The Gulf

Southern Gothic meets crime fiction in this beautiful, haunting tale set in the 1970s. Parson, Texas is a place to leave, not stay. But twenty-nine-year-old Lou keeps finding reasons to hang on, despite that Hurricane Celia destroyed much of the town; the Vietnam War is still consuming many of Parson’s youth, including Lou’s brother; and any work is scarce. But Lou keeps thinking about Miss Kate, her surrogate mother of sorts, whose murder Lou can’t shrug off, even if the rest of the town can. The situation grows more complicated when Joanna, Miss Kate’s daughter and Lou’s first, great love, arrives on the scene. Joanna made her escape years ago—off to a fancy college, then grad school—only to be tugged back to Parson on account of Miss Kate’s house, a huge and creepy mansion that’s tumbling down. Joanna hires Lou to help her renovate the structure, which slowly leads to revelations that help Lou in discovering Miss Kate’s murderer. Insights into Parson’s queer community, and the decisions they make to survive, are fascinating. If Carson McCullers were to write a mystery, this would be it.