Bill Riales

The Ghost of Henry Cotton Bill Riales

It's normal in this sleepy town nestled up close to the Mississippi River in the Delta; the land that is the birthplace of the blues. They serve iced tea and beer in mason jars. The Friday lunch special at the Plantation Inn is sometimes fried frog legs. What isn't normal is what began to unravel the town in the days after Henry Cotton died. Henry kept a secret for more than a decade; long after high school and his college years. He knew there was a dark side to life in the Delta that most people only gossiped about. He knew it had to come out. This tale of southern noir takes place at a time when some secrets were a little easier to keep as long as nobody was poking around. But when Henry dies, Sue Cotton is faced with putting together the clues left behind by her planter husband. As she grieves his death, Sue finds her own life and the lives of her children in danger. One of the town's most upstanding citizens has some secrets too; sins so vile that murder is an option to keep anyone from finding out. Sue Cotton is getting too close for comfort. The smell of death is in the air just as thick as the fragrance of the blossoming magnolia trees in the deep south.