a school principal who were ostensibly running away together. While his intent was to spare the surviving family members the humiliation of this act, the unintended consequences of the cover up impact the sheriff in deeply personal ways he never imagined that become the cause of his reflecting on his own life, his marriage and the people he serves. I have really enjoyed this dark, gritty read.

This one is kind of depressing. The end took me by surprise. Definitely not "light" reading.