The Truth That Lies Between

McComb neatly combines a coming-of-age story with a whodunit in his promising debut. In 1985, Mississippi teenager Case Reynolds and his two best friends, Jack Masterson and Jet Townsend, decide to build a secret cabin on the property of the best friend of Case’s late grandfather. That venture turns much more serious after Case discovers a pile of human bones. The remains are suspected to belong to a local itinerant known only as the Vagabond, but when Jet examines them more closely, he finds clear indications that the person they belonged to had been shot through the shoulder blade. The mystery of who was killed, and by whom, is compounded after Jack’s stepfather vanishes. And those puzzles may connect with questions about the late Alton Hall, a county sheriff who resigned after being charged with narcotics trafficking and embezzlement, and whose fatal shooting three years earlier was deemed a hunting accident. McComb maintains suspense without sacrificing characterization. Believable portrayals elevate this above the typical tale of adolescent amateur sleuthing. (Self-published)