Review: The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

Review: The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

Title:  The Tilted World 

Author:   Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Mystery

Themes:  Relationships,  Love, Motherhood

Setting:  Hobnob, Mississippi 

Point of View:  3rd Person

Publisher/Publication Date:  October 1, 2013 by William Morrow & Company

Source:  Edelweiss

Rating:  Four of Five Stars

Finished/Not Finished:  Finished

First Line:  "Dixie Clay was squelching through the mud along the creek's swollen banks, shooing mosquitoes with her hat when she say a baby coffin bobbing against a sycamore sang."-The Tilted World  by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly

One-sentence summary:  It is 1927 and two federal revenue agents arrive in Hobnob, Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of two of their fellow agents; however what they find will change them forever.

Cover Art:  I think the cover captures 1927 Mississippi, and also establishes the tone of the novel.

Try The Tilted World   if you liked The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell, The Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore, or Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

Buy, Borrow, Listen, or Avoid:  Buy, Borrow, or Listen if you are looking for a well written suspenseful, gritty novel, which deals with the types of themes previously mentioned.

Why did I get this book?:  I liked the summary and I am a fan of Tom Franklin's body of work.

Review:

Are you a fan of southern historical fiction?  Well, if you are then The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly is a must read.  Yes, it is historical fiction, but it's historical fiction with a fascinating mystery thrown into the mix.

The story opens in Hobnob Mississippi just as Mississippi is threatened by The Great Flood of 1927. Two revenue agents have arrived to investigate the disappearance of two fellow agents, but what they find is an abandoned child left at a crime scene.  What unfolds will surprise the reader at every twist and turn.  The poetic language used to create 1927 Mississippi and its rich characters is simply stunning.  The novel is gritty and full of suspense as it moves at a rapid pace.  The big question that develops is can a revenue agent befriend the best female bootlegger in the country?

The novel is co-authored, which often causes a novel to lack a coherent story line.  However, the fact that this novel is written by a husband and wife team is a positive, rather than a negative. Neither author has allowed the book to become disjointed in spinning the tales narrative.  In fact they have played off each other strengths as writers to create a poignant, well-constructed, well-balanced story of a bygone time.

I'd like to thank Edelweiss and William Morrow & Company for allowing me access to an advance readers copy (ARC) of The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly.

Does The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly grab your attention?  Is it a novel you'd be interested in reading?  Let us know here at The Things You Can Read!

Happy reading to all! ☮

Happy Reading☮
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