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Post Facto
When Clara Sue Buchanan gave up big-city journalism to buy her Southern hometown newspaper, she was determined to ferret out the truth in whatever story that came along. What came were high school football games, the locals' catch of the day, and family reunions. Until a string of paranormal sightings turns the monotony upside down. Then millions of dollars in federal funds are on the horizon, but they threaten to ignite a blood feud. A dog is the victim of a ritualistic killing. A drug stash shows up in the truck of a dead prison guard. Things are getting a lot more interesting. Especially when a mysterious trunk appears from an era past, promising to rip open a decades-old case of unexpected death and tragic suicide. Suddenly, all of Clara Sue's big-city reporter skills are in play as she tries to crack the code of small-town corruption, venality, and wanton murder. Before she's the next victim.
- GenresMystery
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 28, 2019
13 people want to read
About the author
Darryl Wimberley
17 books19 followersDarryl Wimberley is a native Floridian. After high school, he entered the Air Force Academy in Colorado, graduating with a B.S. in International Affairs. While still on active duty, he attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, and received an M.A. in English literature. He then earned a doctorate of philosophy from the Radio-Television-Film department at the University of Texas at Austin. Wimberley lives in Austin, Texas.
Series:
* Detective Barrett Raines
Series:
* Detective Barrett Raines
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2018
It’s a post-factual world, and all the more so for narrator Clara Sue Buchanan, recently retired from big-city journalism to her childhood, small-town home. Being her own boss doesn’t set her free to print what she chooses after all; now she’s obliged to avoid offending those who might pay for her newspaper ’s life with ads. Freedom to follow her instincts is curtailed by the realities of graying hair. And freedom of speech falls prey to keeping secrets. In Florida’s tiny, fading community, there are lots of secrets.
History and scenery blend in hauntingly evocative prose. Space aliens and Mexican laborers evoke both mysticism and biting humor. Trust invites disbelief. And even the blend of first person, hard-hitting narration with third person scenes works perfectly, maintaining that sense of space between fact and whatever the facts are made to mean. In the end, it all boils down to trust. Do we trust the scientist, the visionary, the history…? Will trusting her instincts lead Clara Sue to truth? And does truth really have to be spread on the front page?
Post Facto reveals a post-factual world, gently pokes fun at it, revels in a scarily believable blend of action and mystery, offers laugh-out-loud headlines as chapter headings—each accurately told, in some sense of accuracy—and threads its way through small-town politics, haunted by big-town memories, till that wonderful understanding… “even in a post-factual world there is a difference between true believers and those who truly believe.”
Clara Sue is “only the reporter,” but the tale she tells draws readers deeply into a cool blend of mystery, reality, intrigue, and oddly unsettling common sense. It’s highly recommended!
Disclosure: I was given a preview edition to read and I love it!
History and scenery blend in hauntingly evocative prose. Space aliens and Mexican laborers evoke both mysticism and biting humor. Trust invites disbelief. And even the blend of first person, hard-hitting narration with third person scenes works perfectly, maintaining that sense of space between fact and whatever the facts are made to mean. In the end, it all boils down to trust. Do we trust the scientist, the visionary, the history…? Will trusting her instincts lead Clara Sue to truth? And does truth really have to be spread on the front page?
Post Facto reveals a post-factual world, gently pokes fun at it, revels in a scarily believable blend of action and mystery, offers laugh-out-loud headlines as chapter headings—each accurately told, in some sense of accuracy—and threads its way through small-town politics, haunted by big-town memories, till that wonderful understanding… “even in a post-factual world there is a difference between true believers and those who truly believe.”
Clara Sue is “only the reporter,” but the tale she tells draws readers deeply into a cool blend of mystery, reality, intrigue, and oddly unsettling common sense. It’s highly recommended!
Disclosure: I was given a preview edition to read and I love it!
February 10, 2019
This story is slow-moving, spending a great deal of time setting up the premise and going into the background of the people and the place. Once that's settled, however, the story is a good one.
The Lambs, town bullies and local powers-that-be, are attempting to cheat slow-minded Butch out of his inheritance, namely the land on which his candy shop rests as well as the home left to his stepfather by Butch's mother to hold for him. Narrated by Clara Sue Buchanan, a big city reporter, come home to roost and run the town newspaper, Clara and her cousin, the sheriff, investigate and drag out a batch of dirty linen the Lambs would like to stay hidden, including some long-ago murders. The method by which they are thwarted by Butch's long-dead mother is clever by half.
The "supernatural happenings" seem red herrings never really explained to any satisfaction, and mostly seem thrown in as examples of "small town hysteria and rumor."
Stick with the story and you'll enjoy it.
This novel was supplied by the publisher and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
The Lambs, town bullies and local powers-that-be, are attempting to cheat slow-minded Butch out of his inheritance, namely the land on which his candy shop rests as well as the home left to his stepfather by Butch's mother to hold for him. Narrated by Clara Sue Buchanan, a big city reporter, come home to roost and run the town newspaper, Clara and her cousin, the sheriff, investigate and drag out a batch of dirty linen the Lambs would like to stay hidden, including some long-ago murders. The method by which they are thwarted by Butch's long-dead mother is clever by half.
The "supernatural happenings" seem red herrings never really explained to any satisfaction, and mostly seem thrown in as examples of "small town hysteria and rumor."
Stick with the story and you'll enjoy it.
This novel was supplied by the publisher and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
May 19, 2019
Clara Sue Buchanan, a big city reporter, has returned to her home in Florida. She takes over the local newspaper, and a local mystery. The Lambs, a local family is trying to cheat Butch out of his inheritance. Butch is a little slow witted and might lose everything without help. Clara teams with her cousin, the local sheriff to investigate strange cases that seem supernatural. What’s going on, and could she end up the next victim?
The publisher sent me a copy of the book for an honest review. This was a fun story, and a slight play on the big city cop retiring to Florida to become involved in a murder case. But this time it’s a journalist and she’s female. But everything else is in place. It is a neat plot, and has good characterization, so is already ahead of those retired cops moving to Florida plots, and well worth the read. Highly recommended.
The publisher sent me a copy of the book for an honest review. This was a fun story, and a slight play on the big city cop retiring to Florida to become involved in a murder case. But this time it’s a journalist and she’s female. But everything else is in place. It is a neat plot, and has good characterization, so is already ahead of those retired cops moving to Florida plots, and well worth the read. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews