Perdido County: Dark Road

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

synopsis

Synopsis

Introducing West Texas Sheriff Owen Wolfe in this riveting first episode of Perdido County, a new modern-day American West crime fiction serial novel. Former Dallas police detective Owen Wolfe is on a dark road and a man in need of redemption. Wolfe quits his job in Dallas after his partner is tragically murdered. Wolfe blames himself. Depressed and racked with guilt he returns to his West Texas hometown in Perdido County to bury his grief and pain in a liquor bottle. When longtime family friend, Perdido County Sheriff Emory

bio

Author Biography

Larry Darter, a retired police officer turned crime fiction writer is the author of ten previous novels, including five novels in the Los Angeles based Malone Mystery series. More than twenty years of law enforcement experience uniquely positions Larry to write the style of gritty, realistic mystery/thrillers that crime fiction fans love to read. Having spent the majority of his life as a voracious reader of detective mysteries and police procedurals, Larry is heavily influenced by writers ranging from Raymond Chandler to Robert B. Parker, and Joseph Wambaugh to John Sandford. For more information, please visit www.larrydarter.com https://www.facebook.com/LarryDarterAuthor or follow Larry on Twitter @larrydarter

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Author Insight

Author Inspiration

As far as the novel goes, Perdido County (from the Spanish word for "lost") is fictional. But, you might be surprised to know there really was a Perdido County, Texas at one time. Perdido is a now defunct Texas county. Created in the 1820s, prior to the Texas Revolution, the county was all but forgotten in the post-revolution land grants and general confusion of the following decades. It is believed to have been abolished in 1858, but was not officially declared defunct until 1871.

Book Excerpt

Perdido County: Dark Road

Frazer looked through into the living room. Empty Lone Star beer cans took up every square inch of table space in the room. More empty cans littered the floor. There was an empty Jim Beam bottle beside the phone among more beer cans.

“Well,” he said. “I like what you’ve done with the place. I’d never have thought of decorating the house with empty beer cans and liquor bottles.”

“If you’re just going to insult my interior decorating, I’m not going to invite you out here no more,” Owen said.

“You didn’t invite me this time,” Frazer said.

“Well, that’s true.”

Owen sat with his elbows on the table and his hands folded together. Frazer watched him."

“I hope you didn’t drive all the way out here to offer me a job,” Owen said. “If so, you wasted your time.”

“I wanted to talk something over with you,” Frazer said.

“I might not want to hear it.”

“It’s important to me. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“I’ve got the cancer. It’s pretty bad. Next week I’m going down to Houston to get it worked on. I’ve got nine months left on my term as sheriff. But the doctors have been clear about it. I won’t be fit for the job once they get through with me.”

“That bad?” Owen said.

“If it’s not bad, it will do until the bad gets here,” Frazer said.