The Grove

The Grove
John Rector
Typhon Media Corporation
Naples, Florida
ISBN: 9781600815348
2010
$ 6.99
255 pages

Dexter McCray has many things he wants to forget and many things he just can't remember.  That happens when you still feel the loss of your own child dying.  His daughter was killed while riding her bicycle.  Added to that, now he has alcoholic blackouts added to his everyday challenges.
Fortunately for Dexter, he has a longtime friend, Greg.  Greg understands Dexter's challenges and tries to help him which can be difficult being that he is also the sheriff.
Not surprising, his marriage is also troubled.  His wife, Liz was at the house last night.   She tried to move out.  Dexter's reaction was to threaten her with a gun.
After speaking with Liz, Greg wisely appeared at Dexter's house the next morning and took the clip from his gun.  Even though it angers Dexter, he does understand Greg's reasoning.
Dexter's memory is foggy about the previous evening.  Did he have another blackout?
The Sheriff asks about the location of his tractor.  It's gone.
As Dexter begins to search, he notices that tractor seems to have been backed into a ravine next to the grove by the field.
Greg, the Sheriff, offers to help pull it out.  No, Dexter will get it out by himself.  He know that it is likely in the mud and if it rains, he will never be able to move it.  Even understanding this, he knows that he needs to do himself.
While working hard, Dexter manages to free one of the back tires.  Freeing the other tire results in a broken board and blood.  As he looks for another rock or board to use as a brace, he notices a few empty beer cans in the grove and then a purse.  Naturally he looks inside to discover that it is owned by Jessica Cammon who is sixteen years old.  A little further on, he finds her body.
He has no memory of last night but is fairly certain that he had not seen her.  Or did this happen during a blackout?  Is he responsible for her death?  What did he really do last night?
With his history, he does not feel like he can report this to Greg.
Can Dexter find her killer?  Is he the killer?  Dexter knows that he is the only one that he trusts enough to find the answers.   Can he trust himself to do the right thing?  When should he tell Greg?
The Grove is a haunting tale with well-developed and realistic characters.  The character of Dexter is remarkable human with the reader really understanding and sympathizing  while at the same time wanting to kick him.  The story revolves around his daily routine, slowly revealing much of his past and his relationships.
The story is fast-paced, well-organized, logical and developed into a page turner that moves at a racing pace.
John Rector is an Omaha author whose books have become bestsellers with The Cold Kiss,  Out of the Black and recently Ruthless.  
Who would enjoy this novel?  Anyone who enjoys intense, realistic mysteries and thrillers would thoroughly dive into The Grove accompanying the daily challenges of Dexter McCray.