Great tour of the land and culture of the Southwest during the depression. Results in a compelling possible answer of who killed Everett Ruess. The sexual predator and murderer Clint Palmer who is fictionalized here is as likely the hand of the demise of Ruess as any explanation out there. ( )

Great tour of the land and culture of the Southwest during the depression. Results in a compelling possible answer of who killed Everett Ruess. The sexual predator and murderer Clint Palmer who is fictionalized here is as likely the hand of the demise of Ruess as any explanation out there. ( )

Hard Twisted by C. Joseph Greaves is an impressive fictional account of the real people Clint Palmer and Lottie Garrett. It is 1934 when 13 year old Lottie and her father, Dillard, meet Clint, a charming drifter, they both end up moving to Texas with him where Dillard suddenly disappears and Lottie is essentially kidnapped and left to depend on Clint, a psychopathic killer and sexual predator, during a year long ordeal. The narrative is told from Lottie's point of view as she and Clint end up traveling together across the southwest and subsequently covers what may have happened in the John’s Canyon Murder and the “skeleton murder trial” of the Depression Era. Excerpts from a fictional trial are interspersed with Lottie's story.

In the Author's Note and Acknowledgements, Greaves notes: "Hard Twisted, although based upon real people and true events, is entirely a work of fiction. My first exposure to the saga of Clint Palmer and Lottie Garrett came in somewhat dramatic (Location 2770-2773)....That chance discovery began a personal odyssey that would play out in fits and starts over fifteen-odd years, setting me onto the trail of what I would come to regard as one of the great, untold stories of the American West. (Location 2776-2777).

When researching for the book, Greaves notes something that Lottie and her father didn't know: "Clint Palmer was a sexual predator and a career criminal who, when he first encountered young Lottie Garrett in May of 1934, was only four months removed from his latest incarceration, a three-year stint in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, for kidnapping, statutory rape, and violating the Mann Act. (Location 2854-2856)"

While still in manuscript, Hard Twisted was named Best Historical Novel in the Southwest Writers 2010 International Writing Contest, a well deserved honor. Hard Twisted is clearly a very atmospheric novel and the setting plays a role in Lucille's isolation and dependence on Clint. Although the reader knows from the beginning that something is going to go very wrong, the suspense grows as Lucille begins to figure out Clint's true nature while totally dependent upon him. Greaves does a great job with the historical setting and placing Lucille in the period.

Alas, there is nothing new under the sun. While we tend to think people are worse now, there were always those among us who are sociopaths and do not follow societal rules and norms. It is chilling to know that this is based on a true story. I also personally found the fictional trial questioning Lottie as some sort of femme fatale rather depressing. I would hope and pray that we have come a long way beyond blaming a victim.

Highly recommended - especially if you enjoy historical fiction set in the Depression.
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Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Bloomsbury and Netgalley for review purposes.


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As usual I received this book from GoodReads as part of a giveaway. Also as usual, despite the very kind and generous consideration of getting a free book, I give my candid opinions below.

Hard Twisted is a wonderfully dark, gritty and true-to-life portrait of a young girl fallen in with the wrong crowd in the 1930s west. She is taken on a forced trip from town to town, one step ahead of the law until.... the ultimate resolution which I will not be so unkind as to reveal.

Greaves' novel combines several wonderful aspects of the historical novel. He is truthful as he draws from real events and paints with a brush which includes much local color and language. This all adds quite nicely to the keen and simmering hatred the reader builds for the antagonist over the book's 300 pages.

Our author's writing is, admittedly, at times very dense and I found myself starting over after 50 pages just to begin again and give the book more focused attention. This is not a novel to be read in tiny sessions. Give it two solid hours or don't bother until tomorrow. Greaves' prose is delicious, dense and satisfying but should be savored in large chunks that let you immerse yourself rather than in fits and starts.

Pondering to whom to pass this book next, I bumped it quickly to the top of the pile of books I designate as recommended to my fiancee to read next. Its delightful language and sympathetic characters are, I hope, a perfect choice for her literary tastes. Any reader who delights in deep and meaningful writing that takes a bit of effort will enjoy this work.

To summarize, Hard Twisted is a fictional account of a difficult time in American history that rings true in a way that few novels of the type do. While sometimes dense it is none the less a deeply satisfying and entertaining example of the genre. ( )

As usual I received this book from GoodReads as part of a giveaway. Also as usual, despite the very kind and generous consideration of getting a free book, I give my candid opinions below.

Hard Twisted is a wonderfully dark, gritty and true-to-life portrait of a young girl fallen in with the wrong crowd in the 1930s west. She is taken on a forced trip from town to town, one step ahead of the law until.... the ultimate resolution which I will not be so unkind as to reveal.

Greaves' novel combines several wonderful aspects of the historical novel. He is truthful as he draws from real events and paints with a brush which includes much local color and language. This all adds quite nicely to the keen and simmering hatred the reader builds for the antagonist over the book's 300 pages.

Our author's writing is, admittedly, at times very dense and I found myself starting over after 50 pages just to begin again and give the book more focused attention. This is not a novel to be read in tiny sessions. Give it two solid hours or don't bother until tomorrow. Greaves' prose is delicious, dense and satisfying but should be savored in large chunks that let you immerse yourself rather than in fits and starts.

Pondering to whom to pass this book next, I bumped it quickly to the top of the pile of books I designate as recommended to my fiancee to read next. Its delightful language and sympathetic characters are, I hope, a perfect choice for her literary tastes. Any reader who delights in deep and meaningful writing that takes a bit of effort will enjoy this work.

To summarize, Hard Twisted is a fictional account of a difficult time in American history that rings true in a way that few novels of the type do. While sometimes dense it is none the less a deeply satisfying and entertaining example of the genre. ( )