In the sequel to Something Bad Wrong, true crime podcaster Jess Keeler learns what can go wrong when you lose control of everything, the story you want to tell, and even your family life. Blood Red Summer is the story of the events of the summer of 1984 in Lake Castor, Virginia. It’s a story of motorcycle gangs, police corruption, and racism, and several people who tried to tell the truth.
After the success of her podcast, “Something Bad Wrong”, a TV crew is eager to work with Jess Keeler to tell her next true crime story. But, Jess is used to doing her own research, and finding her own story, and the team’s plans make her uneasy. They start out to tell the story of a sniper who targeted the Black community in 1984 because Ricky Lee Patience’s family says he’s been falsely incarcerated for forty years for the five deaths. But, while Jess is eager to free Ricky Lee, the show’s producer wants to focus on him as a killer who pleaded guilty.
That story is sidetracked when two former sheriffs won’t cooperate, but they do want to tell the story of the massacre of a bootlegger and two other men that same summer. Jess learns she’s following in the footsteps of Hal Broadstreet, a journalist who covered both stories in 1984. But, Hal, who considered himself closer to the criminals than the cops, took an unusual direction in the stories that appeared in a newspaper that was already on its last legs.
Blood Red Summer is told in dual timelines, and three voices. Jess gets to tell her story as she researches the cold cases, but Hal Broadstreet and a deputy, Ennis Worthy, relate their accounts of that bloody summer of 1984. To be honest, it was Hal’s account, on the streets and at the time, that I found most interesting. But, the final results of the podcast and Jess’ story won’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone who reads Southern Noir. It’s a powerful, unforgettable story.
Eryk Pruitt’s website is http://erykpruitt.com/
Blood Red Summer by Eryk Pruitt. Thomas & Mercer, 2024. ISBN 9781662514562 (paperback).
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley, made available through NetGalley, so I could review the book for a journal.
