Bestselling author James Lee Burke tells his most thrilling and insightful story yet through the eyes of fourteen-year-old Bessie Holland

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At the turbulent beginning of the twentieth century, fourteen-year-old Bessie Holland longs for a love that she has never known.

But as the vast Texas countryside is destroyed by oil companies and stalked by a menacing figure with a violent past, Bessie lives on constant alert to protect her home and family. Her only escape is with her suffragette English teacher, who inspires Bessie to fight against the forces of evil and poverty.

When Bessie accidentally kills a man to defend her father, she flees to New York, into a gangland that yearns for justice and mercy. There, her older brother introduces her to boys who will one day be gangsters - but, as children, admire Bessie's remarkable bravery.

Returning to his beloved Holland series, James Lee Burke portrays a world of both radiance and violence - and a young girl who takes on overwhelming forces.

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PRAISE FOR JAMES LEE BURKE, THE AWARD-WINNING KING OF SOUTHERN NOIR:

'James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed' Michael Connelly

'A gorgeous prose stylist' Stephen King

'No argument: James Lee Burke is among the finest of all contemporary American novelists' Daily Mail

'The greatest crime writer currently at work' Spectator

'The reigning champ of nostalgia noir' New York Times

'Masterly' Sunday Telegraph