Sometimes it seems as though every teen girl dreams of running off to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. This was never more true than in the years of the Great Depression when it really did seem as though a girl could be working on the factory line one day and be discovered by a famous movie producer the next.
In May Lynn, American author Joe R. Lansdale creates just such a teen. Growing up in Easy Texas, a place suffering terribly as a result of the Great Depression, May Lynn dreams of silver screen stardom. However, she is murdered before she ever gets the chance to chase after her dreams. Her body is found by her friend Sue Ellen, tied to a heavy Singer sewing machine in the Sabine River. The sewing machine was not heavy enough to cause her body to sink, as the killer had obviously intended. As a tribute to their friend, Sue Ellen and their circle take May Lynn’s ashes to Hollywood so that she achieves her ultimate dream. Along the way they find, and take, a cache of stolen money and find themselves on a cross-country adventure pursued by a psychopathic murderer who goes by the name “Skunk”, whose nickname is likely a verbal indictment of his personal hygiene. Skunk wants the money for himself and is prepared to recover it by any means necessary.
Edge of Dark Waterbis considered young adult fiction, but it’s subject matter and narrative style makes it a book and also captivated adult readers as well. It is an old-fashioned murder mystery with a modern twist, but also teaches much about the Great Depression, the development of the film industry, and the way in which teenagers were still considered children at a far older age than they are today.
First published in March 2012, the novel was declared a Booklist Editirs’ Choice In the category of Adult Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association.
