"Originally published as The Rock Holein 2011 in the United States by Poisoned Pen Press"--Title page verso.
Summary:
"When your family's safety is threatened, what wouldn't you do to protect them? Lamar County, Texas: Summer, 1964. Life is idyllic for ten-year-old Top Parker, who has come to live with his grandparents in the rural community of Center Springs. Yet while Top runs the woods and countryside with his near twin cousin, Pepper, his Grandpa Ned -- also known as Constable Ned in these parts -- witnesses the spreading menace of a deranged killer. Out of his element, Ned reaches out to neighboring law enforcement and then the FBI. Local news sources tag the budding serial killer 'The Skinner,' and the label is chillingly accurate. Beginning with the torture and killing of small animals, the monster quickly moves to humans, displaying their mutilated corpses as gruesome trophies, with no apparent pattern to grab hold of. Lamar County cowers. Meanwhile, Constable Ned is convinced that a vendetta is involved, and though the why of it is murky, he can no longer deny that something horrific and dangerous is heading for the Parkers. Now the law can't help him, and he must use whatever means necessary to protect himself and his family. Is Ned up to the fight of his life?"-- Publisher's description. Farmer and part-time constable Ned Parker teams with the mythical sheriff John Washington to track down a murderer that may be targeting Ned's family.
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