Synopses & Reviews
In 1954 Mississippi, Jack Branch returns to his fathers Delta estate, Great Oaks, to perform an act of noblesse oblige: teaching at the local high school. Conducting a class on historical evil, Jack is shocked to discover that his unassuming student Eddie is the son of the Coed Killer, a notorious local murderer. Jack feels compelled to mentor the boy, encouraging Eddie to examine his fathers crime and using his own good name to open the doors that Eddies lineage cant. But when Eddies investigation leads him to Great Oaks and to Jacks own father, Jack finds himself questioning Eddies motivesand his own.
As the deadly consequences of Jacks actions fall inescapably into place, Thomas H. Cook masterfully reveals the darker truths that lurk in the recesses of small-town lives and in the hearts of even well-intentioned men.
Review
PRAISE FOR
THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING"[Dianas] inexorable descent into mania, narrated by her brother Dave, is as gripping as the mystery itself. A-."Entertainment Weekly
"Piercing . . . Consuming suspense almost too concentrated to bear."New York Daily News
Review
"The plot is laced with unexpected twists, and Cook's writing is deeply atmospheric."--Associated Press "[An] enthralling tale ... thrilling ..."--New York Times Book Review "a joy to read ... nearly perfect."--Kansas City Star
About the Author
THOMAS H. COOK is the author of twenty-one novels and two works of nonfiction. He has been nominated for the Edgar Award seven times in five different categories, including Best Novel for Red Leaves, which was also nominated for the British Crime Writers' Association's Duncan Lawrie Dagger and won the Barry for Best Novel. The Chatham School Affair won the Edgar for Best Novel. He lives in New York City and Cape Cod.