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Jacks Fork
"JACK’S FORK IS A STANDOUT NOVEL."
--Jim Thomsen, editor, The Killing Rain
1970s Coming-of-Age Noir
"A child-molesting priest turns up dead. On a weekend getaway in the Missouri backcountry with four young teenage boys. Who make every possible mistake in trying to cover up what happened so they can live their lives untainted by dark memories of a dark few days. But can they, really?
"JACK’S FORK knows the hell young teen boys experience on an everyday basis — and how that hell multiplies a million-fold when they get swallowed by circumstances they can’t control. It knows their certainty and their stupidity, and it knows that those two things are often the same thing. It knows that there are no heroes, only people who scramble madly to escape the suction of their self-created nightmares. It knows there are no pat resolutions or restorative justice — just survival and a semblance of sanity amid ever-lengthening shadows bathed in blood.
"JACK’S FORK is a standout novel."
--Jim Thomsen, editor, The Killing Rain
--Jim Thomsen, editor, The Killing Rain
1970s Coming-of-Age Noir
"A child-molesting priest turns up dead. On a weekend getaway in the Missouri backcountry with four young teenage boys. Who make every possible mistake in trying to cover up what happened so they can live their lives untainted by dark memories of a dark few days. But can they, really?
"JACK’S FORK knows the hell young teen boys experience on an everyday basis — and how that hell multiplies a million-fold when they get swallowed by circumstances they can’t control. It knows their certainty and their stupidity, and it knows that those two things are often the same thing. It knows that there are no heroes, only people who scramble madly to escape the suction of their self-created nightmares. It knows there are no pat resolutions or restorative justice — just survival and a semblance of sanity amid ever-lengthening shadows bathed in blood.
"JACK’S FORK is a standout novel."
--Jim Thomsen, editor, The Killing Rain
246 pages, Paperback
Published October 5, 2025
1 person is currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Chris Orlet
6 books27 followersChris Orlet is the author of the true crime book Sun Gone Down (coming early 2026), and the novels Jacks Fork (Down & Out Books); So Many Things to Bury (Down & Out); A Taste of Shotgun (Down & Out); In The Pines (New Pulp Press) and a contributor to Dirty Boulevard: Stories Inspired by the Songs of Lou Reed (Down & Out). He was born and raised in Belleville, Illinois.
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
"Chris’s books are among my favorite noir reads. I can't wait to sink into his next one.” –Jim Thomsen, The Killing Rain: Left Coast Crime Anthology
“Finally a worthy successor to James Crumley and Newton Thornburg and Kem Nunn, the 1970’s godfathers of true noir’s long-needed revival.” Jonathan Ashley, author of South of Cincinnati, Out of Mercy, and The Cost of Doing Business
“Often very funny, and true to the “noir” tradition in that its central characters are terminal screw-ups who get themselves deeper and deeper into horrible fixes. The more they try to dig themselves out, the worse it gets.” Rory Costello, Hard Sentences: Crime Fiction Inspired by Alcatraz
“A great view of small-time crime and its working-class in America roots as people struggle to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families.” David Nemeth, Unlawful Acts
"JACK’S FORK is a standout novel. JACK’S FORK knows the hell young teen boys experience on an everyday basis — and how that hell multiplies a million-fold when they get swallowed by circumstances they can’t control." Jim Thomsen, editor, The Killing Rain
“White trash noir at its finest. Dirt balls, criminals, and other assorted living train wrecks doing crazy stupid things, and it is funny as well. What is there not to love? I look forward to other titles by this author.” Paul McBride, book reviewer
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
"Chris’s books are among my favorite noir reads. I can't wait to sink into his next one.” –Jim Thomsen, The Killing Rain: Left Coast Crime Anthology
“Finally a worthy successor to James Crumley and Newton Thornburg and Kem Nunn, the 1970’s godfathers of true noir’s long-needed revival.” Jonathan Ashley, author of South of Cincinnati, Out of Mercy, and The Cost of Doing Business
“Often very funny, and true to the “noir” tradition in that its central characters are terminal screw-ups who get themselves deeper and deeper into horrible fixes. The more they try to dig themselves out, the worse it gets.” Rory Costello, Hard Sentences: Crime Fiction Inspired by Alcatraz
“A great view of small-time crime and its working-class in America roots as people struggle to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families.” David Nemeth, Unlawful Acts
"JACK’S FORK is a standout novel. JACK’S FORK knows the hell young teen boys experience on an everyday basis — and how that hell multiplies a million-fold when they get swallowed by circumstances they can’t control." Jim Thomsen, editor, The Killing Rain
“White trash noir at its finest. Dirt balls, criminals, and other assorted living train wrecks doing crazy stupid things, and it is funny as well. What is there not to love? I look forward to other titles by this author.” Paul McBride, book reviewer
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February 10, 2026
1970s Coming-of-Age Noir
A child-molesting priest turns up dead. On a weekend getaway in the Missouri backcountry with four young teenage boys. Who make every possible mistake in trying to cover up what happened so they can live their lives untainted by dark memories of a dark few days. But can they, really?
JACK’S FORK knows the hell young teen boys experience on an everyday basis — and how that hell multiplies a million-fold when they get swallowed by circumstances they can’t control. It knows their certainty and their stupidity, and it knows that those two things are often the same thing. It knows that there are no heroes, only people who scramble madly to escape the suction of their self-created nightmares. It knows there are no pat resolutions or restorative justice — just survival and a semblance of sanity amid ever-lengthening shadows bathed in blood.
JACK’S FORK is a standout novel.
A child-molesting priest turns up dead. On a weekend getaway in the Missouri backcountry with four young teenage boys. Who make every possible mistake in trying to cover up what happened so they can live their lives untainted by dark memories of a dark few days. But can they, really?
JACK’S FORK knows the hell young teen boys experience on an everyday basis — and how that hell multiplies a million-fold when they get swallowed by circumstances they can’t control. It knows their certainty and their stupidity, and it knows that those two things are often the same thing. It knows that there are no heroes, only people who scramble madly to escape the suction of their self-created nightmares. It knows there are no pat resolutions or restorative justice — just survival and a semblance of sanity amid ever-lengthening shadows bathed in blood.
JACK’S FORK is a standout novel.
Displaying 1 of 1 review