Dead Easy — E.S. Russell

Small-town politics, inbred ignorance, and hidden scandals lead to several apparently random murders, fires, and assaults in Manton, Massachusetts. Educator Ben Louis ( Death of a Cloudwalker , Walker, 1991) struggles to weed out the culprit after friend Merran Shaw falls prey to physical violence and malicious slander. In these shallow waters, awkward prose, clumsy segues, inconsistencies, and stumbling plot make for rough sailing indeed. Neither events nor principals deserve credence.