In Cripple Creek, James Sallis' protagonist John Turner has become somewhat entrenched in the small Southern community he came to know in Cypress Grove. Turner, an ex-cop, ex-con and lapsed therapist, who helped the local sheriff solve a crime in the first book, is now a deputy with all that position's attendant status and responsibilities. Turner's also acquired a family (if only a de facto one, at first) in this sequel, including his girlfriend, attorney Val Bjorn, his staunch buddy Sheriff Lonnie Bates, the redoubtable curmudgeon and local sawbones/mortician Doc Oldham and, eventually, a blood relative.
The Set-up
The story is ostensibly about solving a violent crime committed against a fellow deputy and office assistant, after someone springs an arrestee from lock-up – a guy caught rolling through town drunk with around two grand stashed in his car. Turns out the arrestee's connected to some heavies from Memphis, Turner's old stomping grounds. So Turner heads back to the big city to find out who's responsible and dispense justice his own way. Turner's foray stirs up a hornet's nest of bad guys, putting him at risk for a potentially deadly payback. Thus, the novel is deftly transformed from cop story to suspense/thriller.
However, the meat of this tale is in the further exploration of Turner's past, in a patchwork of vignettes from his life. Like the previous Turner book, the story jumps about, both in tone and time. As a result, a scene of jarring violence from the present can be followed by one from the past that's so poignant, it could make you cry.
The Role of Outsiders
The story takes an odd turn when a peculiar group of strangers living communally in the woods outside town insinuate themselves into the plot. Alternately feared, ignored, reviled and gawked at by the townsfolk, they seem to represent a throwback to Turner's former status as an "outsider," with one major difference: while Turner lived alone, they huddle together for warmth and protection in a society of their own creation.
In any case, their leader helps Turner (in a small, but significant, way) deal with the threats his trip to Memphis creates. Meanwhile, Turner feels the pressure of having to protect not only himself, but those he loves. He even provides shelter for a small family of possums, after the mother – whom he names Miss Emily – creeps into his house to give birth.
Loss and Random Fate
Written with the evocative style of its precursor and dashes of the poetic in its phrasings, Cripple Creek is imbued throughout with the themes of loss and the random nature of fate. "None of us are immune," Turner reflects early in the book, as he recovers from a disabling injury. This insight is brought home with stunning force in the story's shattering climax and somber conclusion.
Cripple Creek Walker & Company (April 2006), ISBN: 978-0-8027-1520-3
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