This was a very readable story which delves into the roots of middle America and the effects of economic failure upon an industrial town. Set in the early 1980's Bill , the occupant of a mansion inherited from his very forceful and strange father, is working in the local newspaper with an old hack and seasoned photographer, and obsessed with the distance between him and his ex girlfriend.
He has a talent for reports and the disappearance of a local man with suspicion falling on his son leads to bill competing with the other news outlets particularly the glamorous TV presenter to produce a good story.
bill gets drawn into the world of the town and the various individuals and conspiracies and as an innocent voice he seems doomed to drown in the problems in which economic hardship has left the citizens immersed.
Some interesting characters and a definite sense of the town and a society torn but with also a dark humour . I very much enjoyed this book and definitely will try and find more by the author.