Baron of Clayhill

From Publishers WeeklySet in 1967 East Texas, this novel mixes a soupçon of the supernatural in with the mundane. Twenty-year old Paul Henry has just been released from the Army. Physically healed from the wounds he suffered in Viet Nam, he still suffers from deep psychic wounds and a radically changed outlook, his "enlistment bonus." Having gone through the classic lost-his-girl-to-his-best-friend scenario, estranged from family and friends and not knowing what he's going to do with the rest of his life, Paul decides to visit the grave of his father, a man he never knew. Paul's father, John Allison Henry, supposedly committed suicide on the day his son was born. Paul's impulsive decision to find out more about his father sets him on a journey among strangers in a strange land, where he will find happiness and horror, love and hate, the power of determined effort, and the force of capricious fate. The author does an excellent job of keeping you enthralled, making you hope all will be well, yet causing you to fear that all will come crashing down. Like a skilled poker player, this story keeps its cards close to its vest until all the bets are in, the hand is called, and boom! - the cards are laid on the table for all to see. After the emotions stirred up by the showdown abate, one thought is left - wow! Deal another hand!