When I first picked up Reavis Wortham’s The Rock Hole, I expected it to be a cozy-type mystery with a nostalgic Texas setting. After all, the book’s central character is a small-town Texas constable who is really starting to feel his age, and the book’s sometime-narrator is the man’s ten-year-old grandson, Top. Turns out, I could not have been more wrong; this is a crime novel so gritty that some of what it describes is gruesome enough that some readers will likely find it difficult to read the crime scene descriptions. The escalation of the novel’s intensity sneaks up on the reader as effectively as the villain of the piece sneaks up on his victims, and that makes it even the more shocking.

“As he stared glumly at his coffee, sadness and the futility of a lawman in a changing society swamped over the man who only wanted to do the right thing.” - Description of Constable Ned Parker, The Rock Hole, page 213

It all happens in 1964 in a small Texas community just south of the Red River. Crossing the river, puts you in Oklahoma, but part-time constable Ned Parker doesn’t worry too much about such technicalities. He knows pretty much everybody both sides of the river and understands that anything that happens in Center Springs, Texas, is not going to stay in Texas - and vice versa. Center Springs may as well be one town with a river running through the middle of it.

Ned really considers himself to be first a farmer, and he’s not wrong about that. His official jurisdiction, when it comes to the law, is a small one and nothing much ever really happens there. He’s mostly called upon to handle town drunks and the like, but now something strange is happening, and Ned is worried. Someone is torturing and killing animals, and there are signs that this is just the start of a crime spree that could escalate into something much, much worse than animal abuse. The tortured animals being discovered in the fields and countryside are getting larger and larger, and the person responsible for the atrocities has taken to leaving pictures of children alongside the dead animals.

Then, it gets very personal for Ned Parker and his family because someone out there seems to be after his two grandchildren, and he wonders if he will be able to protect them from the killer who wants so badly to snatch them from under his nose. Suddenly, Ned finds himself looking at everyone as a potential killer, and he is so frustrated that he feels like giving up. But that’s not who Ned Parker is - not even close.

Bottom Line: The Rock Hole is the first book in Reavis Wortham’s Red River Mystery series, and this 2011 novel has been followed by seven other Red River Mysteries, including 2021’s Laying Bones. The 1960s small-town atmosphere created by Wortham adds to the fun, but despite the references to Vietnam veterans, etc, the setting strikes me as being more akin to what one would expect in a similar location in the 1940s or 50s than in the mid-1960s. The Rock Hole is very good, and that’s the real “bottom line” here. Perhaps Reavis Wortham was shooting for “country noir” with this one; if so, he nailed it. ( )

It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book so much. There were many times I laughed, cussed and yelled in the car while listening this to the book. Reavis Wortham has created a intense thriller wrapped up in a coming of age story.

The book starts straight away with the mystery that Constable Ned Parker is trying to solve before it gets out of hand. The book then eases into a great coming of age story for Ned’s grandson Top but the author just waits until your comfortable with this part and then whaps in you the face the intensity of the mystery again. There were many times I thought “What the Hell” as the author continually throws the story between thriller and sweet innocence of youth. There are many characters but that fits with the small town setting as everyone knows everyone else.

Reavis Wortham created small town Texas very well and every time I put the book on it felt like coming home. Being raised in small town Texas, I felt a connection to this book and was immediately drawn to the characters. The author did a great job describing the setting and really helping the reader to be immersed into 1960’s Texas.

Traber Burns had to voice a litany of characters and he did it smoothly. He was able to capture the innocence of youth, the strength of young adulthood and the weariness of old age. His Texas accent was spot on and with the authors words I was able to picture the characters in mind easily. Great narrator for this story.
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This is a Texas mystery that takes place in 1964. Top, a 10 year old boy is sent to live with his grandparents. His grandfather Ned Parker is a Constable and small time cotton farmer. He and big John Washington find themselves trying to solve a series of animal mutilations that turn into murder. Top has his share of adventures in this wonderful story. I'm looking for the second book by Reavis Z. Worthham. ( )

From the beginning I didn't think I would like this book. I don't know if it was the narration, the slow pace, the time-period. Something just didn't appeal to me. I was pretty sure that listening to this would be a chore but then a funny thing happened: I started being more and more interested in it. "Shit Fire", what do you know? I liked the characters, I was trying to figure out who "The Skinner" was, I liked the historical rural aspect. In the end, I found this to be a very enjoyable book and I'm going to look further into the series. So glad I gave this one a chance. ( )

This book had some really good moments and also was a great nostalgic trip. I liked all the characters, but especially liked Top's voice. I thought the mystery was well done, too, with just enough red herrings. I did find a number of typos, but it wasn't too distracting. Glad for a small press like the Poisoned Pen to publish works like these -- I'm SO bored with the top ten list big names that just crank out the same books with different titles. Rock Hole has some magic to it. I think it would make a great audio book, too. ( )