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The Baptism of Billy Bean
In a rolling journey through Appalachia’s forests and towns, Lane must fight not only for his life, but for all the things it has lacked: love, family, and peace.
Lane Hollar’s seen little of the world beyond West Virginia—Parris Island and Vietnam—but that was enough. Now, thirty years later, he’s estranged from his only son, Frank, and from society at large. Lane has his grandson, Toby, his daughter-in-law, Darlene, his bait shop, and his banjo, and he desires or needs nothing else.
But then one day, he and Toby are out fishing when they witness a drug-related murder. Suddenly, the boundaries of his world are no longer his to define. An investigation rules the drowning accidental but reveals the witnesses to the perpetrators, and without preamble, Lane is fighting for his life. Caught between inept—or corrupt—lawmen and a stone-cold killer, Lane finds that his long-neglected survival skills are, like Lane himself, obsolete and ludicrous in a world gone mad.
Lane Hollar’s seen little of the world beyond West Virginia—Parris Island and Vietnam—but that was enough. Now, thirty years later, he’s estranged from his only son, Frank, and from society at large. Lane has his grandson, Toby, his daughter-in-law, Darlene, his bait shop, and his banjo, and he desires or needs nothing else.
But then one day, he and Toby are out fishing when they witness a drug-related murder. Suddenly, the boundaries of his world are no longer his to define. An investigation rules the drowning accidental but reveals the witnesses to the perpetrators, and without preamble, Lane is fighting for his life. Caught between inept—or corrupt—lawmen and a stone-cold killer, Lane finds that his long-neglected survival skills are, like Lane himself, obsolete and ludicrous in a world gone mad.
368 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 16, 2009
Lane Hollar (yep, that is his name) witnesses what he thinks is the drug-related murder of Billy Bean one day when he and his grandson Toby are out fishing. Lane has mostly withdrawn from the world since his wife died and he retired. He owns a bait shop, but otherwise does not associate with his former friends. Then he witnesses this crime, or thinks he does, and finds himself being sucked back into the world at large. While the murder is being committed, Lane unconsciously reaches back to his days in Vietnam and uses some of his survival skills to protect himself and Toby. When he reports what he saw and Toby reports something different, he starts to question his own memory.
When Lane realizes that the police are going to consider the murder a suicide, though, he starts investigating things himself. He is not sure whether the police are inept or corrupt, but he has decided to find out. He begins to have flashbacks to an earlier crime he helped solve in a pretty gruesome way. His investigations lead him into places he never imagined he’d be and he finds that his survival skills are almost not up to the challenge. He’s still not entirely certain that he himself isn’t crazy, so the investigation seems to be partly intended to answer that question. Lane begins to find to his dismay that the drug trade has invaded even the West Virginia countryside where he lives. He begins to question his own grandson and finds himself interacting again with his estranged son. Lane starts drinking, smoking, and playing the banjo again. He hasn’t done any of those things since his wife died. Lane finds himself questioning his relationships and the people he knows, or thinks he knows. He truly doesn’t know whether the world has gone crazy or whether he has.
Roger Alan Skipper vividly evokes a strong sense of the West Virginia countryside in this novel, while he leads us through a crime investigation in a fairly unique way. If you enjoy crime stories, this is a good one.
When Lane realizes that the police are going to consider the murder a suicide, though, he starts investigating things himself. He is not sure whether the police are inept or corrupt, but he has decided to find out. He begins to have flashbacks to an earlier crime he helped solve in a pretty gruesome way. His investigations lead him into places he never imagined he’d be and he finds that his survival skills are almost not up to the challenge. He’s still not entirely certain that he himself isn’t crazy, so the investigation seems to be partly intended to answer that question. Lane begins to find to his dismay that the drug trade has invaded even the West Virginia countryside where he lives. He begins to question his own grandson and finds himself interacting again with his estranged son. Lane starts drinking, smoking, and playing the banjo again. He hasn’t done any of those things since his wife died. Lane finds himself questioning his relationships and the people he knows, or thinks he knows. He truly doesn’t know whether the world has gone crazy or whether he has.
Roger Alan Skipper vividly evokes a strong sense of the West Virginia countryside in this novel, while he leads us through a crime investigation in a fairly unique way. If you enjoy crime stories, this is a good one.
January 9, 2022
This is the Skipper I knew first and loved. This book was written well and depicts Appalachia living perfectly. I see my friends and family and picture everything so well. It’s interesting the limit of punctuation, but you get used to that.
May 30, 2012
classic southern noir. it's got the elements: older, misunderstood, badass, drunk, older vietnam vet, bad guy city dude drug dealer, friends and family that are not friendly or standup sort of folks, guns, mud, sweat, shovels, old pickups, weird bars. yeah, a beautiful story of doing the right thing, fighting the bad guys (including your own worthless bad self), simultaneously hating and working with the police, being ornery just for the hell of it, trying to solve the mystery.
April 23, 2012
Roger Skipper, southern fiction writer is a wonderful storyteller. His protagonist, Lane Hollar, is a Vietnam Vet who has his own way of looking at things. He and his grandson witness an event which causes him to come out of his shell of mourning for his past wife. Events both of his own making and the characters of others out of his sphere come together to make a fine story. Things are not black and white and great descriptions of character and geography.
May 27, 2009
This book is different. Not an action thriller but fun to read, in fact, I actually laughed at some parts. That's unusual for me and I love to find a book that can make me laugh. The funny parts were all in the banter between characters and the clever colloquialisms of the Appalachian humor. He has one other book that I hope to read soon.
August 22, 2009
Loved this book - a thriller about a Vietnam War vet with a Clint Eastwood personality. He and his grandson fall into a murder scene and then must evade the murderer. More importantly, the book shows one man's personality development as he ages and must change to connect with those he loves.
October 15, 2012
A really wonderful writer. He induces dialect by omitting all except sentence-ending punctuation. This slows translation, like wading through thick accents. Beautifully crafted, exquisitely written. One terrific novel.
March 5, 2013
I loved this book!! It contained many twists and little oddities and just enough real life to make it a page turner. I didn't get bored and skip ahead with this book. I also liked the way it was written--no quotation marks around speaking parts. Interesting.
August 24, 2016
Might have been a good book
There are no quotation marks anywhere in this book. I had a hard time reading the first few pages. I had to give up after I skimmed through the entire book and realized it was written with absolutely no quotation marks.
There are no quotation marks anywhere in this book. I had a hard time reading the first few pages. I had to give up after I skimmed through the entire book and realized it was written with absolutely no quotation marks.
May 9, 2009
I really enjoyed the sense of humor in and writing style of this book.
November 10, 2017
This author has a unique writing style. This, along with the very colorful characters, made for an excellent read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews