The Grove, by John Rector, is the story of Dexter McCray, a farmer with a dark past who is prone to blackouts. The day after his wife leaves him — following an incident where he may or may not have threatened her with a gun (he doesn’t remember) — he finds the body of a young woman on his property. He recognizes her, but he doesn’t know if it’s because he frequents the café where she works… or because he might have killed her.
It wouldn’t be fair to reveal much more about the plot. The less you know, the more you’ll enjoy it. Suffice to say, Dex tries to piece together his life, his marriage, and the events surrounding the body that is rapidly decomposing in the woods behind his house, all with varying and sometimes horrific results.
Rector’s writing is taut and effective throughout, the characters are believable and interesting, and the plot manages to hook you in immediately and drag you straight through to the unsettling end. I’m normally a slow reader, but I finished The Grove in only a couple of days.
Rector has published The Grove as a Kindle download thru Amazon. So if you own a Kindle, I strongly recommend you check it out, especially since it’ll only cost you a buck. I don’t know if there are plans to make the book available in other formats, but I’m hoping so because even though I don’t mind reading text off the old computer monitor, The Grove is the kind of book I’d pass along to friends or reread myself again some dark night in bed. Or maybe not. There’s this scene with a sleeping bag and a swarm of red ants…
Aw hell, go read it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
