A native Virginian, one of his stand alone novels Wish You Well is a poignant tale of the tough life of mountain folk in the Appalachians. There is a touching episode in which a teenage lad is tragically killed. His twelve year old friend in her grief asks:
"Why do things like this happen, Cotton?"
He sighed deeply. " I suppose it may be God's way of telling us to love people while they're here, because tomorrow they may be gone. I guess that's a pretty sorry answer, but I'm afraid it's the only one I've got."That gem of gospel wisdom alone made reading this novel worthwhile! Surely anything but a sorry answer. I never cease to be amazed at how we can uncover hidden truth so unexpectedly and in such unlikely places. The Word of the Lord can be heard as much in the words of crime writers as in the sacred writings of the evangelists.
