The End of California

This has to be one of the most compelling bits of fiction I've read in a while. It's set in Loring, Mississippi, the home town of a former football star and once-successful doctor who returns after suffering professional and personal disgrace in California.

Pete Barrington brings his wife Angela and their daughter Toni back to start their lives over. Their lives quickly intersect with Tim (Pete's best friend in high school), Mason (who becomes enamored of Toni) and his father Alan (who like Tim has a history with Pete but not in a similarly amicable fashion).

There is a lot of lust, repressed anger, secrecy, deception, retribution and small-town intrigue that culminates in tragedy.

The end is satisfyingly real and gritty, and not easy for readers who hope for happy endings. But it is beautifully written, and there is a small smidgen of hope on the last few pages.