The Second Coming of Curly Red — Jody Seay

This candid, compelling, compassionate novel could have been torn out of today's newspaper headings. One minute Texan Jimmy Heron is sitting next to his beloved wife of 50 years eating pie, the next minute she is dead in his arms; killed by a racist, woman-hating, semiautomatic gun-toting maniac. Shattered by Lou's senseless death, Jimmy Heron hits the road - can't sit still; can hardly breathe. He roams the western landscape looking for solace until he lands in the tiny pioneer town of Reliance, Oregon. Here he settles, figuring it is as good a place as any to wait until he dies. His new neighbors, however, delicately jump into his life. They are a lesbian couple eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child and their Native American ranch hand. Together they gently encourage Jimmy to deal with loss and death and kindness, perseverance and love. Jimmy Heron starts the healing process. That's when his new friends become the targets of a vicious campaign. Fueled by lies and bigotry couched as "family values," the hatred begins to poison the soul of their little community. Each character caught in the conflagration must decide what they believe. It is in this heat, a community is forged and a town remembers how it got its name. The Second Coming of Curly Red will grab you by the heart and not let go.