Under the Dog Star — Joseph Caldwell

After her husband's death, a mother moves her family onto a farm and hatches a scheme to win back the land she used to own

An unlikely criminal, Andy Durant is robbing gas stations to buy back land once connected to his wife's farm in upstate New York. But when he's shot and killed during a robbery, he leaves his wife, Grady, and their three children to fend for themselves. Moving back to the debt-laden farm, Grady ignites a plan that involves getting in the middle of an adjoining neighbor's marriage. Meanwhile, one by one the whole family is charmed by Royal Provo, a young and charismatic orphan working on the property. When the money Andy Durant stole resurfaces, all find themselves in escalating danger.

Under the Dog Star is chillingly good storytelling.