Eddie Burke knows what it’s like to work your soul away at the bottom of the notorious Black John Mine No. 3. So when Turp Lawson asks if he can join the little drinking party that Eddie and a couple of the other miners hold each Friday night Eddie doesn’t object. What he’s forgotten is that no good deed ever goes unpunished, and when recently divorced Eddie gets invited to supper and meets Turp’s restless wife he knows he’s in for more trouble than he can handle.
Chris Helvey has written an insightful and entertaining story about a recently divorced coal miner whose life has swirled out of control. Eddie Burke tries to be a good person, and is for the most part, until an untimely accident claims the life of a fellow miner. Burke battles internal demons as he deals with what is happening around him, especially since he was seduced by a man's sex-starved wife. Helvey's vivid descriptions take the reader to the remote area of eastern Kentucky. The characters are engaging, somewhat quirky, and real. Helvey is a Kentucky author more readers need to discover.